Search

Begin New Search Topic Migration

571. In Defense of Environment and Security Research

Author:
Richard A. Matthew
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, many policymakers and researchers have been rethinking and pushing the boundaries of the definition of security. Perhaps the most extensive and controversial part of this project has been the numerous and varied attempts to identify links among environmental change, conflict, and security. But concern has recently been raised about whether a decade of environmental security research, debate, and policy experimentation has produced worthwhile results. This article argues that such concern is premature. Environmental security has (a) reinvigorated important elements of security research and policy; (b) made pioneering contributions to understanding the shifting sources of global violence and the changing requirements of security; (c) contributed to a broader debate about the social and political effects of transnational change; and (d) been a conceptual and political boon for the environmental movement. Now is the time to build on these gains instead of abandoning them.
Topic:
Security, Environment, Migration, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

572. Security and Ecology in the Age of Globalization

Author:
Simon Dalby
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
The environment has emerged as a major theme in the post-Cold War discussion of human security. There has been a considerable amount of detailed empirical work on the relationship between environmental change and likely conflicts. This article argues that, while the interconnections between the environment and conflict are many and complex, the likelihood of large-scale warfare over renewable resources is small. Nonetheless, environmental difficulties do render many people insecure. A parallel conceptual discussion suggests that the empirical work of environmental security research needs to be placed in the larger context of global economic changes and large-scale urbanization of a growing humanity. This urban population increasingly draws resources from rural areas, disrupting indigenous populations. All these dynamics are also complicated by the rapidly increasing scale of human activities, which has induced a level of material- and energy-flow through the global economy that is a new and substantial ecological factor in the biosphere. Given the scale of these processes, societies should carefully consider these interconnections and reduce their total resource throughput to improve environmental security and develop sustainable modes of living for the future.
Topic:
Security, Environment, Migration, and Poverty
Political Geography:
United States

573. Migration, Population Change, and the Rural Environment

Author:
Richard E. Bilsborrow
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Wilson Center
Abstract:
This article considers issues pertaining to the linkages between rural populations, migration from and to rural areas, and the environment—focusing on developing countries in the latter part of the 20th century. The article concentrates on internal migration, although it does briefly discuss the state of knowledge on the interplay between international migration and the environment. It addresses questions such as: What are the recent—and projected—patterns of rural population growth? How much internal migration in developing nations is towards rural environments? What kinds of rural environments are people moving into, in what countries, and what are the environmental consequences? Are there relationships in the other direction as well—that is, does environmental deterioration play an important role in out-migration from rural areas? And does out-migration from rural areas have environmental effects on the places of migratory origin? The article concludes with policy recommendations.
Topic:
Security, Environment, Migration, and Poverty
Political Geography:
Europe and Asia

574. Democratic Control of the Police and Police Reform in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Serbia

Author:
Marina Caparini and Graham Day
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
DCAF's approach to police reform emphasises democratic control of policing as a priority before improving police efficiency and modernisation. This report builds on the analyses and recommendations offered by the Monk and Slater reports for police reform in FRY and Serbia, concentrating on those measures that may help restore professional integrity, democratic values and public confidence in the policing institution, such as accountability mechanisms, anti-corruption measures, and public consultation procedures. Only by embedding such mechanisms within police reform from the earliest stages will democratic policing develop in Serbia and Yugoslavia.
Topic:
Security and Migration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, and Serbia

575. The Estonian Border Guard

Author:
Colonel Aare Evisalu
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Following its formation, which lasted ten years, a modern, uniformed and fairly effective professional organisation, the Estonian Border Guard, was created. This organisation has in essence, decreased criminal activity at the border as well as illegal immigration. Furthermore, the Estonian Border Guard possesses a good potential for maritime rescue. According to various enquiries, the Border Guard has achieved the reputation of being the most trustworthy state institution, sharing first place with the President of the Republic.
Topic:
Security and Migration
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe

576. Border Security Systems: The Hungarian Case Study

Author:
Zoltán Szabó
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The Hungarian Republic is making significant efforts in trying to comply with European Union requirements. An efficient security policy that ensures the reliable surveillance of the borders, as well as the provision of the necessary access, is extremely important for Hungary, the "Visegrad region", and the EU. According to the EU, "Hungary is on the right track to adopt current and future union practices, if the pace of development remains constant and the development and training programmes of the most important institutions are realised".
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Hungary

577. The Finnish Border Security Concept

Author:
Arto Niemenkari
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
The Finnish Frontier Guard was established in 1919 and has always been subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, with the exception of the period between 1939 and 1944. Throughout the war, the Frontier Guard troops participated in the defence of our country with excellent success. The Frontier Guard developed into its current form after the Second World War when the Coast Guard was integrated Frontier Guard and border control was extended to Finland's western and northern borders. In the past few years, the activities and the structure of the Frontier Guard have been examined to respond to the changes in the immediate surroundings. This development work still continues.
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

578. EU/Schengen Requirements for National Border Security Systems

Author:
Arto Niemenkari
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
This paper is a compilation of European Union requirements relating to border security. The main sources for this document are the EU's common negotiation positions for candidate countries, i.e. the so-called "Schengen paper", reports and analyses made by the Collective Evaluation Working Group as well as the Schengen Evaluation Working Group. The primary purpose of this document is to clarify some basic requirements and characteristics for national border security systems, enabling them to become compatible with EU structures.
Topic:
Security, Migration, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

579. Sustainable Peace as Democratization: The Experiences of Haiti and Guatemala

Author:
Sara Lodge, Chetan Kumar, and Karen Resnick
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
This comparison of international efforts to encourage and sustain peace in Guatemala and Haiti derives from the heavy involvement of the international community in peacebuilding in both countries during the 1990s. Civil conflict in both countries has resulted from a combination of exclusionary politics and domination by predatory economic elites. The conclusions advanced below should assist in the assessment of international strategies for addressing political and economic turmoil in similarly distressed countries in the future.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Haiti and Guatemala

580. Discussions at the Release of The Responsibility to Protect

Author:
Simon Chesterman
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan were keynote speakers at a seminar in New York on 15 February to discuss the final report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). Entitled The Responsibility to Protect, the report was released at UN Headquarters last December. The seminar was organized by the International Peace Academy with the support of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to allow a frank discussion of the Commission's findings and recommendations. Although journalists were invited to the event, all statements except the keynote speeches were off the record.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Canada