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22. How Regional Security Concerns Uniquely Constrain Governance in Northeastern Syria
- Author:
- Kheder Khaddour
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- In 2012, when Bashar al-Assad’s regime withdrew most of its security forces from the Jazira in northeastern Syria, it ceded local power to the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing. The PYD replicated past regime behavior, focusing on maintaining a secure hold of this strategic geographical area at the expense of effective governance. This approach has hindered the prospect of building a self-sustained administration. At the same time, outside actors such as Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkey, and the United States have inadvertently reinforced the PYD’s security-focused rule while pursuing their own security concerns. Exploring potential avenues to peace and stable governance in Syria requires carefully identifying the interrelated nature of these various actors’ security concerns in the Jazira.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Civil War, Political Theory, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Syria
23. Reducing All Violent Deaths, Everywhere: Why the Data Must Improve
- Author:
- Rachel Kleinfeld
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) include a target to “Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related deaths everywhere.” Given the vast decline in violence since the Middle Ages, particularly since the end of the Cold War, this ambitious target is achievable. But policymakers know the least about the countries receiving the most aid. To ensure that aid and policy are effective, current data gaps and deficiencies must be fully understood and improved. Equally important, the target must include indicators that capture all the main types of violence, not just homicide.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Basic Data, and Political and institutional effectiveness
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
24. Public and Private Hate Speech in Poland
- Author:
- Grażyna Drzazga and Magda Stroińska
- Publication Date:
- 11-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
- Abstract:
- Words can be like tiny doses of arsenic: they are swallowed unnoticed, appear to have no e ect, and then after a little time the toxic reaction sets in after all,” wrote Victor Klemperer in his study of the language of the third Reich (Klemperer 1946/2000: 15-16). the importance of language for effective persuasion has been acknowledged by the teachers of rhetoric and orators since the age of antiquity. In modern times, there were both politicians who practiced deception through language for political or other gains, and also those who studied the effects of language-based manipulation. Among the most profound research on the mechanisms and effects of propaganda, one could name the writings of George Orwell, Friedrich Hayek, or Michał Głowiński. In this paper, we focus on one particularly disturbing aspect of propaganda: the use of hate speech. e reason for this choice of topic is the unprecedented explosion of populism all over the world, and the spread of perhaps its strongest weapon – hate through political and social fearmongering and use of what Klemperer referred to as ‘poisonous language’.
- Topic:
- Political Violence and Political stability
- Political Geography:
- Poland
25. Intersections between violence against women and violence against children.
- Author:
- SVRI
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Sexual Violence Research Initiative
- Abstract:
- Violence against women and violence against children often happen in the same families, initiating cycles of abuse within the home and across generations. Despite this link, efforts to address these types of violence are often conducted in isolation. Existing knowledge of how and why they occur together is limited, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Deeper understanding is critical to identifying opportunities for integrated prevention programmes. To increase the knowledge base, Raising Voices partnered with Columbia University on a study that explored the intersections between violence against women and children in Kampala, Uganda, between 2015 and 2016
- Topic:
- Political Violence and Gender Issues
- Political Geography:
- Uganda
26. Women, Gender and Terrorism: Understanding Cultural and Organizational Differences
- Author:
- Chantal de Jonge Oudraat and Jeannette Gaudry
- Publication Date:
- 04-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Women In International Security (WIIS)
- Abstract:
- As the idea that women can and should play pivotal roles in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) gains greater traction, decision makers and scholars must keep striving toward a more nuanced understanding of the historical, cultural, and gendered contexts that enable extremist movements and organizations to grow.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Gender Issues, Terrorism, Culture, Women, Violence, and Political Movements
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
27. Trade restrictions lead to lower wages and more violence: Although motivated by security considerations, the Israeli restrictions on imports to the OPT have negative economic and political consequences
- Author:
- Francesco Amodio and M. Di Maio
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
- Abstract:
- Import restrictions of dual-use goods and materials led to lower output and wages paid in sectors using those materials more intensively as production inputs. Local labor market conditions worsened in areas where employment is concentrated in these sectors. Episodes of political violence were more likely to occur in those same localities as a consequence. Security-motivated trade restrictions have a negative effect on industrial output and local labor markets. Economic integration could bring possibly high returns in terms of political stabilization.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Political stability, and Trade
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Palestine
28. Could Egypt and Tunisia Reverse the Growth of Islamist Violent Radicalisation?
- Author:
- Georges Fahmi
- Publication Date:
- 02-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Abstract:
- Egypt and Tunisia have been witnessing over the past few years a new wave of violent Islamist radicalisation. The engagement of Egyptian and Tunisian youth in political violence shows that depending only on classical counter-terrorism strategies will not only fail to prevent violent radicalisation, but it might actually increase it. Both the political and religious actors need to work together to formulate a comprehensive de-radicalisation strategy to render the political and religious spheres less enabling for violent radical ideas and movements.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Islam, Politics, Youth Culture, Reform, and Counter-terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Egypt and Tunisia
29. A Threat to Stability? Islamic Extremism and Fundamentalism in Indonesia
- Author:
- Jacques Bertrand and Jessica Doedirgo
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Although the January 2016 Sarinah mall attacks in Jakarta demonstrate the need for continued vigilance, this paper argues that Islamic extremism and fundamentalism are not on the rise in Indonesia. In fact, Islamic extremism in Indonesia reached its height in the early 2000s, with radicalized groups participating in religious conflicts in Eastern Indonesia and carrying out large-scale terrorist attacks, such as the bombings in Bali in 2002. Since then, the capacity of the security apparatus has markedly improved, leading to the crippling of terrorist networks. Today, the majority of Islamists engage in above-ground non-violent activities and pose little threat to the country’s stability. This paper views fundamentalism and extremism as symptoms of broader problems in Indonesia, and argues that addressing these issues should help to further reduce the problems of religious fundamentalism and extremism.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, Sectarian violence, and Violent Extremism
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia and Bali
30. Papua's Insecurity: State Failure in the Indonesian Periphery
- Author:
- Bobby Anderson
- Publication Date:
- 03-2016
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- East-West Center
- Abstract:
- West Papua is the most violent area of Indonesia. Indonesian security forces battle the country's last active separatist insurgency there. The majority of Indonesia's political prisoners are Papuans, and support for independence is widespread. But military repression and indigenous resistance are only one part of a complex topography of insecurity in Papua: vigilantism, clan conflict, and other forms of horizontal violence produce more casualties than the vertical conflict that is often the exclusive focus of international accounts of contemporary Papua. Similarly, Papua's coerced incorporation into Indonesia in 1969 is not unique; it mirrors a pattern of long-term annexation found in other remote and highland areas of South and Southeast Asia. What distinguishes Papua is the near-total absence of the state in indigenous areas. This is the consequence of a morass of policy dysfunction over time that compounds the insecurity that ordinary Papuans face. The author illuminates the diverse and local sources of insecurity that indicate too little state as opposed to too much, challenges common perceptions of insecurity in Papua, and offers a prescription of policy initiatives. These include the reform of a violent and unaccountable security sector as a part of a broader reconciliation process and the urgent need for a comprehensive indigenous-centered development policy.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia