Search

Begin New Search Topic Security

4791. Third Party Arms Transfers: Requirements for the 21st Century

Author:
John D. Macomber and Charles McC. Mathias
Publication Date:
10-1998
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Can the United States collaborate with foreign nations in armaments development and production without jeopardizing US national security? This question - in light of America's global security obligations - demands a satisfactory answer. The economic and political advantages of greater international cooperation are significant. Benefits from cooperation include improved interoperability of weapons and equipment used by US allies and partners in operations with the United States, reduction in production costs, and preservation of a defense industrial base among US allies. Yet, considerations of national security are equally cogent.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States and America

4792. Disposing of Weapons-Grade Plutonium

Author:
Robert E. Ebel and John Taylor
Publication Date:
03-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
This panel report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies considers an issue of critical importance to U.S. national security interests: Is the United States now pursuing a well-conceived and effective program of working with Russia to dispose of the vast amounts of separated plutonium that have become excess to the nuclear weapons needs of the two countries?
Topic:
Security, Energy Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia and United States

4793. The Role of Ideology in Terrorists' Target Selection

Author:
C.J.M Drake
Publication Date:
06-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, St. Andrews University, Scotland
Abstract:
Ideology plays a crucial role in terrorist's target selection; it supplies terrorists with an initial motive for action and provides a prism through which they view events and the actions of other people. Those people and institutions whom they deem guilty of having transgressed the tenets of the terrorists' ideologically-based moral framework are considered to be legitimate targets which the terrorists feel justified in attacking. As an extension of this, ideology also allows terrorists to justify their violence by displacing the responsibility onto either their victims or other actors, whom in ideological terms they hold responsible for the state of affairs which the terrorists claim led them to adopt violence. While it is not the only factor which determines whether a potential target is attacked, ideology provides an initial range of legitimate targets and a means by which terrorists seek to justify attacks, both to the outside world and to themselves.
Topic:
Security, Government, Peace Studies, and Terrorism

4794. Surveying Subregional Relations In and Around the CIS Space

Publication Date:
12-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Signs of emerging alignments between groups of states in and around the CIS space are have become more notable in recent years. The development of subregional relations is an inevitable consequence of the geographical, political and economic changes brought about by the disintegration of the USSR.
Topic:
Security, Government, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

4795. Security and Integration in Eurasia's New Boundary Zones: The Role of Sub-Regional Relations

Publication Date:
02-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Security and Integration in Eurasia's New Boundary Zones: The Role of Sub-Regional Relations' is the second year of a project which the Institute for EastWest Studies (IEWS) is running with generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This project explores the contribution made by intergovernmental sub-regional groupings to security and integration in the OSCE area. In 1996-97 a detailed comparative study of six Central and Eastern European groups was undertaken and the role they play in assisting states of the region in their democratic transition, in entering wider European integration processes and in increasing the stability and security of the the region. Two conferences were held and a book summarizing the conclusions of the six case studies will shortly be published. Cooperative relations with OSCE, EU and WEU have been established to help develop these international organizations' policies toward sub-regional relations.
Topic:
Security, International Organization, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
New York, Eurasia, Eastern Europe, and Maryland

4796. Existing and Emerging Cooperation in New Central and Eastern Europe

Publication Date:
02-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Security and Integration in Eurasia's New Boundary Zones: The Role of Sub-Regional Relations' is the second year of a project which the Institute for EastWest Studies (IEWS) is running with generous support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. This project explores the contribution made by intergovernmental sub-regional groupings to security and integration in the OSCE area. In 1996-97 a detailed comparative study of six Central and Eastern European groups was undertaken and the role they play in assisting states of the region in their democratic transition, in entering wider European integration processes and in increasing the stability and security of the the region. Two conferences were held and a book summarizing the conclusions of the six case studies will shortly be published. Cooperative relations with OSCE, EU and WEU have been established to help develop these international organizations' policies toward sub-regional relations.
Topic:
Security and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
New York, Europe, Eastern Europe, and Maryland

4797. Confidence-Building and Regional Security in the Baltic Sea Space

Publication Date:
01-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Confidence-building is a process aimed at increasing security and stability amongst and within nation states. It begins with the recognition of each state's legitimate claim to security and proceeds on the principle of equality of all states involved. Confidence, ultimately, is a matter of perception: transparency and inclusiveness are thus key elements in the building process.
Topic:
Security and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, and Maryland

4798. Arms Control and the Revolution in Military Affairs

Author:
Dennis C. Blair, Robert L. Gallucci, John M. Shalikashvili, John J. Hamre, Sam Nunn, Paula Scalingi, Richard E. Combs, Janne E. Nolan, Henry G. Chiles, Theodore S. Gold, John D. Holum, Richard C. Macke, and Joerg H. Menzel
Publication Date:
06-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
The changing nature of technology and the proliferation of advanced commercialized technology are causing a transformation in the nature of threat and security issues and perceptions. The role of technology within the security environment has greatly enhanced the capabilities of both state and non-state actors. Concurrently, the use of technology has increased the vulnerabilities of states to the point where actors with a minimal amount of resources, such as transnational groups or terrorist organizations, can inflict significant harm on their victims. Although these actors are not capable of attacking the United States or its allies head-on, they may be able to exploit technology or use weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to present the United States or its allies with asymmetric threats and attacks. As a consequence, the traditional objectives and methods surrounding arms control and threat reduction must be adapted to in incorporate these new threats and to inject some certainty into an uncertain situation.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States

4799. Resolving the Security Dilemma in the Persian Gulf

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
03-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper is introduced by an analysis of the concept of region, followed by an application of this analytical framework to the Persian Gulf region. Several problems in this region are identified, including a seemingly open-ended arms race and a significant risk of war. As a possible remedy to these problems, the author proposes a policy of Common Security, intended to satisfy the legitimate security problems of all states in the region. As a consequence, he recommends efforts to ensure the strictly defensive nature of the military postures of regional states, to be implemented unilaterally as well as by means of arms control negotiations and regulations of the international arms trade. The paper concludes with a Postscript on the Iraqi crisis of 1997/98.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Iraq, Middle East, and Persia

4800. MILOSEVIC: DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN?

Publication Date:
12-1998
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
In the past few weeks the Belgrade authorities have sacked a number of key public officials. The two most prominent were security chief Stanisic and head of the army general staff Perisic. The firings triggered much speculation in the international media about the stability of Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic's regime. According to one interpretation, the sackings signal a fundamental weakness in government ranks, with Milosevic moving pre-emptively to oust potential rivals to his authority. Alternatively, the sackings may represent an attempt by the Yugoslav President to further consolidate his power base and to effectively rule with the backing of Yugoslavia's military and security establishments. Both Stanisic and Perisic were seen as Milosevic's opponents on several key policies, notably Belgrade's handling of relations with the Kosovo Albanians. Both Perisic and Stanisic, reportedly moderates not favouring the use of severe force against the Kosovars, have been replaced by Milosevic "yes-men" regarded as proponents of a violent resolution of the Kosovo question. If this is even in part the case, Stanisic's and Perisic's sackings do not necessary reflect a weakness in Milosevic's rule. Instead, the sackings may only signal Milosevic's resolve to return to force as a means of regional problem solving.
Topic:
Security, Diplomacy, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:
Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Yugoslavia