Search

Begin New Search Topic Treaties and Agreements

411. Is it all about territory? Israel's settlement policy in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1967

Author:
Leila Stockmarr
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Changing with rapid speed, the current political geography of the occupied Palestinian territory has de facto come to undermine a two-state solution and is turning the official aim and end point of international negotiations at best into a naïve mirage for policymakers and at worst into a façade for a very different political game playing out in the occupied territory of the West Bank and Israeli-annexed East Jerusalem: that of Israel's ongoing territorial expansion into Palestinian land. The study shows how the settlement policies inside what are internationally-recognised Palestinian territories are not merely undermining the realisation of the two-state solution: the territorial claims put forward and pursued in practice and their anchoring in strategies of legitimisation reach far beyond international legal standards. This reveals a very different political narrative embedded at the core of the conflict from that projected by those images often appearing in the mainstream media and policy circles: a narrative of an ongoing struggle over land detached from any 'Peace Process' measures.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Treaties and Agreements, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia

412. Unfinished Business: A Framework for Peace in the Great Lakes

Author:
Rigobert Minani Bihuzo
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Landmark peace agreements signed in 2002 by 11 African governments and various nonstate armed groups were meant to end 7 years of war that had ravaged Africa's Great Lakes region. A decade later, instability, tightly intertwined with regional geopolitics, persists. Recurring conflict has killed tens of thousands, mostly civilians, and displaced millions of others. The extended instability has also led to a collapse of basic social services and economic activity in parts of the DRC, resulting in manifold more deaths due to malnutrition, lack of access to basic healthcare, and scarce livelihood opportunities.Amid this breakdown, barbaric forms of violence have emerged. During one 4-day period in the summer of 2011, nearly 400 women, men, and children were raped by militia fighters. Since 1996, there have reportedly been more than 200,000 rapes, which are mostly attributed to armed militias.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Peace Studies, Political Economy, Treaties and Agreements, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

413. From Strength to Empowerment: The Next Generation of U.S.-Malaysia Relations

Author:
Murray Hiebert, Ernest Z. Bower, Elina Noor, Mahani Zainal Abidin, Gregory Poling, and Tham Siew Yean
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Relations between the United States and Malaysia are at an all-time high. Since President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Najib Razak entered office in 2009, both countries' governments have committed to a new beginning and moved to establish closer ties through increased political, economic, and people-to-people cooperation.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States and Malaysia

414. Religion and Peacebuilding: Reflections on Current Challenges and Future Prospects

Author:
Susan Hayward
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The field of religious peacebuilding has begun to move closer to the mainstream of conflict resolution practice and theory. The 2011 unrest in the Middle East and North Africa—the Arab Spring—reflects ongoing challenges and opportunities for the field. American and European nongovernmental organizations, agencies in the U.S. government, academia, and international organizations—sectors that once held religious issues at a distance or understood religion mainly as a driver of violence—increasingly engage religious communities and institutions as partners in creating peace. Meanwhile, religious organizations that have been involved in creating peace for decades, if not longer, increasingly have institutionalized and professionalized their work, suggesting ways that religious and secular organizations could coordinate their efforts more closely. The U.S. Institute of Peace's own programs on religion reflect the development of the wider field, having moved from research and analysis to on-the-ground programming to foster interfaith dialogue in the Balkans, Nigeria, Israel-Palestine, and Sudan. In addition, it has trained religious actors in conflict management in Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Colombia and developed peace curricula based on Islamic principles for religious and secular schools in Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and elsewhere. As the U.S. field of religious peacebuilding continues to develop, challenges include integrating further with secular peacebuilding efforts, engaging women and youth and addressing their priorities, working more effectively with non-Abrahamic religious traditions, and improving evaluation, both to show how religious peacebuilding can reduce and resolve conflict and to strengthen the field's ability to do so.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Islam, Peace Studies, Religion, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, Europe, and Arabia

415. Implementing an arms trade treaty: mapping assistance to strengthen arms transfer controls

Author:
Mark Bromley and Paul Holtom
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
It is widely recognized that many states parties to an arms trade treaty (ATT) will need assistance to fulfil their treaty obligations. The issue of international assistance has been consistently raised by United Nations member states throughout the UN process of negotiating an ATT.For example, states will need assistance to establish and strengthen their legislative and administrative frameworks as well as their licensing and enforcement capacities in order to enable them to exert greater control over international transfers of conventional arms. The creation of an ATT will require the expansion of existing assistance programmes as well as the development of new approaches and efforts specifically designed to assist states with treaty implementation. For example, the European Union (EU) already provides funds for technical and material assistance for states to develop or strengthen transfer control systems and is willing to expand these activities to help states implement an ATT. International assistance has been promoted as one of the positive outcomes for states parties to an ATT that are neither major exporters nor importers of conventional arms.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Cooperation, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe and United Nations

416. Beyond the Asterisk Agreement

Author:
Pasqualina Lepore
Publication Date:
07-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
In the context of the ongoing EU-mediated dialogue, Serbia and Kosovo have reached several agreements, the most important of which being that on regional representation and cooperation. Also known as the “asterisk agreement”, the agreement reached in February 2012 allows Kosovo to represent itself at all regional meetings with the nameplate of “Kosovo*”. While widely appreciated by the international community, it has generated divergent interpretations in Belgrade and Pristina and has provoked turmoil in both countries. On the whole, the agreement has enhanced Kosovo's and Serbia's path towards the EU, with the mandate for a feasibility study for the former and EU candidacy for the latter being achieved. However, the agreement has not addressed the key bones of contention between the parties, namely North Kosovo and Pristina's status. As a result, the situation remains unsustainable and a more comprehensive solution needs to be found.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, Serbia, and Balkans

417. The Transatlantic Bargain

Author:
Karl-Heinz Kamp, Robert E. Hunter, Sean Kay, Mark D. Ducasse, Lawrence S. Kaplan, Diego A. Ruiz Palmer, Karl Kaiser, John Ikenberry, Wallace J. Thies, Michael Ruhle, Stanley R. Sloan Rob de Wijk, and Charles L. Barry
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
This project, on The Transatlantic Bargain, is designed to take a fresh look at the most basic elements of relations between the United States (and Canada) on one side of the Atlantic and European allies and partners on the other side. The requirement to take a fresh look derives from the radical changes that have taken place in so many areas in recent years, along with the need both to gain a basic understanding of the interests and values that motivate governments and peoples on the two sides of the North Atlantic and to provide a solid grounding of analysis to help shape polices for the future.
Topic:
NATO, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and North America

418. NATO Enlargement Reloaded

Author:
Karl-Heinz Kamp
Publication Date:
09-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The dispute about who will become a new NATO member and when is set to make it back on the transatlantic agenda. Debates in the Alliance have for years been dominated by the operations in Afghanistan or the evolution of NATO's partnership approach, but now the enlargement question is coming up again and might lead to strong disagreements among the allies. All NATO nations certainly concur that the door for new members should remain open; the question is which countries should join the Alliance, and when?
Topic:
International Relations, NATO, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

419. The Meaning of "Assist, Encourage, or Induce" in the Weapons Ban Context

Author:
Christina Koningisor
Publication Date:
12-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Legal Challenges, Yale Law School
Abstract:
More than half of all multilateral disarmament treaties currently in force prohibit member states from “assist[ing], encourag[ing], or induc[ing]” another party in its pursuit or use of the prohibited weapon. This report examines this provision across five major disarmament treaties and arrives at three key findings
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Treaties and Agreements, Military Strategy, and Multilateralism
Political Geography:
Global Focus

420. Jewish Settlements: Another Name for Occupation

Author:
Osman Bahadir Dinçer and Gamze Coskun
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
Abstract:
Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been one of the main issues of the Middle Eastern political agenda. The Israeli-Palestinian issue is a complex matter as it comprises of many disputed issues. The status of Jerusalem, condition of the Palestinian refugees, and Jewish settlements problems as well as many other disagreements pose an obstacle against the Peace Process which is of vital importance for the stability of the Middle East. Each of these issues needs special attention in the path going through to the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, and Territorial Disputes
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine