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672. Cutting or Tightening the Gordian Knot? The Future of Kosovo and the Peace Process in the Western Balkans after the Decision on Independence
- Author:
- Predrag Jureković, Ernst M. Felberbauer, and Frederic Labarre (Eds.)
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Austrian National Defence Academy
- Abstract:
- The declaration of independence of Kosovo on February 17 th , 2008 has marked the last stage of Kosovo's path to state building and also has closed the last chapter on the disintegration of Yugoslavia. The declaration of independence and the subsequent enacting of the Constitution by the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo were not annulled by United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK). Therefore, the legality of this act was quietly accepted by UNMIK, despite the lack of agreement within United Nations Security Council (UNSC). In addition, a day before the independence was declared, the EU Special Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Dr. Javier Solana, appointed Mr. Peter Feith as the Head of International Civilian Office (ICO) and the Council of European Union decided to deploy the EULEX Mission to Kosovo as envisaged by the Ahtisaari's Comprehensive Status Proposal.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Balkans
673. Multilateralism beyond Doha
- Author:
- Arvind Subramanian and Aaditya Mattoo
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Peterson Institute for International Economics
- Abstract:
- A fundamental shift is taking place in the world economy to which the multilateral trading system has failed to adapt. The Doha process focused on issues of limited significance while the burning issues of the day were not even on the negotiating agenda. The paper advances five propositions: (1) the traditional negotiating dynamic, driven by private-sector interests largely in the rich countries, is running out of steam; (2) the world economy is moving broadly from conditions of relative abundance to relative scarcity, and so economic security has become a paramount concern for consumers, workers, and ordinary citizens; (3) international economic integration can contribute to enhanced security; (4) addressing these new concerns-relating to food, energy, and economic security-requires a wider agenda of multilateral cooperation, involving not just the World Trade Organization but other multilateral institutions as well; and (5) despite shifts in economic power across countries, the commonality of interests and scope for give-and-take on these new issues make multilateral cooperation worth attempting.
- Topic:
- Security, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Europe
674. PolicyWatch #1417: Iraqi Politicians Ponder Status of Forces Agreement
- Author:
- Nazar Janabi
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- After months of rigorous debate, U.S. and Iraqi negotiators submitted a draft Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) to Iraq's cabinet and political leadership last week. Since then, many Iraqi politicians have publicly expressed reservations, while others have distanced themselves from the draft in an attempt to deflect blame and avoid the electorate's censure in the upcoming provincial elections. Despite the opposition, approving the SOFA is essential not only for maintaining Iraq's fragile security gains, but also for supporting the struggle against regional forces that want to reshape the Middle East to the detriment of U.S. and Iraqi interests.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
675. PolicyWatch #1428: Is Hamas Committed to the Ceasefire?
- Author:
- Yoram Cohen
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Last week, Israeli forces entered Gaza, destroyed an underground border tunnel, and battled Hamas fighters, leaving several militants dead. In response, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fired around eighty rockets into southern Israel, including the Israeli city of Ashkelon. Despite this breach of the tahdiya, or ceasefire, both Hamas and Israeli leaders have stressed their desire to deescalate the situation. But considering Hamas's history of violence against Israel, the organization's commitment to the tahdiya is open to serious question.
- Topic:
- Security and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, and Gaza
676. PolicyWatch #1430: Military Consequences of a Gaza Ceasefire Collapse
- Author:
- Jeffrey White
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- Clashes, rocket fire, and threats of escalation challenge Gaza's five-month-old ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. In the past two weeks, Israeli forces have reportedly killed 17 Palestinian fighters, while militant groups in Gaza have fired over 140 rockets into Israel. Despite the ceasefire's benefits -- for Israel, the end of cyclical clashes, rocket attacks, and civilian casualties, and for Hamas, a reprieve from Israel's intense military and economic pressure -- there is no guarantee it will hold. As such, it is worth considering how the ceasefire might end, what renewed conflict might look like, and what this means for Israel's long-term confrontation with Hamas.
- Topic:
- Economics and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza
677. Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement: Beyond the Crisis
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- On 11 October 2007, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) announced it was suspending participation in the Government of National Unity because the National Congress Party (NCP) was not implementing key aspects of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the generation-long, primarily North-South conflict. After months of highlevel meetings, military posturing and increasingly aggressive rhetoric, the parties agreed on a series of measures and drew back from the brink. The SPLM rejoined the government, which includes a reorganised cabinet, on 27 December. The immediate crisis has been defused, but underlying difficulties remain, and the risk of significant new fighting is growing in the Abyei area. Both parties must re-commit to full CPA implementation if peace is to hold, and the international community must re-engage robustly in support of the still shaky peace deal and recognise that CPA implementation would create the best environment for peace in Darfur and beyond.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Sudan, and Darfur
678. Omens and Threats in the Doha Round: The Decline of Multilaterialism?
- Author:
- Daniel Drache and Marc D. Froese
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
- Abstract:
- Faced with the lengthening shadow of the Doha Round of trade negotiations, scholars often point to the seven years it took negotiators to conclude the Uruguay Round. This paper argues that the negotiating deadlock in the Doha Round represents a transformative shift on the part of Member nations away from the current model of multi-platform, single-undertaking multilateralism and towards smaller negotiating platforms. We examine two dynamics that mark this round as qualitatively different from the Uruguay Round. First, new, highly vocal global trading powers such as India, China and Brazil have begun to use their market power to push for a trade deal that directly benefits the Global South. Second, the new rules for trade that were agreed to in the Uruguay Round had promised a reduction in non-tariff protectionism, but the continuing popularity of protectionist industrial policies has shown the developing world that greater access to northern markets might not be delivered at the World Trade Organization. The paper concludes with a discussion of trade multilateralism in historical context. This is not the first time the world has been faced with systemic changes in international economic relations. In the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, global trade broke down – first with the end of the British free trade system, and shortly thereafter with the catastrophic collapse of the interwar trading order. Nevertheless, this qualitative shift in the negotiating strategies of states need not be seen as a return to protectionism. The explosion of preferential regional agreements offers a number of new ways to address the social and political dimensions of economic integration.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Globalization, International Organization, International Trade and Finance, Post Colonialism, Sovereignty, Treaties and Agreements, and World Trade Organization
- Political Geography:
- China and Brazil
679. From Gridlock to Compromise: How Three Laws Could Begin to Transform Iraqi Politics
- Author:
- Jason Gluck
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- On February 13, 2008 the Iraqi parliament simultaneously passed a law that sets forth the relationship between the central and provincial governments, an amnesty law and the 2008 national budget. The passage of these laws was the result of months of negotiation and last-minute substantive and procedural compromises that could portend a shift away from merely ethnic and sectarian-based alliances to inter-ethnic and sectarian issue-based politics. At the same time, Iraqi lawmakers may have discovered a strategy of simultaneous consideration of multiple matters that could increase the likelihood of consensus and resolution—a sharp contrast to what has until now been an issue-by-issue approach that has often resulted in impasses and political gridlock.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
680. Iraq: Politics Unfrozen, Direction Still Unclear
- Author:
- Daniel Serwer and Rend Al-Rahim Francke
- Publication Date:
- 01-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- In meetings conducted in Beirut and Baghdad in mid-January 2008, a high-ranking and broad cross-section of the Iraqi political spectrum expressed views on the current political situation, main priorities for the next year, prospects for moving forward on key issues, and the American military presence in Iraq. The Iraqis, numbering about 40, included parliamentary leaders, members of the presidency and their staffs, top government officials and leaders in both the Anbar and Baghdad "Awakenings" (tribal groups prepared to fight Al Qaeda and guard their own neighborhoods.
- Topic:
- Security, Democratization, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East