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2282. GCC-Maghreb Relations in a Changing Regional Order
- Author:
- Carolyn Barnett
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- While rulers in the Maghreb and the Gulf have long engaged one an-other, until recently neither region held essential strategic importance for the other. Now, several GCC countries are seeking greater influence around the region, including in the Maghreb. Gulf countries have demonstrated their growing interest in the Maghreb through aid and investment, though aid disbursements have been slow to materialize. Tunisia, Libya, Morocco and Algeria all have delicate relationships with the Gulf that intersect with domestic politics, debates over Islam and authority, concerns about instability, the need for stronger economic growth, and aversion to foreign interference. Promoting constructive GCC-Maghreb relations will be most feasible on the economic front. Successful management of enduring tensions will not ensure political and economic stability, but it will make that stability much more likely.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, International Political Economy, and Islam
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Libya, Arabia, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia
2283. Innovative Immigration and Border Control Reform
- Author:
- Stephanie Sanok Kostro and Scott F. Mann
- Publication Date:
- 08-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- Over the last 10 years, the United States placed great emphasis on securing its borders and improving its immigration process. Concerns about terrorism in the shadow of the September 11, 2001, attacks led to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a means for streamlining and improving the government's ability to protect the United States, its citizens, and its infrastructure inside the nation's borders. From intelligence gathering and sharing to interdiction and apprehension, the goal was to bring all of the essential homeland security agencies in to one federal department and reduce the characteristically disparate and disconnected nature of previous homeland security agencies and responsibilities. Despite attempts to improve efficiency and efficacy, regulating the U.S. border and enforcing U.S. immigration policies remain significant challenges. The complexity of operations required to achieve the stated policy goals of the U.S. government, combined with the sheer volume of border traffic (licit and illicit, human and trade), hampered past attempts at effective border control, and cloud the potential for success of future operational undertakings.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Migration, Terrorism, Immigration, and Infrastructure
- Political Geography:
- United States
2284. Making discoveries in virtual worlds via the Cloud
- Author:
- Frank Pabian (ed.)
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- Analysts at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) http://cisac.stanford.edu/ together with colleagues at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies , Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) , are playing a leading role in deriving new, timely , and value-added information of global security and earth science relevance from a variety of open-source geospatial tools that include digital virtual globes like Google Earth together with satellite imagery available from commercial vendors via the internet Cloud . This article provides some discovery exemplars, by CISAC researchers and others, which have only quite recently become possible through the use of such tools.
- Topic:
- Security, Globalization, Intelligence, Science and Technology, and Communications
2285. A more in-depth, technical Q from Siegfried Hecker on North Korea
- Author:
- Siegfried S. Hecker
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Center for International Security and Cooperation
- Abstract:
- North Korea announced on April 2, 2013, that it would restart its nuclear facilities, including its 5 megawatt-electric (MWe) nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, north of the capital, which had been disabled and mothballed since an agreement in October 2007.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Israel, and North Korea
2286. English-Taught Master's Programs in Europe
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education
- Abstract:
- In recent years, European countries in which English is not the primary language of instruction have developed an increasing number of programs taught either fully or partly in English in order to serve domestic demand for higher education in English and to attract students from around the world. In an IIE briefing paper published in 2012, we looked at trends related to English-taught master's programs in Europe. We were able to gain new insights into the types of programs that were on offer, as well as the types of programs international students were looking for. This paper takes another look at data from StudyPortals.eu, the most comprehensive website related to educational offerings in Europe, in order to get a sense of where the market is going. In 2011, StudyPortals estimated that 90 percent of English-taught master's programs in Europe were represented on the website, which makes it a remarkably accurate reflection of the situation on the ground.
- Topic:
- Education, Markets, International Affairs, Labor Issues, and Immigration
- Political Geography:
- Europe
2287. Investing in the Future: Rebuilding Higher Education in Myanmar
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education
- Abstract:
- The Institute of International Education's delegation to Myanmar last month had an unusual start. Dr.Catherine Raymond, a faculty member at Northern Illinois University who curates the Burmese art collection there, was a part of our group and had taken on the mission to give back to Myanmar a Buddha sculpture created more than 1,000 years ago. At a ceremony with the minister of culture, we learned that the return of the Buddha was not an easy thing.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Economics, Education, Human Rights, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia and Myanmar
2288. Building Research and Teaching Capacity in Indonesia through International Collaboration
- Author:
- Flavia Ramos-Mattouss and Jeffrey Ayala Milligan
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education
- Abstract:
- This briefing paper, “ Building Research and Teaching Capacity in Indonesia through International Collaboration, ” published by the Institute of International Education's Center for International Partnerships, provides a detailed, data-driven look at the research and teaching capacity of Indonesian universities. The authors, Flavia Ramos-Mattoussi and Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, report on key findings from a USAID-funded project in which faculty members from Florida State University worked in collaboration with university partners in Indonesia to develop and implement a series of activities with the aim of building the capacity of teacher education institutions. This IIE briefing paper examines recent efforts in building the research and teaching capacity of Indonesian universities and the specific challenges in developing the research capacity of university lecturers in Indonesia.
- Topic:
- Development, Economics, Education, International Cooperation, International Affairs, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Florida
2289. Iceland and Europe: Drifting further apart?
- Author:
- Baldur Thorhallsso and Alyson J. K. Bailes
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Iceland applied for EU membership in 2009 at the height of the economic crisis. Four years later, a new government has put the application on hold: the majority of Icelanders are opposed to entry, but want to continue the accession process and put the results to a vote. Iceland's longer-standing problems with European integration stem from the issue of sovereignty in general, and maintaining control over fisheries and agriculture in particular. Since 2009, anti-European feelings have been stoked by the 'Icesave' dispute, while the prospective benefits of entry (including use of the euro) have been tarnished by witnessing the fate of other small states during the euro crisis. The new government proposes remaining a member of the EEA and developing relations with other world powers. But the US commitment to Iceland has weakened over the years, and 'rising' powers like China are unable, as yet, to solve the country's core problems. In terms of both its security and its standing within the global economy, Iceland is becoming more rather than less dependent on Europe over time. The question raised by the latest political turn is whether it will have to maintain that relationship from a distance, with limited control and with no guaranteed goodwill.
- Topic:
- Economics, International Trade and Finance, Political Economy, Regional Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
2290. Arctic Conflict Potential: Towards an extra-Arctic perspective
- Author:
- Juha Käpylä and Harri Mikkola
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Finnish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- According to a popular notion, huge natural resource reserves located in the Arctic region will lead to a conflictual “gold rush” when Arctic states compete to claim these reserves for themselves. More precisely, there is the potential for interstate conflict in the Arctic area related to unresolved border issues, control of the Arctic maritime routes, and demarcation of the resource-rich continental shelves under the Arctic Ocean. However, Arctic states have little to gain by letting the Arctic dynamics slip into a conflict state that would create an unfruitful investment environment in the region. Relatively well-functioning regional and international governance mechanisms further defuse the interstate conflict potential in the region. Despite the divergent political interests of various players, the intra-Arctic conflict potential remains low. Should interstate conflict surface in the Arctic, the source is most likely to be related to complex global dynamics that may spill over to the region and which cannot be addressed with existing Arctic governance mechanisms. This extra-Arctic perspective should be increasingly taken into consideration by scholars and policy-makers.
- Topic:
- Conflict Prevention, Climate Change, International Trade and Finance, Oil, and Natural Resources