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1421. Nicaragua and the Dynamics of a Revolution

Author:
Marcelo Lopez de Aragon
Publication Date:
07-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Council on International Policy (CIP)
Abstract:
Since April 18, 2018, Nicaragua has been stricken by civil unrest initially triggered by the government’s lack of response to wildfires in an environmentally protected reserve. Compounding matters, the government introduced unilateral reforms, which were subsequently withdrawn, to the country’s social security system that would have increased contributions and lowered benefits. Unaccustomed to protests, the government, headed by authoritarian President Daniel Ortega, reacted violently. What began as a relatively small and peaceful protest by university students, was met with brutal force by the police and paramilitary groups using live ammunition fired at civilians. To date, the total body count numbers in the hundreds, with over a thousand injured and hundreds arbitrarily imprisoned. Undaunted, thousands of Nicaraguans have maintained daily protests, demanding the end of the government’s violent attacks. More importantly, their demands have now expanded to also include a complete overhaul of the country’s governmental institutions as they are widely seen as having been manipulated by President Ortega. Undemocratic reforms such as re-writing of the Constitution to allow for his third term in office, the elimination of term limits, and allowing his wife as his Vice-President are core to the protestors’ concerns, which escalated from modest protests around wildfires and changes to social security. These pent up grievances have the protesters demanding the resignation of Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, in power for over 11 years, to be followed by early elections.
Topic:
International Affairs and Popular Revolt
Political Geography:
Nicaragua and Global Focus

1422. Divided at the centre: Germany, Poland, and the troubles of the Trump era

Author:
Piotr Buras and Josef Janning
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
European Council On Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Berlin and Warsaw have very different ideas about how to respond to the challenge Trump’s presidency poses to Europe. While Germany emphasises the need to strengthen Europe’s resilience and unity, the Polish response has been to embrae the opportunities of the new political reality and enhance its bilateral partnership with the US. These differing approaches may aggravate the crisis in the Polish-German bilateral relationship and negatively affect the European Union’s defence integration and arms control policies. Warsaw should use NATO as the framework for discussions on strengthening the American military presence in Poland. Germany should be open to a strategic debate on the issue and no longer hide behind concerns about the NATO-Russia Founding Act (which Russia has abrogated). Instead of talking about “European sovereignty”, Poland and Germany should join other member states in clearly defining the vulnerabilities that the EU as a whole must address, including those resulting from US policy.
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1423. Challenges to the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union: Black Sea Region (Crimea) and Syria

Author:
Plamen Pantev
Publication Date:
09-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Security and International Studies (ISIS)
Abstract:
A shorter version of this Research Study was presented at the International Conference: “Bulgaria. Ten Years After Its Integration in the EU and the Upcoming Presidency of the EU Council 2018”, convened on 21-22 November 2017 in Berlin, Germany, and organised by the Southeast Europe Association, Germany, The German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations, and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. The activity of Bulgaria and the EU during the Presidency of Sofia in the first half of 2018 proved the consistency of the assessments in the presented paper a year earlier. New developments and facts confirmed the growing complexity of the global strategic situation, the rising need of the Union to keep its unity in the intensifying competition of the global centers of power, the necessity of clear definition of the strategic autonomy of the EU. The slogan of the Bulgarian Presidency – “United We Stand”, vividly illustrated the correct Bulgaria’s perception of the evolving international political environment
Topic:
International Cooperation and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe

1424. Advancing the U.S.-Korea Economic Agenda

Author:
Wendy Cutler and Hyemin Lee
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Society Policy Institute
Abstract:
For nearly 70 years, the United StatesRepublic of Korea (hereafter, Korea) alliance has remained strong, built mainly on shared strategic and national security interests. While the North Korean nuclear threat has long dominated political discussions and media headlines, today the economic pillar of the relationship is no less important. Economic engagement and cooperation have been strengthened since the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) went into effect in 2012, which in turn helped solidify the overall bilateral relationship.
Topic:
International Political Economy
Political Geography:
America and Korea

1425. Carbon Market Cooperation in Northeast Asia: Assessing Challenges and Overcoming Barriers

Author:
Jackson Ewing
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Society Policy Institute
Abstract:
ACROSS ALL ERAS AND IN ALL PLACES, POLICYMAKERS MAKE DECISIONS on incomplete information. It is fundamental to public leadership—particularly at the highest levels—that decisions taken reflect some personal judgment of the existing evidence and arguments at hand. Uncertainty of outcome and the risk of unintended consequences are ever-present
Topic:
International Affairs and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1426. Ties That Bind: Quantifying China’s public diplomacy and its “good neighbor” effect

Author:
Samantha Custer and et al
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Asia Society Policy Institute
Abstract:
This paper aims to increase the understanding of scholars, practitioners, and observers of Chinese public diplomacy regarding which tools Beijing deploys, with whom, and with what effects. To this end, AidData—a research lab at William & Mary—in collaboration with the Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), collected both qualitative and quantitative data on Chinese public diplomacy activities in the EAP region from 2000 through 2016
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1427. Development as Dignity

Author:
Dapo Oyewole, Andrew Quinn, and Holly Kear
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
What is development? What does it look like? Development means different things to different people and in an increasingly polarized world, voices from the Global South are urgently needed to provide a balance of perspectives, lest we hear mostly one side of a multifaceted story. The Aspen New Voices Fellows writing in this anthology all agree that fundamentally, development is about dignity. Dignity of people. Dignity of planet. Dignity of life. The stories in this collection reflect this quest for dignity and share engaging insights and moving stories from diverse countries in Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. The authors challenge us, inspire us and force us to open our eyes to the many ways we can truly see and foster ‘development as dignity.’
Topic:
International Affairs and International Development
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1428. Global Magnitsky Sanctions: Raising the Human Rights and Anti-Corruption Bar

Author:
Samantha Sultoon
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Economic sanctions have become a policy tool-of-choice for the US government. Yet sanctions and their potential pitfalls are often misunderstood. The Economic Sanctions Initiative (ESI) seeks to build a better understanding of the role sanctions can and cannot play in advancing policy objectives and of the impact of sanctions on the private sector, which bears many of the implementation costs.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

1429. The Citizens’ Opinion of the Police in Serbia

Author:
Bojan Elek and Sasa Djordjevic
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
Six out of ten citizens trust the police (61%), which positions this Serbian institution at the world average: between 60 and 90 percent. At the same time, seven out of ten citizens believe that police officers are corrupt (69%), while three quarters are convinced that their interests are subordinated to those of politics (72%).
Topic:
International Affairs
Political Geography:
Serbia

1430. Water Crises, Security and Climate Change

Author:
Geoffrey Kemp and Luke Hagberg
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for the National Interest
Abstract:
The historically severe drought in Syria from 2006-2011 led to the migration of rural communities to already overburdened urban centers, which concurrent with the state’s mismanagement of freshwater resources, helped foment the social unrest and the uprisings against President Bashar al-Assad. The ongoing conflict has had repercussions around the globe with refugees fleeing to, and having an unmistakable political impact upon, neighboring states and Europe. The war in Yemen was rooted in the Arab Spring, but while the attempts to overthrow President Ali Abdullah Saleh were eventually successful, the political transition was not. The overextraction of Yemen’s groundwater led to an unprecedented water crisis that has been exacerbated by the civil war. Terrorist cells, militant insurgencies, and foreign interventions have undermined efforts to reform the Yemeni government and address this humanitarian catastrophe.
Topic:
International Security, International Affairs, and Water
Political Geography:
Global Focus