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121. In Pursuit of Sustainable Peace: The Seven Deadly Sins of Mediation

Author:
Lakhdar Brahimi and Salman Ahmed
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
One of the most important roles played by the civilian leadership of a peace operation is to help the parties to a conflict resolve their fundamental political differences through dialogue and compromise, rather than through violence. This role can be described in various ways: diplomatic efforts, mediation, peace-making, political facilitation, political process management or, simply, as the “political role” of the operation. It is an extremely difficult undertaking by any name, where success is difficult to achieve, but mistakes come easily. Some of these mistakes can have fatal consequences for the peace process in which the operation is embedded, and are referred to here as “the seven deadly sins.” These are: ignorance; arrogance; partiality; impotence; haste; inflexibility; and false promises.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, International Organization, and Peace Studies

122. Toward an Understanding of Peacekeeping Partnerships: Prospects, Lessons Learned and the Future of Partnerships in Africa

Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The conflicts in Africa have presented the international community with an unprecedented opportunity to cooperate in bringing stability to the continent. But despite a history of inter-institutional cooperation in peacekeeping there, developments in Darfur are showing that these relationships and their outcomes are still far from predictable. With these realities in mind, the Center on International Cooperation convened a group of experts in the field to discuss the nature of peacekeeping partnerships in Africa and whether they can be made more consistent.
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

123. In Pursuit of Sustainable Peace: The Seven Deadly Sins of Mediation

Author:
Lakhdar Brahimi and Salman Ahmed
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
One of the most important roles played by the civilian leadership of a peace operation is to help the parties to a conflict resolve their fundamental political differences through dialogue and compromise, rather than through violence. This role can be described in various ways: diplomatic efforts, mediation, peace-making, political facilitation, political process management or, simply, as the “political role” of the operation. It is an extremely difficult undertaking by any name, where success is difficult to achieve, but mistakes come easily. Some of these mistakes can have fatal consequences for the peace process in which the operation is embedded, and are referred to here as “the seven deadly sins.” These are: ignorance; arrogance; partiality; impotence; haste; inflexibility; and false promises.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Diplomacy, and Treaties and Agreements

124. UNIFIL: Old lessons for the new force

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Peacekeeping is a repetitive business. All too often, international forces are required to return to crumbling states that have already played host to one or more peace operations – and in some cases seem to have become dependent on outside interventions. Take Haiti, to which five separate UN missions have been deployed in the last fifteen years. Or Timor-Leste, which remained stable for less than five months after the UN departed in December 2005 – UN police are back there now, alongside Australian troops. Or, looking at a longer timeframe, think of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the 1960s, the UN deployed nearly 20,000 troops to the former Belgian colony. Today, it has similar-sized force back in the country - few analysts believe it should withdraw soon. And then there is Lebanon. Next year will be the thirtieth anniversary of the UN's first deployment to the south of the country. After last summer's crisis and the ensuing surge of UN troops, there may be blue helmets around to mark such anniversaries for a while yet. And it is possible to identify a series of recurring patterns in Lebanese peacekeeping.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Lebanon

125. Nuclear Weapons: The Challenges Ahead

Author:
Christine Wing
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Questions related to nuclear weapons are highly contested in the international arena—including the question of how these weapons constitute a challenge to human and international security. Does the challenge exist mainly in the incorporation of these weapons into military doctrines, or in the possibility that more states and/or terrorists will acquire nuclear capabilities? Have nuclear weapons and nuclear deterrence prevented major wars, or are they ultimately destabilizing—or could both be true?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Cooperation, Nuclear Weapons, and War

126. Promoting Group Justice: Fiscal Policies in Post-Conflict Countries

Author:
Frances Stewart, Graham Brown, and Alex Cobham
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Evidence suggests that economic inequalities – particularly “horizontal inequalities” among groups defined by ethnic, racial, linguistic, regional, and religious lines – can generate social tensions and fuel violent conflict. Well-designed fiscal policies can help build a sustainable peace by working to reduce these inequalities. This paper reviews some challenges raised by analyzing the impacts of tax and expenditure policies on inequality in post-conflict settings, and makes recommendations for incorporating distributional effects into fiscal policy making.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Debt, Political Economy, and Poverty

127. The Post-Kyoto Bidding War: Bringing developing countries into the fold

Author:
Alex Evans
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This briefing paper explores the difference between the EU and US-Australian positions on global climate policy in the wake of the 2007 Heiligendamm G8 summit and the UN High Level Event on climate change. It notes that although the two have very different analyses of the urgency of responding to climate change, they still concur on two of the most fundamental issues in post-Kyoto policy on climate change mitigation: neither side is arguing for a quantified ceiling on CO2 levels in the atmosphere, and neither is arguing for developing countries to take on quantified targets.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States and Australia

128. From Beirut to Baghdad?

Author:
Richard Gowan
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
Late last summer, I was looking for photos to illustrate an article on the influx of European peacekeepers into Lebanon. Amid the standard shots of armoured cars, one image was distinctly different. It showed a group of blue-helmeted troops striding purposefully up a beach – and being completely ignored by a nonchalant sunbather.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and War
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, Middle East, and Lebanon

129. Options for Revenue Generation in Post Conflict Environments

Author:
Michael Carnahan
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
This paper advances five proposals for policies to improve revenue generation in post-conflict environments. In the aftermath of violent conflict there often is a gap between demands for the restoration of basic public goods and services, including jobs and security, and governmental capacity to generate revenue to meet these pressing needs. Improved revenue generation is a key task for building both a sustainable state and a durable peace.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Development, and Economics

130. Peacekeeping in Sudan: The Dynamics of Protection, Partnerships and Inclusive Politics

Author:
Ian Johnstone and Alhaji M.S. Bah
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
The inter-related conflicts and peace processes in Sudan present a monumental peacekeeping challenge. The protracted crisis in Darfur has put the African Union – and the broader international community -- to a severe test. Plans for a hybrid African Union-United Nations operation there continue, but Khartoum remains opposed. Meanwhile, implementation of the north-south peace agreement is faltering, with the UN mission struggling to keep it on track in the face of indifference from both parties and frequent hostility from the north.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, International Cooperation, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan