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11. Climate Change and Migration in Southeast Asia: Responding to a New Human Security Challenge

Author:
Lorraine Elliott
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Migration and displacement are among the range of pressures on people and their communities likely to arise from the economic, social and environmental consequences of climate change. Despite fragmented data, the climate security literature has focused on the potential for climate change-induced migration to trigger social tensions and conflict within states and across borders. A human security approach seeks to ensure that people are placed at the centre of concerns about mobility and migration in response to climate change. This requires more than identifying those who are vulnerable to migration pressures. It necessitates an understanding of how migration and mobility choices are made, how vulnerabilities can be managed in ways that are participatory and responsive to local needs and circumstances, and how local, national and regional policy responses can strengthen the knowledge base and improve collaborative platforms for action.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Economics, Environment, and Migration
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

12. In search of food security: Addressing opacity and price volatility in ASEAN's rice sector

Author:
Sally Trethewie
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Given that volatility in rice prices is expected to continue, governments in Southeast Asia should consider policy measures to address the factors that impact price formation and stability. The non- transparent nature of the way rice is traded in Southeast Asia is contrary to the free-trade rationale of ASEAN agricultural trade policy and food security frameworks. The underlying dynamic of opacity (of information) is the reason for policy decisions that contribute to instability in rice price formation. In particular, limited information on the availability of rice and composition of trade deals results in misinformed purchasing behaviour, particularly during price shocks. The lack of transparency perpetuates distrust in the regional rice market, leading countries to disengage from the market and instead pursue economically inefficient self- sufficiency strategies.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Food
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

13. Burmese Refugee Women and the Gendered Politics of Exile, Reconstruction and Human Rights

Author:
Sheena Kumari
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
This research paper examines the predicament of Burmese women refugees in India and explores the complexities of the female refugee experience. Combining theoretical perspectives with personal narratives and oral histories, this paper provides a view of the struggles faced by refugee women as both victims of circumstance and agents of regeneration. More significantly, the case of Burmese refugee women challenges traditional stereotypes and gendered binary constructions of victimhood associated with the refugee experience. Their participation in community based refugee organisations and the larger women's rights movement has provided refugee women with new scope for action, activism, social interconnectedness, cultural nationalism, transnational linkages, and economic and political mobilisation.
Topic:
Economics, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Refugee Issues, and Political Activism
Political Geography:
India and Southeast Asia

14. Would a Southeast Asian rice futures market be feasible, and what of food security?

Author:
Sally Trethewie
Publication Date:
05-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
In 2010, it was proposed that Singapore consider hosting an international rice futures market, with cited benefits being enhanced price discovery and price stabilisation. The RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies hosted an Expert Working Group Meeting in Singapore in March 2012 to discuss the feasibility of this proposal. The market conditions of the Southeast Asian rice sector are seen as an impediment to the operation of an international futures contract, although opinion is divided as to the degree that these conditions would affect a contract. Whether feasible or not, the proposal for a rice futures market raises several issues related to the region's food security, in particular, the potential impact of futures trading on rice price volatility and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. This NTS Policy Brief provides a summary of these issues and presents considerations for Southeast Asian policymakers.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, International Trade and Finance, Markets, and Food
Political Geography:
Singapore and Southeast Asia

15. Responsibility to Protect in Southeast Asia: Enlarging Space for Civil Society

Author:
Pavin Chachavalpongpun
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
The concept of Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is relatively new to many Southeast Asians, who have traditionally relied on the state for security and therefore faced a sense of hopelessness when such protection was lacking. While the state represented the only institution ensuring human security for the masses in the past, civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have today emerged as indispensable non-state actors campaigning for humanitarian interventions in situations where the state has failed in the provision of human security. Indeed, CSOs and NGOs are playing crucial roles in advocating and championing the cause of R2P despite encountering extensive obstacles, which range from an overwhelming sovereignty- conscious mentality, and an exploitation of cultural pretexts such as Asian values on the part of the state for a justification of its apathetic attitude toward R2P, to a lack of awareness among the people about the significance of R2P to their own security.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Non-Governmental Organization, and Governance
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

16. Pigs, People and a Pandemic: Communicating Risk in a City-state

Author:
K. U. Menon
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, also known as the swine flu pandemic, was a test of risk communications methodology and processes. Governments were called upon to make tough decisions in the absence of substantive epidemiological data and baffling case fatality rates (CFRs). While New York adopted mitigation measures, Hong Kong and Singapore followed aggressive containment protocols. Recent studies however suggest that the benefits of such measures – achieved at great cost and allocation of resources – are minimal. This review looks primarily at the experience of a small city-state, Singapore, and compares it with two other equally densely populated cities – New York and Hong Kong – and how all three confronted the challenge and the lessons to be drawn from their experience in risk communications. Communicating risk required deft handling by political leaders and officials to persuade people to adopt strict measures. In the wake of the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic, there were high expectations in Hong Kong and Singapore for visible containment measures to continue in the event of future pandemics even when benefits were known to be minimal. Cultural differences may explain the receptivity of the populace in these countries to the stiff measures put in place to contain the disease. However, this requires further study.
Topic:
Health
Political Geography:
Israel, Asia, and Southeast Asia

17. Security Sector Governance and Conflict Management in Southeast Asia

Author:
Mark E. delas Alas
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Security sector governance (SSG) poses a huge challenge to states transitioning to democracy, particularly in cases where the military and other components of the security sector had been very influential in the conduct of government affairs. SSG is even more of a challenge in conflict-ridden societies where the state's capacity to ensure internal security has been undermined. Democratic norms suggest that effective SSG involves not only the management of core security forces, but also competent civilian oversight. In addition, SSG programmes in Southeast Asia will have to recognise and address the specific realities and experiences of a particular country. This policy brief is based on the proceedings of the Second Study Group Meeting on 'Security Sector Governance and Conflict Management in Southeast Asia' organised by the Institute for Strategic and Development Studies, Inc. (ISDS, Philippines) in collaboration with the RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies on 11 February 2011.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, and Governance
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

18. Climate Insecurities: Exploring the Strategic Implications for Asia-Pacific Armed Forces

Author:
Evan A. Laksmana
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
This paper seeks to explore and assess the implications of climate insecurities for the armed forces of the Asia-Pacific region, and in particular Southeast Asia. It identifies key issues and trends related to climate insecurities – in the areas of mass migration, diseases, natural disasters and the scarcity of water, food and other resources. It then details the implications for armed forces in the region with reference to the strategic, institutional and operational realms, and contends that climate change will become both a burden multiplier and a threat multiplier in the decades to come.
Topic:
Climate Change, Health, and Migration
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia and Asia-Pacific

19. Food Production and Environmental Health in Southeast Asia: The Search for Complementary Strategies

Author:
J. Jackson Ewing
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Populations are growing and becoming more urban throughout much of the developing world, with the Southeast Asian region proving no exception. One result of this seemingly inescapable trend is that more food will have to be produced by rural communities that continue to decline in size relative to their city-dwelling neighbours. This is true both in domestic contexts, where rural hinterlands will feed urban centres of business, technological advancement and trade, and in international food markets, where countries with high rural agricultural production capabilities will be sought after by countries that have significant food importing needs. While the processes by which these trends play out are complex, varying and at times unpredictable, it is clear that food production must increase.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

20. Differentiated Policies: Indonesia's International Leadership and Internal Challenges

Author:
Alistair D.B. Cook
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Indonesia's position as a regional champion of democracy and human rights has become prominent in international forums since the resignation of President Suharto in 1998 and the subsequent period of internal democratic reform. Its proactive foreign policy culminated in the establishment of the Bali Democracy Forum in 2008 to promote and strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Asia through a process of learning and sharing. While Indonesia's proactive foreign policy continues, significant internal challenges remain. This policy brief offers an insight into one of Indonesia's longest running internal challenges, Papua, and suggests the use of the human security lens as an alternative to the dominant traditional security lens used by many policymakers, in an effort to promote conflict resolution and match developments at home with its proactive strategies abroad.
Topic:
Security, Democratization, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Asia, and Southeast Asia