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182. Colombia: Learning Institutions Enable Integrated Response
- Author:
- Thomas A. Marks
- Publication Date:
- 09-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- Current emphasis in irregular warfare highlights whole-of-government response and the imperative for "learning institutions." Only by being the latter can the former engage in the timely, flexible mastery of constantly changing circumstances imperative for successful implementation of the "ends-ways-means" methodology. Few countries have worked harder or made greater steps in this direction than Colombia.
- Political Geography:
- Colombia
183. 2010 Academic Rankings of World Universities
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for World-Class Universities
- Abstract:
- The 2010 Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) is released today by the Center for World-Class Universities of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Starting from 2003, ARWU has been presenting the world top 500 universities annually based on a set of objective indicators and third-party data. ARWU has been recognized as the precursor of global university rankings and one of the most influential lists.
- Topic:
- Education and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- China and Colombia
184. Peace in Colombia: Can the European Union and the US Collaborate?
- Author:
- Dorly Castañeda
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for Latin American and Iberian Studies at Columbia University
- Abstract:
- Colombia has been the recipient of the European Union Official Development Aid (ODA) and US foreign aid (military aid and ODA) since the late 1990s. Both international actors have their own particular understanding of the armed conflict, the possible solutions and the role of foreign aid. From one side, the US emphasises military aid and uses ODA in function with security objectives by working closely with the central government and President Uribe. On the other side the EU cautiously develops a common foreign policy to Colombia and insists on civil society participation and local programs in a rather bottom up peace building approach. Considering their different approaches to the Colombian conflict, the war on drugs, the war against terrorism and human rights in the Andean region this paper will asses the possibility of collaboration between both international actors.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Civil Society, Humanitarian Aid, and War on Drugs
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Colombia, and Latin America
185. Ending Colombia's FARC Conflict: Dealing the Right Card
- Publication Date:
- 03-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Latin America's oldest guerrilla organisation, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), is under severe stress. Close to seven years of the Uribe presidency have hurt the FARC's capability and morale. Several top commanders have been captured, killed in combat, murdered by their own men, or died of natural causes, as in the case of Manuel Marulanda, the FARC's historic leader. Thousands of foot soldiers have deserted, bringing the guerrillas' troop strength down by almost half, to perhaps 10,000 today. Still, under its new leader, Alfonso Cano, the FARC has shown renewed internal cohesion and continued capacity to adapt to changes in the security environment. The Uribe government remains wedded to its hardline military approach until the FARC has no option but to negotiate surrender, but this strategy is problematic. President Uribe should keep military pressure up but emphasise devising a political strategy capable of drawing a weakened but still largely intact FARC into peace talks. Priority should also be on strengthening rule of law, protecting human rights and increasing citizen security.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Human Rights, and War
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
186. Institutional Reform and Rights Revolutions in Latin America: The Cases of Costa Rica and Colombia
- Author:
- Bruce M. Wilson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- German Institute of Global and Area Studies
- Abstract:
- This article analyzes the conditions that allowed for expansive rights revolutions in Costa Rica and Colombia. My research suggests that many of the preconditions for rights revolutions in other regions of the world are also central to understanding Latin American cases. Of particular relevance is judicial system design including the high courts\' operating rules concerning access, standing, and judicial formality. These factors can and do mitigate the need for extensive resources and support structures necessary in other non-Latin American countries in which rights revolutions have occurred.
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
187. Practicing Peace, Living with War: Going Upriver in Colombia
- Author:
- Kimberly Theidon
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- It is disconcerting to share a hotel room with someone who needs to tell you in detail how he learned to use a machete to chop the human body up into unrecognizable chunks of flesh. Vladimiro's military training showed not only in his butchering prowess, but also in his upright posture, an odd juxtaposition of perfect etiquette and lethal brutality.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, and Counterinsurgency
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
188. Using Social Power to Balance Soft Power: Venezuela's Foreign
- Author:
- Javier Corrales
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- President Hugo Cha´vez of Venezuela has achieved what no other Latin American leader has since the end of the Cold War: bringing security concerns in the Western Hemisphere back to U.S. foreign policy. Might Venezuela provoke a war against neighboring Colombia, spread weapons among insurgents abroad, disrupt oil sales to the United States, provide financial support to Hezbollah, al Qaeda or other fundamentalist movements, offer safe havens for drug dealers, invite Russia to open a military base on its territory, or even acquire nuclear weapons? These security concerns did not exist less than a decade ago, but today they occupy the attention of U.S. officials. Attention to these conventional security issues, however, carries the risk of ignoring what thus far has been Venezuela's most effective foreign policy tool in challenging the United States: the use of generous handouts abroad, peppered with a pro-poor, distribution-prone discourse. While the U.S. debate revolves around ''hard power'' and ''soft power,'' this other form can be called ''social power diplomacy.''
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy and Cold War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Colombia, and Latin America
189. Democratic Governance and the Rule of Law: Lessons from Colombia
- Author:
- Gabriel Marcella
- Publication Date:
- 11-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College
- Abstract:
- Colombia has experienced conflict for decades. In the 1990s it was a paradigm of the failing state, beset with all manner of troubles: terrorism, kidnapping, murder, drug trafficking, corruption, an economic downturn of major scope, general lawlessness, and brain drain. Today the country is much safer, and the agents of violence are clearly on the defensive. Nonetheless, much work lies ahead to secure the democratic system. Security and the rule of law are fundamental to the task. As the monopoly over the legitimate use of force is established, democratic governance also needs the architecture of law: ministry of justice, courts, legislative scrutiny, law enforcement agencies, regulatory bodies, public defenders, police, correctional system, legal statutes, contracts, university level academic education to train lawyers, judges, and investigators, along with engagement with civil society to promote a culture of lawfulness. Security without the rule of law puts a society at risk of falling into a Hobbesian hell.
- Topic:
- Security, Law Enforcement, and Law
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and Latin America
190. Power, Morality, and Self-Interest: The United States and European Union Foreign Policy Impact on Human Rights in Colombia
- Author:
- Federico Segura Molina
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Macalester International
- Institution:
- Macalester College
- Abstract:
- This essay examines the impact of the foreign policy of the United States and the European Union (EU) on the human rights situation in Colombia. Not only was this project an essential component of the Macalester-Maastricht Globalization in Comparative Perspective Study Abroad Program, but a variety of factors also motivated my study: • Colombia is an anomaly in the study of foreign policy and human rights. As a region with uncommon political, economic, and social realities, Colombia is a country where two distinct approaches to foreign policy and human rights, those of the U.S. and EU, are simultaneously at work. Despite their significant ideological and philosophical differences, however, both the U.S. and the EU strongly support Colombia's administration and its national policies. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of the human rights situation in Colombia and to create effective policies in the future, it is important to understand the unusual impact international action has had on national policy and the fate of human rights. It is imperative to reconcile these two different approaches to for-eign policy, as well as the myriad perspectives and accounts of the current human rights situation in Colombia. It is my desire to inspire reflection upon how past and current actions of the U.S. and the EU have ameliorated or deteriorated the human rights situation in Colombia. In addition, I hope to contribute to the search for a long-lasting solution to the political, economic, social, and ideologi-cal chaos that has wreaked havoc upon Colombian society. Finally, I have a strong personal connection to the topic. As a citizen of Colombia who is pursuing an undergraduate degree in Interna-tional Studies in the United States and the Netherlands, I have a deep interest in exploring the complex connections between Colom-bia, the United States, and the European Union.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Colombia