Number of results to display per page
Search Results
162. Rape as Genocide: The Legal Response to Sexual Violence
- Author:
- Dr. Frances T. Pilch
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Global Security and Democracy
- Abstract:
- The last decade has witnessed a profound transformation in the treatment of sexual violence in international law. The overwhelming evidence of the widespread use of rape as a policy tool in the former Yugoslavia, combined with the tragedy of the genocide in Rwanda, in which rape was also widely prevalent, has led to a legal reconceptualization of sexual violence in internal and international conflicts. The ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, have genuinely broken new ground as they have confronted cases dealing with the complexities of rape, torture, and genocide. They have struggled with determining the legal definition of rape and finding a balance between the rights of witnesses and defendants. The revolutionary changes that have taken place in this area of the law in large part reflect the growing mobilization and influence of non-governmental organizations articulating the importance of the rights of women, and the increasing importance of the presence of women advocates, prosecutors, and judges.
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Genocide, Human Rights, and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Yugoslavia, and Sierra Leone
163. The Strategic Implications of a Nuclear-Armed Iran
- Author:
- Judith S. Yaphe and Kori N. Schake
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Scholars and other spcialists on Iran have argued about that country's political intentions and strategic amibitions since the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1979. In the 1980s Iran's efforts to export its revolution and support international terrorism raised the question of whether a moderate Islamic republic that was able to deal with the West could ever exist. The death of the Ayatollah Khomeini in 1989 and the succession of Ali Hashimi-Rafsanjani as president raised new issues for the 1990s. As the European and American oil and investment communities considered the race to open Iran commercially, scholars and diplomats debated Iranian efforts to recover from nearly a decade of war and revolution. They compared the merits of the European approach of initiating critical dialogue with the U.S. policy of containing and isolating Iran. Neither approach seemed to have much impact, both conceded, and Iranians continued to sort out their domestic political agenda and to decide how best to protect their strategic and national interests. The U.S. Government, for example, tried to estimate how much time and money Iran would need to modernize its military and to acquire new weapons systems despite projected low oil prices and the country's need to rebuild its damaged and neglected civilian and industrial infrastructure.1 The assumption underlying the U.S. projections was that Iran would be pursuing weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear technology and longrange missile systems.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, International Law, Nuclear Weapons, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Iran, and Middle East
164. Kosovo in Limbo: State-Building and "Substantial Autonomy"
- Author:
- Simon Chesterman
- Publication Date:
- 08-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Complex peace operations that involve state-building functions are difficult even when the political outcome is clear, as it is in East Timor. In situations such as Kosovo, where the final status of the territory under administration remains unclear, every aspect of state-building is more politically sensitive and more operationally complex. When this occurs in a highly militarized environment and in an unstable region, any departure from a supposedly “interim” solution becomes more difficult still. The Dayton Accords in Bosnia show the dangers of a difficult peace agreement evolving into a constitutional framework that is both unworkable and impossible to change. The conclusion of hostilities may provide the best incentive for belligerents to compromise, but it may subsequently become impossible to reopen such questions without the threat of renewed violence. Future peace agreements are therefore likely to contain state-building provisions that international institutions will assume the task of overseeing, in some situations without a clear political endpoint and exit strategy. In Kosovo, the elections slated for November 17, 2001, reflect a desire for measurable progress and an indication of when the mission will end. An April 2001 report by the UN Secretary-General on this topic was entitled “No exit without strategy”, warning that the UN has too often withdrawn or dramatically altered a peacekeeping operation, only to see the situation remain unstable or sink into renewed violence. Unfortunately, the attitude of lead actors within the Security Council is too often “no strategy without an exit”. State-building after a war will always take years, perhaps decades, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise to domestic publics. Elections and limited devolution notwithstanding, the international community will remain in Kosovo and Bosnia for the foreseeable future, certainly with a strong military presence and with at least a supervisory civilian authority. This is an undesirable outcome of what NATO styles as humanitarian interventions, but it is better than all the alternatives. The fact that UNMIK will remain in control of Kosovo for the foreseeable future raises the question of how it should govern. Within UNMIK, there is an increasing tension between those who regard respect for human rights and the rule of law as central to the institution-building aspect of UNMIK's mandate, and those who see this as secondary to the over-riding concerns of peace and security.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Bosnia, and Kosovo
165. Managing Security Challenges in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
- Author:
- Sheila Coutts and Kelvin Ong
- Publication Date:
- 06-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- While a functioning security sector provides the cornerstone for stable and democratic post-conflict societies, the record of the international community in establishing this critical function is mixed. Despite repeatedly having to manage the immediate post-conflict situation in various peace operations in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, the international community still fails to take the state of the local security sector adequately into account when planning its own intervention.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America
166. ECMI Civil Society Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Role of Annex 8 in Bridging Communities, Promoting Reconciliation, and Developing a Unique Identity in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Author:
- Valery Perry
- Publication Date:
- 12-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues
- Abstract:
- On Saturday, 15 December 2001, over 30 people gathered in Sarajevo to discuss the policy development and challenges of implementation related to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace (GFAP). The participants came from a broad range of relevant backgrounds, including the museum, culture, preservation, history, archaeology, architecture, civil society, and academic, governmental, and diplomatic fields. While full representation of the relevant government officials from the Federation of BiH (FbiH), Republika Srpska (RS), and Brcko District was expected, on the day before the workshop the representatives from the RS cancelled, and the representatives from Brcko failed to appear the day of the meeting.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, International Law, and Regional Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
167. Popes, Kings and Endogenous Institutions: The Concordat of Worms and the Origins of Sovereignty
- Author:
- Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
- Publication Date:
- 02-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Studies Association
- Abstract:
- Very rough preliminary and incomplete draft The modern state-centric international system is generally thought to have its origins in the Treaty of Westphalia. From that perspective, the modern sovereign state owes its origins to the resolution of the Thirty Years War. Prior to 1648, international politics are thought to have been less territorially focused, with feudal ties taking precedence over considerations of state. Here I set out a modest theory of competition between the Catholic church and European kings, especially the Holy Roman Emperor and the kings of France and England, during the years from 1122 onward. That theory suggests that the modern territorial state has its origins in the Concordat of Worms, 500 years earlier than is generally thought. It also suggests that the development of important institutions of the modern sovereign state are an endogenous product of strategic maneuvering between the Catholic Church and European kings over political control within their domains. Naturally, other factors, including competition between kings and barons, and aristocrats and merchants also play an important part in the evolution of political institutions. Those other considerations, however, are not examined here so that what I propose is a partial, incomplete account of the early developments that culminated in the modern territorial, sovereign state. Specifically, the theory maintains that the development of “modern” political institutions and the history of economic growth in Europe are to a significant degree the consequence of competition between monarchs and the Catholic church. This views stands in contrast to the general accounts of economic growth or of institution building found in the sociological literature beginning with Weber or in the historical and much of the political economy literature.
- Topic:
- International Law, Religion, and Sovereignty
- Political Geography:
- Europe
168. European Union Views on International Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading
- Author:
- Les Bissell, Johanna Hjerthen, Balachandar Jayaraman, Elizabeth Karkus, John Leahy, Gerald Mulder, Pamela Chasek, David Leonard Downie, Kevin Baumert, Sean Clark, and Joshua Tosteson
- Publication Date:
- 05-1998
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Columbia International Affairs Online
- Abstract:
- In December 1997, the Third Conference of the Parties (COP-3) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) met in Kyoto, Japan to negotiate a protocol to limit greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Two of the main features of the Kyoto Protocol are (1) legally binding requirements for Annex I countries to reduce collectively their emissions of six greenhouse gases by at least 5.2% below 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012; and (2) flexibility measures, including joint implementation (Article 6), a Clean Development Mechanism (Article 12) and emissions trading (Article 17, which appeared as Article 16bis in the draft Protocol text adopted in Kyoto) to encourage countries to meet their obligations at the lowest cost. Although emissions trading (ET) provisions were included in the Kyoto Protocol, the Parties did not establish rules and guidelines for the trading system. Instead, Governments have been asked to address these issues at COP-4, to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on 2-13 November 1998.
- Topic:
- Environment, International Cooperation, and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and United Nations
169. American-Ukrainian Nuclear Relations
- Author:
- Roman Popadiuk
- Publication Date:
- 10-1996
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- On June 1, 1996, the last strategic missiles were shipped from Ukraine to Russia, bringing to an end a contentious issue that had marred the early stages of U.S.-Ukraine relations. In welcoming this development, President Clinton stated, “I applaud the Ukrainian government for its historic contribution in reducing the nuclear threat .... We remain committed to supporting Ukraine through its ambitious and far-sighted reforms and to working with Ukraine and our European partners to promote Ukraine's integration into the European community.”
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and International Law
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Johannesburg
170. Trouble in Paradise? Europe in the 21st Century
- Author:
- Steven Philip Kramer and Irene Kyriakopoulos
- Publication Date:
- 03-1996
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- When political observers talk about European security, they invariably refer to the challenges Western Europe faces on its peripheries from a renationalized Russia, conflicts in the Balkans, and Islamic fundamentalism in North Africa. Rarely do they imagine that the greatest dangers to the new Europe may come from within, that the kind of stability Europe has enjoyed since World War II could be merely a passing chapter in history, not a transcendence of history. Without suggesting that there is necessarily a worst case ending, this study will argue that there is indeed a series of crises converging on post-Cold War Europe that threaten its stability and that need to be addressed by European policy makers and taken into account by Americans.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, International Law, and War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and North Africa