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112. Cooperation from Crisis? Regional Responses to Humanitarian Emergencies
- Author:
- Walter Kemp, Jérémie Labbé, and Lilianne Fan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, could the humanitarian crisis afflicting the country and its neighbors provide an entryway for regional cooperation? This policy paper examines how regional responses to humanitarian crises have succeeded or failed to meet humanitarian objectives in order to inform approaches to contemporary crises. It also assesses whether such regional responses contributed to strengthening regional integration and cooperation, paving the way for increased regional stability and an improved capacity to respond to emergencies. The report explores two different humanitarian crises: the war in the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008. Examining the ways in which countries in each region and regional organizations addressed humanitarian needs, it draws a number of lessons that could be applied in contemporary crises: Regional ownership over the response is crucial, but not necessarily spontaneous. External actors can usefully contribute through a balanced mix of pressure and technical support. Preexisting regional organizations can provide a valuable institutional framework on which to build the response. An approach that focuses on the specific needs of the most vulnerable individuals can help to depoliticize discussions while strengthening trust among regional stakeholders. Complementary policy-level and expert-level processes can equip the response with both political commitment and regular working relationships for addressing tangible needs.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Humanitarian Aid, Islam, Regional Cooperation, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, Yugoslavia, Syria, and Myanmar
113. Ceasefires sans peace process in Myanmar: The Shan State Army, 1989–2011
- Author:
- Tin Maung Maung Than and Samara Yawnghwe
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
- Abstract:
- Resolving the enduring internal conflict between the central state and the ethnic nationalities in Myanmar is at the heart of the continued development of the country as a whole. However, a solution may require flexibility when it comes to defining the territorial integrity of the country and its national identity. The 1962 coup, which implemented a policy of unification through a centralised authority backed by military force, has had long-lasting consequences in the form of fragmentation and disunity that have tended to be framed as 'rebellion' or 'insurgency' by the central government. The problem of how to turn ceasefires into a successful and genuine peace process is one that Myanmar urgently faces today.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Development, Ethnic Conflict, and Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia and Myanmar
114. Investing in the Future: Rebuilding Higher Education in Myanmar
- Publication Date:
- 04-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Institute of International Education
- Abstract:
- The Institute of International Education's delegation to Myanmar last month had an unusual start. Dr.Catherine Raymond, a faculty member at Northern Illinois University who curates the Burmese art collection there, was a part of our group and had taken on the mission to give back to Myanmar a Buddha sculpture created more than 1,000 years ago. At a ceremony with the minister of culture, we learned that the return of the Buddha was not an easy thing.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Economics, Education, Human Rights, and Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia and Myanmar
115. How EU sanctions work: a new narrative
- Author:
- Francesco Giumelli
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- The European Union has devoted growing attention to sanctions since the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty.1 In total, the Council has imposed Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) sanctions targeting countries, economic sectors, groups, individuals and entities on 27 different occasions. The novelty in the area of sanctions is that targets are not only states, as in the recent cases of Iran and Syria, but they are also individuals and non-state entities, e.g. anti-terrorist lists, President Robert Mugabe and his associates, and several companies connected with the military junta in Burma/Myanmar. Additionally, the contexts in which sanctions are utilised can be diverse, ranging from the protection of human rights to crisis management and non-proliferation. Despite the fact that the effectiveness of sanctions has been much debated, the EU has developed a sanctioning policy and intensified its adoption of sanctions. Sanctions were traditionally seen as a way to impose economic penalties as a means of extracting political concessions from targets, but EU sanctions do not always impose a cost nor do they always seek to induce behavioural change. To this extent, a new narrative may be needed.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Economics, Human Rights, International Cooperation, International Law, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Burma, and Myanmar
116. Myanmar: Choosing Sides
- Author:
- Megha Bahree
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- NAYPYIDAW—In September 2007, India and China, Myanmar's two principal neighbors, stood by valiantly as the ruling junta brutally suppressed protests over increased fuel prices, led by pro-democracy groups and Buddhist monks. At least 13 were killed and thousands arrested. The nascent democratic transition that began in March 2011 has now placed Myanmar at the center of Southeast Asia's strategic landscape. Not surprisingly, India and China are stepping up their efforts to win deals—and influence—in the new capital, Naypyidaw, even as they face new competition from the Western world. But neither of the two Asian neighbors is particularly welcome here.
- Political Geography:
- China, India, Southeast Asia, Myanmar, and Naypyidaw
117. Anatomy: World's Most Isolated Countries
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- World Policy Journal
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- World Policy Journal ranks the top 10 most isolated countries based on a weighted series of criteria including number of countries directly connected by plane, the percentage of individuals on the Internet, the number of foreign visitors, the percentage of the total population that are immigrants, and imports per capita in dollars.
- Political Geography:
- North Korea, Somalia, Myanmar, and Tamil Nadu
118. Toward a Reorganization of the Political Landscape in Burma (Myanmar)? (Vers une recomposition de l’espace politique en Birmanie ?)
- Author:
- Renaud Egreteau
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
- Abstract:
- In March 2011, the transfer of power from the junta of general Than Shwe to the quasi-civil regime of Thein Sein was a time of astonishing political liberalization in Burma. This was evidenced specifically in the re-emergence of parliamentary politics, the return to prominence of Aung San Suu Kyi elected deputy in 2012 and by the shaping of new political opportunities for the population and civil society. Yet, the trajectory of the transition has been chiefly framed by the Burmese military’s internal dynamics. The army has indeed directed the process from the start and is now seeking to redefine its policy influence. While bestowing upon civilians a larger role in public and state affairs, the army has secured a wide range of constitutional prerogatives. The ethnic issue, however, remains unresolved despite the signature of several ceasefires and the creation of local parliaments. Besides, the flurry of foreign investments and international aid brought in by the political opening and the end of international sanctions appears increasingly problematic given the traditional role played in Burma by political patronage, the personification of power and the oligarchization of the economy.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Democratization, Human Rights, Politics, Peacekeeping, and State
- Political Geography:
- Asia, Burma, and Myanmar
119. A Good Office? Twenty Years of UN Mediation in Myanmar
- Author:
- Anna Magnusson and Morten B. Pedersen
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- The UN Secretary-General's good offices on Myanmar, now in their twentieth year, have been one of the longest such diplomatic efforts in the history of the world organization. The mandate derives from the General Assembly, which since 1993 has been requesting “the assistance of the Secretary-General” in implementing its annual resolutions on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Since a special rapporteur was already in place at that time, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali defined his role as one of “good offices” rather than fact-finding, a decision that has remained unchallenged.1 An informal 1994 framework agreement with the Myanmar government listed three broad categories of subjects for dialogue: (1) return to democracy, including the 1990 election, the National Convention, and the situation of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political leaders; (2) reintegration of the ethnic minorities into the political life of Myanmar; and (3) human rights and humanitarian issues.Yet, in practice, three successive secretaries-general and their special envoys have focused on the first of these, a return to democracy—and in particular, on mediating between the military government and Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic opposition.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Human Rights, International Trade and Finance, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Israel, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar
120. Myanmar: Storm Clouds on the Horizon
- Publication Date:
- 11-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Myanmar's leaders continue to demonstrate that they have the political will and the vision to move the country decisively away from its authoritarian past, but the road to democracy is proving hard. President Thein Sein has declared the changes irreversible and worked to build a durable partnership with the opposition. While the process remains incomplete, political prisoners have been released, blacklists trimmed, freedom of assembly laws implemented, and media censorship abolished. But widespread ethnic violence in Rakhine State, targeting principally the Rohingya Muslim minority, has cast a dark cloud over the reform process and any further rupturing of intercommunal relations could threaten national stability. Elsewhere, social tensions are rising as more freedom allows local conflicts to resurface. A ceasefire in Kachin State remains elusive. Political leaders have conflicting views about how power should be shared under the constitution as well as after the 2015 election. Moral leadership is required now to calm tensions and new compromises will be needed if divisive confrontation is to be avoided.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Democratization, Human Rights, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Southeast Asia and Myanmar