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12. Virtuality, Perception and Reality in Myanmar's Democratic Reform
- Author:
- Victoria Christensen
- Publication Date:
- 08-2012
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
- Abstract:
- Since the summer of 2011, the country of Myanmar has been experiencing rapid democratic reform. Headlines lauding these positive changes have become commonplace in the international media. However, experts and academics who have been involved in the decade-long campaign to bring peace and democracy to Myanmar remain divided over how sincere these changes are. Some accuse the Government of carrying out “window-dressing” reforms to please the Western governments and enable the lifting of sanctions. They argue that the Government has a vested interest in maintaining the reins of power and that there is no incentive to make true democratic reforms. During a speech in Oslo in June 2012, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmarese Pro-democracy leader described the recent reforms as positive but warned against blind faith in the process and pointed out the main challenges that remain unresolved – namely the ethnic issues and the ongoing imprisonment of political prisoners.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Human Rights, and Foreign Aid
- Political Geography:
- Taiwan, Tehran, and Kobani
13. Iran's Declining Influence in Iraq
- Author:
- Babak Rahimi
- Publication Date:
- 12-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Washington Quarterly
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- ''Three Whom God Should Not Have Created: Persians, Jews, and Flies,'' was the provocative title of a pamphlet published in 1940 by Saddam Hussein's uncle, Khairallah Talfah. Saddam himself incorporated suchanti-Iranian sentiment into Ba'athist state ideology after his rise to power in 1979 and into the bloody 1980—1988 Iran—Iraq war. Such hostility is still visible today under the Victory Arch, popularly known as the Crossed Swords, in central Baghdad where thousands of the helmets of Iranian soldiers are held in nets, with some half buried in the ground. Before 2003, every year Saddam and his soldiers would proudly march over the helmets, as the symbol of Iraq's triumph over Persia.
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Iran, and Tehran
14. Dealing with Iran: How can the EU Achieve its strategic Objectives?
- Author:
- Shirin Pakfar
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The European Union has a unique opportunity to prove its relevance as a global foreign policy actor through resolving the international community's standoff with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Using its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and its member states, the EU should utilize its powerful trade and energy ties with Tehran to embark on a dialogue with the regime that goes beyond the nuclear programme and addresses a broader set of issues of mutual concern.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Iran, Middle East, and Tehran
15. Iran's nuclear challenge: nine years and counting
- Author:
- Wyn Q Bowen and Jonathan Brewer
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Chatham House
- Abstract:
- The technical and political evidence that Iran is seeking to establish a 'nuclear hedging' capability has gradually increased over the past nine years. The regime in Tehran has continued to insist that its nuclear ambitions are purely civilian in nature and it has resisted the international community's dual-track policy, encompassing both negotiations and sanctions, to persuade Iran to be fully transparent about its nuclear activities and plans, and to suspend work related to uranium enrichment and plutonium separation. While the prospects for a negotiated solution currently appear slim, the regime does not yet appear to have decided whether, or when, to produce nuclear weapons and to break out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It is essential, therefore, to maintain and if necessary to build up the pressure on Iran and to strengthen efforts to disrupt its procurement of technology and materials for its nuclear programme. It is also imperative for the international community to maintain negotiations and also consider alternative diplomatic approaches to enhance the prospects of keeping Iran focused purely on civil nuclear ambitions, while at the same time resolving questions related to the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear programme.
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Tehran
16. Taliban's Factor in U.S.-Iran Relations: 2001-2009
- Author:
- Majid Behestani and Mahdi Hedayati Shahidani
- Publication Date:
- 07-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Iranian Review of Foreign Affairs
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic Research (CSR)
- Abstract:
- Since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the state of interaction between Tehran and Washington has seen considerable ups and downs. Conflict between the Islamic Republic of Iran's national interests and those of the United States gave rise to the dominance of strategic confrontation between the two states, though some cooperative actions have been witnessed between the two sides. The last example refers to some collaboration between Iran and the United States concerning the question of Afghanistan. In this article, we seek to analyze the trend governing the two actors' behavior in the region between 2001 and 2009, using a historical approach and considering the Taliban's agency.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, Iran, Washington, Tehran, and Taliban
17. Drums of War: Israel and the "Axis of Resistance"
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- Of all the explanations why calm has prevailed in the Israeli-Lebanese arena since the end of the 2006 war, the principal one also should be cause for greatest concern: fear among the parties that the next confrontation would be far more devastating and broader in scope. None of the most directly relevant actors – Israel, Hizbollah, Syria and Iran – relishes this prospect, so all, for now, are intent on keeping their powder dry. But the political roots of the crisis remain unaddressed, the underlying dynamics are still explosive, and miscalculations cannot be ruled out. The only truly effective approach is one that would seek to resume – and conclude – meaningful Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese peace talks. There is no other answer to the Hizbollah dilemma and, for now, few better ways to affect Tehran's calculations. Short of such an initiative, deeper political involvement by the international community is needed to enhance communications between the parties, defuse tensions and avoid costly missteps.
- Topic:
- Islam, Armed Struggle, Hegemony, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Middle East, Israel, Tehran, Arabia, Lebanon, and Syria
18. Flashpoint: Iran
- Author:
- Ilan Berman
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Journal of International Security Affairs
- Institution:
- Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs
- Abstract:
- On November 4, 1979, Iranian militants raided the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took 53 Americans hostage. That siege lasted 444 days and changed history. Now, more than 30 years later, we see an Iran rotting from the inside out—a regime trying to silence a people crying out for freedom.
- Political Geography:
- United States, America, Iran, and Tehran
19. Fresh sanctions on Iran : Will these help?
- Author:
- Kingshuk Chatterjee
- Publication Date:
- 08-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute of Foreign Policy Studies, University of Calcutta
- Abstract:
- By all reckoning, the latest round of UN sanctions on Iran (Resolution 1929, 9th June 2010), backed up by further extension and expansion of the scope of US sanctions (June 2010) and imposition of EU sanctions on 26th July 2010, should make life very difficult for the Islamic Republic. The continued tightening of the sanctions regime indicates the serious concerns that Tehran have aroused over the development of its nuclear programme. Iran professes its commitment to only a civilian nuclear programme in conformity with its obligations under the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT); a large number of states of the international community suspect Iran of developing a military programme behind the cover of its legitimate civilian one. Tehran's protestations of innocence of the charge have regularly been dismissed by most of its neighbours, and even the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has not been fully satisfied on this point by Tehran. The issue has generated a set of proposed responses from various members of the international community, ranging from extreme options of surgical strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities (favoured by Israel, and under consideration in some segments of the US administration), through moderate options of international sanctions regime (favoured by most of the states, including USA and the EU) to the softer options of persuasion by continued and growing diplomatic engagement (China and Russia). Over the past two years, international opinion has steadily drifted towards a tight sanctions regime, reflected in the UN Resolution in June 2010 and that of the EU in July. Valid questions are, however, being raised about the efficacy of the international sanctions regime.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, United Nations, and Sanctions
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Iran, Israel, and Tehran
20. Türkiye'nin İran Politikası 2010
- Author:
- Kemal İnat
- Publication Date:
- 01-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- Turkey's relations with its Eastern neighbor Iran have constituted a larger portion in Ankara's foreign policy agenda, comparing to recent years. Turkey's increasing efforts in helping to resolve Iran's nuclear problems by peaceful means have caused enormous effects in Ankara's relations with Western countries. Against the opposition by the USA and other Western states Turkey has tried, by mediating, to avoid the problem to turn into conflict. Turkey's foreign policy objectives such as 'zero problems with neighbors' and 'resolving conflicts by increasing interdependency', were also in place in its policies vis-à-vis Iran. In addition to that, Ankara has put particular emphasis on increasing economic ties with Iran in 2010.
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, Turkey, and Tehran