Search

Begin New Search Topic International Law Political Geography United States

41. A Draft Convention on Illicit Trade in Precious Metals and Precious Gems

Author:
Jonas Hartelius
Publication Date:
02-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
Precious metals and gemstones have long been valued for their aesthetic properties and ability to retain (or increase) their value. Many precious metals today are also used in the manufacture of high technology commodities. Their high value makes precious metals and precious gems attractive to criminals. They have several functions in the criminal economy: They are attractive goods for theft and other forms of criminal acquisition, calling for special protection on the part of the owners and governments. They can be used for re-circulating stolen goods, including jewelry, antiques, and works of art, through fragmentation, smelting, and other forms of destruction or transformation. Such processes reduce or even destroy the commercial or cultural value of the material, but they also increase the difficulties for police and other authorities to trace the material and bring criminals to justice. They can be used for transporting and transferring valuables outside regular channels and thus finance war, civil conflicts, terrorism, and other forms of dangerous crime. They can be used to hide criminal assets and thus make recovery more difficult. They can be used for tax evasion through smuggling, hiding of assets, etc. The full extent or value of criminal activities with precious metals and precious gems has not been fully investigated. It can safely be assumed, however, that the criminal market in these goods is considerable.
Topic:
Globalization, International Law, International Trade and Finance, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States

42. Non-Military Organizations Should Lead on "Nation Building"

Author:
Courtney N. Meyers
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
Timed for the Obama administration's Pentagon, this RAND study says government leaders should take more account of the lessons learned from people "on the ground" in recent successful (and unsuccessful) ventures in state-rebuilding. Best practice means strong local command (involving the military under civilian leadership) which is heeded in national capitals.
Topic:
International Law and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States and America

43. Counting the Costs of Somali Piracy

Author:
Raymond Gilpin
Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Roughly the same size of France and six times the size of the U.S. state of Virginia, Somalia has a 3,025 km coastline (longer than the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico, which is some 2,700 km ) on the northeastern corner of Africa. Its recent history has been marred by violence and instability. Since the fall of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, there have been more than a dozen attempts to forge political consensus and establish a functioning central government. 1 Although the Transnational Federal Government was established in 2003, with its capital in the southern city of Mogadishu, it remains fairly ineffective. De facto, Somalia is governed by a system of clans operating in three relatively autonomous regions – Somaliland in the northwest, Puntland in the northeast and Central Somalia in the central and southern regions.
Topic:
Crime, International Law, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, France, Mexico, Somalia, Virginia, Puntland, and Mogadishu

44. Categorizing Groups, Categorizing States: Theorizing Minority Rights in a World of Deep Diversity

Author:
Will Kymlicka
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Carnegie Council
Abstract:
Since 1989 we have witnessed a proliferation of efforts to develop international norms of the rights of ethnocultural minorities, such as the UN's 1992 Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the Council of Europe's 1995 Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, and the Organization of American States' 1997 draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This activity at the level of international law is reflected in a comparable explosion of interest in minority rights among normative political theorists. In the same twenty-year period we have seen a proliferation of attempts at formulating a normative theory of minority rights and examining how minority rights relate to broader political values (such as freedom, equality, democracy, and citizenship) and broader normative frameworks (such as liberalism, communitarianism, and republicanism). Key works here include those by Charles Taylor, Jim Tully, Iris Young, Jeff Spinner-Halev, Bhikhu Parekh, Yael Tamir, Joseph Carens, Susan Okin, and Anne Phillips—a rich literature that has informed and inspired my own work in the field.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Europe

45. The Myth of "Torture Lite"

Author:
Jessica Wolfendale
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Carnegie Council
Abstract:
Although the term "torture lite" is frequently used to distinguish between physically mutilating torture and certain interrogation methods that are supposedly less severe, the distinction is not recognized in international law.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
United States

46. Beyond Closing Guantanamo: Rebuilding a Transatlantic Partnership in International Law

Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
As the administration of Barack Obama begins, the role of the United States in the international legal system will come under great scrutiny. The United States will seek to strengthen its relations and enhance cooperation with its traditional allies. In doing so, it should work to restore the confidence of those allies that the United States will work with them to strengthen the international legal system and international institutions and resume its historical role of leadership in this task. Announcing its intention to close the Guantanamo detention camp is a significant step in the right direction, but only a first step.
Topic:
Security, International Law, Torture, Governance, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Reform
Political Geography:
United States

47. Global Governance and Shared Sovereignty

Author:
John R. Bolton
Publication Date:
04-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
On April 14, 2008, AEI senior fellow John R. Bolton gave the keynote address at the inauguration of the Global Governance Watch (GGW), a joint project of AEI and the Federalist Society. GGW is a web-based resource that addresses issues of transparency and accountability in the United Nations (UN), NGOs, and related international organizations. Edited excerpts from Bolton's remarks follow.
Topic:
International Relations, International Law, International Organization, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States

48. The United States:A normative power?

Author:
Daniel S. Hamilton
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
To what degree may the US be considered a normative power? The US foreign policy mainstream tends to reflect a varying blend of normative and hegemonic approaches. The US has been and continues to be simultaneously a guardian of international norms; a norm entrepreneur challenging prevailing norms as insufficient; a norm externaliser when it tries to advance norms for others that it is reluctant to apply to itself; and a norm blocker when it comes to issues that may threaten its position, or that exacerbate divisions among conflicting currents of American domestic thought. On balance (and despite exceptions), the US has sought to manage this normative-hegemonic interplay by accepting some limits on its power in exchange for greater legitimacy and acceptance of its leadership by others. The unresolved question today is whether the US and other key players are prepared to stick with this bargain. Closer examination of the US case also raises a considerable number of questions about the notion of the EU as a 'normative power'.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, International Law, International Organization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Europe

49. Legality and Legitimacy in International Order

Author:
Vesselin Popovski and Nicholas Turner
Publication Date:
05-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The 1999 NATO armed intervention over Kosovo was illegal under international law, but widely regarded as legitimate. The 2003 US invasion of Iraq was both illegal and illegitimate, though unilateral attempts were made to legitimize it, using the Kosovo precedent. The sanctions against Iraq, preceding the 2003 invasion, were legal, but seen by many as illegitimate. These examples are symptomatic of a wider disconnect between legality and legitimacy which affects many areas of international life. Legality is not the only criteria for determining acceptable state behaviour. Other criteria—humanitarian, ethical and political—play a significant role in modern international relations. Ignorance of international law has serious negative consequences, but so has the blind reliance on international law, detached from human aspirations and actual circumstances.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Kosovo

50. Fugitive Serbian War Criminals and the West

Author:
François Clemenceau
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
European Affairs
Institution:
The European Institute
Abstract:
The two main Serbian war criminals have been protected by the diplomatic goals of the main powers, which were courting Serbia. Europeans wanted to see Belgrade join the EU; Russia wanted to preserve a Slavic bloc; the U.S. deferred to Moscow. Justice lost out, according to this book, yet to be translated into English.
Topic:
International Law, International Organization, War, and International Security
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, Moscow, and Serbia