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221. The Kurds Have Opened Pandora’s Box

Author:
Bessma Momani
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The Kurds of Iraq have been patiently waiting for the right time to secede from the troubled state. Monday's referendum turnout was high and the result was clear: 92 per cent are overwhelmingly in favour of independence. While many Kurds felt the time was right to have a referendum on the question of independence, it is the worst time for all regional stakeholders and the Kurds may have made it more difficult for themselves to realize their national dream.
Topic:
International Security and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Iraq and Kurdistan

222. Mapping the Global Legal Landscape of Blockchain and Other Distributed Ledger Technologies

Author:
Julie Maupin
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Blockchain, tangle and other distributed ledger technologies (DLTs) are pushing a broad array of previously centralized global economic activities toward decentralized market structures. Governments should tackle the new regulatory conundrums of an increasingly disintermediated global economy by focusing on DLTs’ individual use cases rather than its underlying enabling technologies. Grouping the known use cases by common characteristics reveals three broad categories of blockchain-law interfaces. For ease of reference, this paper labels these the recycle box, the dark box and the sandbox. Each raises distinct legal, regulatory and policy challenges deserving of separate analysis.
Topic:
Science and Technology and International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

223. Flood Risk and Shared Responsibility in Canada: Operating on Flawed Assumptions?

Author:
Daniel Henstra and Jason Thistlethwaite
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Floods cause more property damage than any other hazard in Canada, and water-related losses now exceed fire and theft as the main source of property insurance claims. Public spending on flood relief has grown, and is projected to increase dramatically over the next decade, so governments have been changing their policies to reduce their financial exposure by shifting responsibility to homeowners. An implicit assumption of this policy shift is that individual homeowners must share greater responsibility for protecting their property by purchasing newly available flood insurance. Evidence is presented suggesting that consumer demand for flood insurance may be insufficient for economic viability. Low risk perception and a moral hazard created by government disaster assistance limit incentives for purchasing insurance.
Topic:
Environment and International Security
Political Geography:
Canada

224. Digital Entrepreneurship: Expanding the Economic Frontier in the Mediterranean

Author:
Santana Moisés
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
IEMed/EuroMeSCo
Abstract:
The goal of this paper is to introduce the promotion of technology-based entrepreneurship as an engine for Mediterranean economic growth, with an emphasis on the role of entrepreneurs. Without avoiding or undermining current problems or challenges, this document takes a look at the Mediterranean Basin free of stereotypes and from a constructive viewpoint. Hence it applies to the Mediterranean the words spoken by Shimon Peres when he received the Nobel Peace Prize together with Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994: “A Middle East that is not a killing field but a field of creativity and growth.”
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

225. Militarization of social media: strategies and challenges

Author:
Susan Jackson, Nicholas Robinson, and Andrea Schneiker
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
Social media has become one of the world’s most influential tools for promotion and branding regardless of industry and audiences. This event aims to assess the militarization of social media by focusing discussion on the online mechanisms, strategies and tools employed by the arms and military services and military videogames industries. What factors and mechanisms are involved in the promotion of militarism via social media platforms? How is social media contributing to the reification of the military as a normal part of international relations?
Topic:
International Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

226. The Qatar Crisis

Author:
Marc Lynch and Stephanie Dahle
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
On June 5, 2017, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched a campaign against Qatar. Tensions between these Gulf Cooperation Council members were nothing new, but few anticipated the sudden escalation or the intensity of the campaign. The anti-Qatar campaign leaders then failed to achieve a rapid resolution of the crisis in their favor through a Qatari capitulation. More than four months later, the GCC remains badly divided and both sides are increasingly entrenched in their positions. To make sense of this political conflict, POMEPS is pleased to release this collection of essays by a wide range of leading scholars published in The Monkey Cage and in POMEPS Studies over the last several years. The collection is divided into four major sections: the origins and course of the current conflict; regional responses; how the Arab uprisings impacted the GCC; and background on the divisive question of Islamism and the Muslim Brotherhood.
Topic:
International Political Economy and International Security
Political Geography:
Middle East

227. The Palestinian Arabs in Israel: Reconceptualizing the Past

Author:
Arik Rudnitzky
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies
Abstract:
Arik Rudnitzsky examines changes in the historiography of Arab society in Israel and shows how new contributions highlight the elements of resistance that prevailed among the Arab population in the years following the establishment of the state.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention and International Security
Political Geography:
Israel and Palestine

228. Xi Transforms the PLA: How the Military Is Being Adapted to China’s Changing Global Position

Author:
Marcin Przychodniak
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
Reform of the Chinese armed forces gained new momentum under Xi Jinping in 2015. The main argument behind the strategy, structure, and equipment modernisation of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is the active defence of China’s global interests to strengthen its competitiveness with the United States. A short-term goal is to make the PLA operationally capable of projecting China’s power abroad constantly, using joint exercises, peacekeeping missions, and the development of military infrastructure. One recent example was opening of China’s first foreign military base in Djibouti. The PLA should also be capable of defending China’s territory and overseas interests by performing combat operations abroad. This means a possible change to the non-intervention clause that has until now been a crucial element of China’s foreign policy.
Topic:
International Security and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

229. The costs of voting on Kurdistan’s secession

Author:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Al Jazeera Center for Studies
Abstract:
The referendum on the Kurdish secession ended in a victory for self-determination; Baghdad, Ankara, and Tehran move to take punitive actions.
Topic:
International Security and Democracy
Political Geography:
Kurdistan

230. Islam in a Changing Middle East: Local Politics and Islamist Movements

Author:
Marc Lynch
Publication Date:
09-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
Scholars and policymakers have increasingly recognized that Islamist movements and actors vary widely – from domestically oriented, quietist movements engaging in democratic systems to revolutionary, armed movements aiming to upend the nation-state system. Yet little has been done to understand how the nature of individual movements, and their success, often differs substantially at the subnational level. Some communities are much more likely to support different Islamist actors than others, and even the same movement may have very different strategies in some localities than others. Many questions remain regarding if and how Islamist movements and actors look or act differently in rural areas and secondary cities as they do in the capitals. To what extent do the strategies and performance of Islamists vary subnationally? And what explains this variation?
Topic:
International Relations and International Security
Political Geography:
Middle East