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1471. Terror At the Hajj

Author:
Anna Robinowitz
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Among the two million Muslims participating in this year's Hajj in Mecca were a relatively small number of Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. While the vast majority of these pilgrims devoted all of their time in Mecca to religious purposes, others participated in meetings with terrorist operatives as well. Indeed, Hamas, Hizballah, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) have all attempted to recruit future terrorists -- particularly from the coveted Israeli Arab pool -- during the Hajj and lesser pilgrimages to Mecca (or 'umrah). For example, over the past two-and-a-half years, Israeli security forces have arrested two Hizballah terrorists recruited during the Hajj and seven other terrorists recruited while making 'umrah. The fact that terrorist groups of any sort are operating at the Hajj has dangerous implications for the United States. Indeed, it would be naive to assume that al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations targeting U.S. interests are not using Mecca as a convenient and secure location for their own meetings, recruitment, and fundraising.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Mecca

1472. Special Policy Forum Report: Will Israel Withdraw From Gaza? A Labor Perspective

Author:
Matan Vilnai
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On February 11, 2004, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Matan Vilnai addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. General Vilnai is former deputy chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). From 1989 to 1994, he served as head of the IDF Southern Command, with responsibility for deploying Israeli forces out of Gaza in accordance with the 1994 Gaza-Jericho accord. As a leading member of the Labor Party, he has also served as a senior cabinet minister and member of the Knesset since 1999. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, Israel, Gaza, and Arab Countries

1473. Special Policy Forum Report: Prospects of Israeli Disengagement-- A View From the Opposition

Author:
Shimon Peres
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On February 23, 2004, Shimon Peres addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Current chairman of Israel's Labor Party, Mr. Peres previously served as that country's prime minister, foreign minister, and defense minister, as well as in numerous other positions during a career that has spanned six decades. For his contributions to Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, he received the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize along with the late Yitzhak Rabin and Yasir Arafat. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arab Countries

1474. Is All Quiet on Israel's Northern Front?

Author:
Zohar Palti
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
For much of the upcoming presidential election season, the United States will no doubt be preoccupied with domestic affairs on the one hand, and the postwar transition in Iraq on the other. Although Washington undoubtedly hopes for a quiet year in the Middle East, reality might bring less desirable results. In the Arab-Israeli arena, the most significant threat to regional stability (beyond Palestinian terrorism) is the Syria-Hizballah-Iran triangle. Hizballah and Syria appear to be reverting to their traditional pattern of ratcheting up terrorist activity whenever they feel they are being ignored. Unless an effort of some sort is made to halt such escalation, Israel's northern front will become the site of a broader conflict in which neither Israel nor the United States wants to become enmeshed at the moment.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, Israel, Arab Countries, and Syria

1475. Assessing Sharon's Gaza Settlement Evacuation Proposal

Author:
David Makovsky
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
Less than a year ago, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon rejected the idea of a unilateral pullback from Gaza, telling Labor Party leader Amram Mitzna that isolated settlements such as Netzarim were equal to Tel Aviv in his eyes. Last week, however, Sharon -- a leading architect of Israel's settlement movement -- declared his intention to authorize plans for a unilateral evacuation of at least seventeen of the twenty Israeli settlements in Gaza. Although some remain unsure whether the prime minister will follow through on this pledge, skepticism regarding Sharon's intentions should be balanced by other considerations.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Israel, Gaza, and Arab Countries

1476. Privatisation of Conflict, Security and War

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper assesses the general trend towards privatisation, in the developed as well as the developing world, where even "high politics" is increasingly performed by, or outsourced to, non-state actors. This is both the case for foreign and security politics, including war, where the use by states (as principals) of agents such as guerrilla movements, militias and private military companies (PMCs) is becoming more frequent. The special case of PMCs is analysed at length, coming out in favour of a combined legalisation and regulation, which is found to open up opportunities for military missions such as humanitarian interventions, not least in Africa, which would otherwise not be undertaken.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Foreign Policy, and Development

1477. Security Models and their Applicability to the Gulf: The Potential of European Lessons Applied

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper, written for a joint project of the Gulf Research Center in Dubai and the Bertelsmann Foundation, explores whether the lessons from the transformation of Europe from a conflict formation into a security community could be transferred to the Persian Gulf region. It records and analyses the European experience with "security models" actually applied such as balance-ofpower, nuclear deterrence, arms control and confidence-building, democratic peace, regional integration etc. as well as various alternative models such as common security and defensive restructuring of the armed forces. It further analyses the structure and dynamics of the Persian Gulf region, finding few of the European models to be really applicable. It concludes with outlining two different scenarios for the development of the region after the invasion and occupation of Iraq.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Security
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, and Middle East

1478. The Pros and Cons of Subsidiarity: The Role of African Regional and Subregional Organisations in Ensuring Peace and Security in Africa

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper critically analyses the emerging international norm of subsidiarity according to which "Africa are responsible for African conflicts", which is found to be a possible justification for "buck-passing" on the part of the West, leaving the continent with the fewest military means to deal with the largest number of the most destructive armed conflicts. The paper then provides an overview of the various regional and subregional organisations in Africa, including the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as a host of less important organisations. It concludes with a survey of the various forms of support promised to these organisations by the West.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

1479. Opportunities and Pitfalls in the Migration-Development Nexus: Somaliland and Beyond

Author:
Ninna Nyberg Sorensen
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Against the background of increased human mobility over the last three decades, resurgent interest in the migration-development nexus has stimulated new lines of academic inquiry and pushed policy considerations in new directions. This paper outlines current discussions around the links between migration, development and conflict. It also considers the complex nature of 'mixed flows', the difficulties in distinguishing between forced/political and voluntary/economic migration, and the links to development from these various–and often overlapping–types of flows. The paper uses migration from Somalia/Somaliland as the main example. This case–like the cases of most other sending countries–is of course specific. Still lessons can be drawn that are useful in other contexts, and may provide a basis for constructive discussion of potential opportunities in the current migration and international cooperation regimes.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa

1480. Dynamics of Return and Sustainable Reintegration in a 'Mobile Livelihoods'-Perspective

Author:
Finn Stepputat
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This Paper was prepared by the Department of Globalisation and Governance Research at the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS) for the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) entity of the Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and forms part of the Migration-Development Nexus Follow-up Study. It was discussed at a workshop in Copenhagen March 9, 2004, and subsequently revised for publication.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Development, and Education