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531. The United States, the European Union, and International Human Rights Issues

Author:
Esther Brimmer
Publication Date:
05-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
As pillars of the transatlantic community, the United States and the European Union often talk about their shared values derived from their common heritage in the western liberal democratic tradition. Both claim to base their domestic and external policies on their values; and both play a role in international affairs. Their common values suggest that they would support similar policies on international human rights issues. Yet on the international stage they have surprisingly different approaches. This paper will analyze areas of commonality and divergence in United States and European Union policies on international human rights and examine the implications of these differences for human rights and for transatlantic relations.
Topic:
Human Rights, Human Welfare, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

532. Straight as a Rule:Heteronormativity, Gendercide, and the Non-Combatant Male

Author:
Adam Jones
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This paper is an extension of the author's research into the vulnerability of non-combatant “battle-age” males in situations of war and genocide. It explores the role of heteronormativity – defined as “culturally hegemonic heterosexuality” – in shaping the victimization experiences of male noncombatants. An introductory section addresses definitional issues and frames the discussion in terms of the study of gendercide, or genderselective mass killing. The link between non-combatant status, imputed violations of heteronormativity, and gendercide is then explored. A separate section considers the phenomenon of sexual violence against males in wartime, and asks whether feminist theories of “genocidal rape” can usefully be deployed to assist understanding of this little-studied phenomenon. The conclusion cites some remaining conceptual and conventional obstacles to research on male non-combatants, and suggests avenues for further investigation.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Genocide, Human Welfare, and War

533. Los Balcanes: Entre el Pasado y el Presente. Una Introducción Históica a los Estudios Balcánicos

Author:
Slobodan Pajovic
Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This working paper deals with the complex, turbulent and contradictory history of the Balkans region. It is argued that the tragic realities confronting the region derive mainly from its asymmetric geopolitical, economic and cultural position, and its high degree of vulnerability and dependence on Western Europe and the Near East. It suggests that it is possible to study the history of the region by examining processes of both internal fragmentation and external subordination. While the paper cannot constitute a complete or systematic study of the Balkans, it presents and overview of the most salient features in the region's historical, politico-economic and cultural development. Two case studies, Yugoslavia and Kosovo, help to highlight the broader trends.
Topic:
Economics, Human Welfare, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Iran, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, and Balkans

534. Kosovo: Orders of Magnitude

Author:
Adam Jones
Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
The issue of the number of civilian causalities in the Kosovo war of 1999, especially of "battle-age" men, attracted considerable controversy both during the war and in its aftermath. This article considers the pattern of Serb atrocities in the province, and the pace and character of the forensic investigations conducted since the war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). It argues that the lowest casualty estimates are highly unlikely, given the evidence of widespread mass executions gleaned from refugee testimony and forensic investigations. The article concludes with some thoughts on the implications of the casualty figures in the policy of human-rights arenas.
Topic:
Civil Society, Genocide, Human Rights, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
Kosovo and Yugoslavia

535. Addressing the Threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction: A moment of opportunity for the EU?

Author:
Ian Anthony
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
A free market that controlled the number and type of arms available to states and to non-state actors on the basis of their financial means and technological capacity would breed insecurity and stimulate un-necessary military spending. Rules are needed to regulate military capacities, but questions abound. What kinds of rules are needed? How should these rules be applied? As is the case with the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), these rules could apply equally to all parties, and be universal and uniform in their application.
Topic:
International Relations, Human Welfare, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe

536. On the Frontline of an Epidemic: The Need for Urgency in Russia's Fight Against AIDS

Author:
John E. Tedstrom
Publication Date:
09-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
AIDS is a global threat that affects us all. Its destructive reach extends far beyond the sphere of public health, threatening social stability, economic performance, and national security. The United States has struggled with HIV/AIDS for over 20 years. At least 440,000 Americans have died from AIDS -related conditions, many more than would have if American political leaders had acted early in the 1980s to confront the epidemic in its initial stages. Over time, however, the commitment of the U.S. government to prevent the spread of HIV and treat people living with HIV/AIDS produced remarkable results. New infections have dropped from 150,000 per year to 40,000 per year, and AIDS -related deaths have been cut in half.
Topic:
Security, Human Welfare, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, America, Europe, and Asia

537. Trends in Asylum Migration to Industrialized Countries: 1990-2001

Author:
Stephen Castles and Sean Loughna
Publication Date:
04-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to outline trends and patterns in movements of asylumseekers to Western so-called industrialized countries from 1990-2001. The paper begins by characterizing three distinct phases of asylum migration since the end of the Second World War. It then provides background material on global refugee and asylum movements, using statistics from UNHCR. The data for selected receiving countries and regions is discussed, followed by some remarks on changing routes used by asylumseekers. The selected countries and regions are Australia, Canada, the EU and the USA. Finally, we examine some of the causal factors behind asylum migration and attempt to identify their significance upon flows migration.
Topic:
Development, Diplomacy, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
United States, Canada, and Australia

538. Asylum Migration and Implications for Countries of Origin

Author:
Khalid Koser and Nicholas Van Hear
Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to synthesize what is known about the influence of asylum migration on countries of origin. It combines an analysis of data, a review of the literature and empirical examples from our own research. In the first section we consider the effects of the absence of refugees on countries of origin, focusing on the scale of movements, the characteristics of refugees, where they go and their length of time in exile. In the second section, we review the evidence about the influence of asylum-seekers and refugees on their country of origin from exile. Third, we consider the implications for countries of origin of the return of asylum-seekers and refugees. The conclusion acknowledges the limited state of current knowledge and draws out some policy implications.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Development, Human Welfare, and Migration

539. Asylum-seekers as Pariahs in the Australian State: Security Against the Few

Author:
Claudia Tazreiter
Publication Date:
02-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
During the last decade measures of overt and covert surveillance, information sharing and deterrence of the illegal movement of people has increased within and between states. Border security has come to dominate international relations, and increasingly to deflect the needs of asylum-seekers who search for a state that will offer them substantive protection under the Refugee Convention. Measures of internal and external deterrence diminish the reality of protection to genuine refugees as some of the most vulnerable individuals in the world today. Australia, as a country of relative geographic isolation, has not experienced the large-scale influxes of asylum-seekers seen in many parts of the world. Notwithstanding this, the Australian Government has in recent years implemented harsh policy and administrative measures directed at asylum-seekers with a substantial measure of public support. In August 2001, an incident involving 433 asylum-seekers was branded in popular discourse an 'asylum crisis'. This incident involved a Norwegian freighter, the Tampa, which picked up survivors from a sinking boat who were making their way to Australian waters in order seek protection under the Refugee Convention. The Tampa was repelled by Australian security forces from disembarking the people they had picked up in distress on Australian soil. In this article, I explore the Tampa incident against the backdrop of refugee policy development from 1999. I argue that rather than responding to a crisis, the Australian government has generated the perception of a crisis in the Australian community. Implications of the Australian response to asylum-seekers are significant not only in the Asia/Pacific region, but further afield, as policy responses toward asylum-seekers by receiving states have converged in the recent past.
Topic:
International Relations, Government, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
Australia/Pacific

540. Global Human Development: Explaining Its Regional Variations

Author:
Robert B. Smith
Publication Date:
11-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks countries annually on its human development index (HDI), which combines a country's measures of longevity, literacy, and per capita income. This paper applies hierarchical modeling to quantify the factors that predict a country's HDI rank, explain the variability between regions, 2 R , and explain the variability between countries within a region, 2 c . It assesses the effects of nine civilizations: African, Buddhist, Hindu, Japanese, Latin, Moslem, Orthodox, Sinic, and Western. Civilization strongly predicts a country's rank on the HDI, but it does not provide the strongest causal explanation of the variability in the HDI quantified by 2 R and 2 c . Among the covariates studied here, present-day slavery (debt bondage, forced labor, chattel slavery, and prostitution) and the lack of political freedom explain much of the variability that is between regions, and corruption explains much of the variability among countries within a region. Additionally, countries with high rates of conflict and social unrest and debt have significantly worse positions on the HDI. Civilizations are best viewed as pointers to underlying social mechanisms like women's education that more directly determine development; its advance may enhance development
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Economics, and Human Welfare
Political Geography:
United Nations