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1321. Israel and the Palestinians in a Changing Neighbourhood

Author:
Andrea Dessì
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The political and strategic landscape of the Middle East and North African region has changed dramatically since late 2010 and the events now loosely defined as the 'Arab Spring'. The dust has yet to settle in many Arab capitals and 2013 is set to be another defining year for the greater Middle East as regional actors, particularly new Islamist-led governments, take on more direct roles in influencing political, military and social developments in the Arab world. Israel and the Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah are not immune to these developments and while progress towards peace has been all but non-existent, change in the region must not necessarily lead to more tensions and conflict. The EU and US should work to establish greater Arab ownership of the diplomatic process, convince Israel that its security is best served by assuming a proactive approach to its changing neighbourhood and strive to harness the new realities in the region to modify the incentive calculus of the major domestic players in the conflict.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and North Africa

1322. Absorptive Capacity in the Security and Justice Sectors

Author:
Robert D. Lamb, Kathryn Mixon, and Andrew Halterman
Publication Date:
06-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
This report presents the results of a case study of absorptive capacity in the security and justice sectors. This study was organized using the Measuring Absorptive Capacity (MAC) framework developed by the authors and introduced in the first volume of the CSIS Managing Absorptive Capacity series. The MAC framework was built to test the possibility that the capacity to absorb foreign aid might not be simply a function of the recipient's implementation capacity or the amount of aid offered. Rather, absorptive capacity might depend at least in part on the design and intent of the intervention itself, which in turn might be a function of the donor's capacity to account for local conditions.
Topic:
Security, Development, Peace Studies, Foreign Aid, and Law

1323. Internet Points of Control as Global Governance

Author:
Laura DeNardis
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
The distributed nature of Internet infrastructure and relatively malleable user engagement with content can misleadingly create the impression that the Internet is not governed. When Internet governance does rise to media or public prominence, this usually involves high-profile controversies such as the Egyptian government cutting off citizen Internet access or government-delegated censorship requests for Google to delete politically sensitive content. These are examples of Internet content governance via infrastructure. But beneath this layer of content, at much more technologically concealed layers, coordinated and sometimes centralized governance of the Internet's technical architecture is necessary to keep the network operational, secure and universally accessible. This governance is enacted not necessarily through traditional nation-state authority but via the design of technical architecture, the policies enacted by private industry and administration by new global institutions. While these coordinating functions perform highly specialized technical tasks, they also have significant economic and political implications.
Topic:
Security, Science and Technology, Sovereignty, and Governance
Political Geography:
Egypt

1324. The shifting sands of the Malaysian political landscape and the impact on security sector governance (SSG)

Author:
Tang Siew Mun
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
The Malaysian security sector is undergoing a major transformation. The Najib administration has broken the mould, implementing a series of reforms that have resulted in the expansion of political space and discourse. Consequently, the polity may become increasingly unstable, unless these reforms are accompanied by the deepening and institutionalisation of the rule of law and the development of a mature political culture. This paper identifies five priority areas for security sector governance (SSG) in Malaysia, namely, independence of the judiciary, advancement of human rights, broadening of political space, rule of law and enforcement, and institutional oversight capacity. The net effect of the security sector reforms (SSRs) is the levelling of the political playing field, which effectively weakens the hands of the incumbents. Herein lies the paradox. The fate and progress of SSR is contingent on a strong government to stay the course of reforms and to prevent a relapse. At the same time, these reforms have the unintended effect of chipping away the Najib administration's political power.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Governance
Political Geography:
Malaysia and Southeast Asia

1325. Hedging Against an Unstable China: Measures to Enhance Regional and Global Resilience

Author:
Alexandre Catta, Aladdin Diakun, and Clara Yoon
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
Mainstream analysis on China tends to be overly optimistic, leaving a blind spot in strategic planning. While the country's socio-economic landscape has been transformed over several decades of uninterrupted growth, it faces significant domestic and international risks and constraints. Chief among these are labour insecurity and imbalances, environmental constraints and rising climatic risks, and food insecurity, all coupled with rising popular expectations for a higher overall standard of living. Major soy producers (Argentina, Brazil and the United States) should take steps to ensure the stability of China's supply. In particular, these countries should set aside reserves to help mitigate future supply shocks and price spikes resulting from climate change. Manufacturers operating in or with China should immediately begin mapping their supply chains to identify vulnerabilities associated with crisis scenarios in the country. Where specific risks are identified, they should explore supply-chain diversification to boost resilience among major trading partners. To deter China from externalizing internal stresses, international actors should raise the political costs of nationalistic unilateralism by opening more channels for dialogue, deepening institutional integration and buttressing cooperative security norms.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, Economics, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
China and Israel

1326. Impact of climate change on ASEAN food security: Downscaling analysis and response

Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
This NTS Issues Brief is based on the proceedings of the Expert Group Meeting on the Impact of Climate Change on ASEAN Food Security held in June 2013. The Meeting called for higher priority to be given to research on climate shifts at national and local scales, as well as greater focus on agricultural R It also highlighted the need for resource and knowledge inputs from actors throughout food value chains in the region.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Climate Change, Economics, and Food

1327. Countering Violent Extremism: A Peacebuilding Perspective

Author:
Georgia Holmer
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Counter violent extremism (CVE) is a growing and evolving realm of policy and practice that faces several significant challenges in implementation, stemming in part from its origins in the security and defense arena. Long versed in the challenges of conflict prevention, the peacebuilding community and its related methods and practices can help develop a more expansive understanding of violent extremism and its causes and a more localized, inclusive, and sustainable approach to countering it. The peacebuilding community already contributes in many ways to the prevention of extremist violence and the CVE agenda through programs designed to prevent conflict, strengthen rule of law, and promote peace, tolerance, and resilience. Suggested best roles for the peacebuilding community in CVE are to support a nonsecuritized space for and build the capacity of civil society and to help reform the security bodies charged with counterterrorism and CVE. CVE policy and global security efforts, in turn, may help provide the impetus and enabling conditions for effective peacebuilding. Closer collaboration between the two domains, with coordinated and clearer lines of engagement, would advance efforts to prevent extremist violence.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Defense Policy, Peace Studies, Terrorism, and Insurgency

1328. Merkel's Unfinished Business: Why Germany Needs to Act Strategically

Author:
Judy Dempsey
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will soon face parliamentary elections. On her eight-year watch, her governing coalition has failed to develop foreign policy, security, and defense strategies. This weakens Europe's ability to think and act strategically and limits the European Union's (EU's) influence in its immediate neighborhood and beyond. There is much unfinished business that the next chancellor, be it Merkel or someone else, will have to manage.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe and Germany

1329. Silver Bullet? Asking the Right Questions About Conventional Prompt Global Strike

Author:
James M. Acton
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The development of non-nuclear weapons that can strike distant targets in a short period of time has been a U.S. goal for more than a decade. Advocates argue that such Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) weapons could be used to counter antisatellite weapons or sophisticated defensive capabilities; deny a new proliferator the ability to employ its nuclear arsenal; and kill high-value terrorists. Critics worry that CPGS weapons could create serious strategic risks, most notably of escalation—including to the nuclear level—in a conflict.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
United States

1330. Ambiguous endings: Middle East regional security in the wake of the Arab Uprisings and the Syrian civil war

Author:
Helle Malmvig
Publication Date:
08-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Middle East regional security order is under rapid transformation. The Arab Uprisings and the Syrian War are changing not only the relationship between state and societies, but also some of the region's core norms and historical divisions. This report analyses key changes in regional security order the Middle East in the period after 2010. It identifies five key issues where regional order is changing: State-society relations Relations with the West and foreign policy posturing The impact of the Iran-Syria –Hezbollah Axis (the Resistance Front) and radical-moderate divide The Sunni-Shia rift and the rise of identity politics The Saudi-Qatar rivaling, and the role of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Civil War, Islam, and Insurgency
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, Syria, and Qatar