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612. Counter-piracy in the Gulf of Guinea must not overlook local struggle and suffering
- Author:
- Hans Lucht
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- Climate change, illegal fishing, and environmental damage all contribute to the lack of security that coastal populations in the Gulf of Guinea suffer from. To Denmark, as well as several other European countries, the Gulf of Guinea remains an important region for commercial shipping. To enhance responses to piracy and crime at sea it is necessary to take a holistic approach which also considers the lack of opportunities for making a legal and sustainable living in the region.
- Topic:
- Security, Climate Change, Piracy, and Maritime
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Denmark, and Gulf of Guinea
613. In Both Pyongyang and Seoul, an Ominous Hardening
- Author:
- Aidan Foster-Carter
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Comparative Connections
- Institution:
- Pacific Forum
- Abstract:
- In mid-2023, the (non-existent) relations between the two Koreas got even worse, if that were possible. Confronting enlarged US-ROK military exercises, and the first visit of a US nuclear-armed submarine to the peninsula since 1981, Pyongyang’s nuclear threats grew ever more frenzied. In Seoul, President Yoon Suk Yeol institutionalized his hard line by downsizing and repurposing the Ministry of Unification (MOU). Criticizing MOU for acting in the past as a support department for North Korea, Yoon evidently conceives its future role as being to hinder Kim Jong Un’s regime—publicizing its human rights abuses, for instance—rather than help. Much as the DPRK’s ever-expanding WMD threat requires robust deterrence, for Seoul to start emulating Pyongyang’s unalloyed hostility hardly seems conducive to peace. The period under review also saw two attempts by North Korea to put a spy satellite into orbit; both failed. By contrast, the North’s missile launches hardly ever go wrong these days. The large solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM, with a 15,000-km (9,300-mile) range, which first flew in April, had a second successful test on July 12.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Bilateral Relations, and Regional Security
- Political Geography:
- Asia, South Korea, and North Korea
614. Los Emiratos Árabes Unidos: ¿una potencia militar emergente en Oriente Medio?
- Author:
- Santiago Ott
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI)
- Abstract:
- En el año 2014, el periódico norteamericano The Washington Post publicó un artículo que versaba en torno a las capacidades militares y el rol desempeñado por las fuerzas armadas de los Emiratos Árabes Unidos (EAU) en diversas operaciones de combate en Medio Oriente. Según reza la nota, el por entonces general retirado del Cuerpo de Marines, James Mattis, junto con otros oficiales de los servicios armados de los Estados Unidos, habían comenzado a dirigirse al pequeño estado del Golfo Pérsico bajo el apodo "little Sparta," en clara referencia a la antigua ciudad-estado griega conocida por sus destacadas tradiciones marciales. Mientras que para algunos esta etiqueta puede resultar exagerada, la misma refleja en buena medida el espíritu que ha tenido la política exterior y de seguridad internacional llevada a cabo por la federación en los últimos años.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Armed Forces, and Military
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and UAE
615. Proyecciones para el Medio Oriente
- Author:
- Diego Fossati
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI)
- Abstract:
- La guerra en Ucrania, el juicio a Donald Trump y otros temas menores han desviado la atención respecto de Medio Oriente; sin embargo, la región sigue estando vigente con un número importante de temas que tienen impacto regional e internacional. Este artículo tiene como objetivo, entonces, llamar la atención sobre qué aspectos marcarán la agenda de la política internacional en la región.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Middle East
616. Un año después...
- Author:
- Lila Roldán Vázquez
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Argentine Council for International Relations (CARI)
- Abstract:
- Este artículo pretende inducir una reflexión sobre las consecuencias de la guerra de Rusia en Ucrania, que ya dura nueve años, particularmente después de la invasión total el 24 de febrero de 2022, y su impacto en el escenario geopolítico internacional.
- Topic:
- Security, War, Sanctions, Global South, Alliance, Russia-Ukraine War, and Invasion
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
617. Relations and Confrontations Between the Iranian and Israeli Special Services
- Author:
- Vasil Ghlonti
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
- Abstract:
- In the last ten years, relations between Iran and Israel have become increasingly tense. The Islamic regime of Iran has declared Israel an enemy of the Shiite Islamic world, and has stated its intention to destroy it, while Israel has identified Iran, which actively finances its opponent Palestinian and Lebanese terrorist organizations, as its number one opponent and the main challenge to its statehood. What does Iran want? One of the main goals of its foreign policy is the destruction of the state of Israel and the expulsion of its ally, the USA, from the Middle East region. Iranian special services have a great role to play in this endeavor. What does Israel want? To neutralise the military and terrorist threat from Iran and put a stop to its nuclear program, with the Israeli special services actively engaged in fulfilling these objectives. The conflict between the parties that started in the Middle East has gone on to gain a global character. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the dynamics of the confrontation between the special services of these two influential countries in the Middle East over the last ten years.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Confrontation, and Regional Politics
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Middle East, and Israel
618. Iran-US Relations in Light of the Confrontation Between Their Special Services
- Author:
- Vasil Ghlonti
- Publication Date:
- 12-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
- Abstract:
- The dynamics of Iran-US relations in the last decade show that there are many ongoing challenges between them. What does Iran want and what is its attitude towards the USA? The political elite of Iran considers the USA to be its number one foreign threat, and seeks to expel it from the Middle East region in its entirety, and in this process, actively using the capabilities of its special services. Meanwhile, the USA considers Iran one of the main financiers of world terrorism and one of the main opponents to its state interests. The American goal is thus to neutralize the terrorist threat coming from Iran and to weaken it both in the region and abroad, and here also the American special services are actively involved. Against this background, there is both a secret and open war between Iran and the US special services, which has been gaining more and more scope in recent years. The purpose of our present work is to discuss and analyze the relations between the Iranian and US special services, and their role in the current political processes happening in the Middle East.
- Topic:
- Security, Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, and Confrontation
- Political Geography:
- Iran, Middle East, North America, and United States of America
619. Ukraine’s State-Civil Partnership to Reform the Security Sector
- Author:
- Julia Soldatiuk-Westerveld and Bob Deen
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
- Abstract:
- Reforming Ukraine’s large security sector and overcoming its Soviet-era legacies has been a major challenge since independence. Ukrainian civil society has been vociferously demanding a transition towards a transparent and well-governed security sector that upholds the interests of the population rather than keeping it under control. This is also a priority for the Ukrainian Government and its international partners, as a prerequisite for further integration with the European Union and NATO. This report therefore analyses the changing role of Ukrainian civil society by investigating seven examples of key reforms of the security sector and puts forward recommendations for Ukraine’s international partners regarding their cooperation with Ukrainian civil society organisations (CSOs).
- Topic:
- Security, Civil Society, Reform, European Union, Partnerships, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Ukraine
620. Strengthening digital economic security in Europe
- Author:
- Maaike Okano-Heijmans and Alexandre Ferreira Gomes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
- Abstract:
- Tweet this Post on Facebook Post on LinkedIn Technological leadership, digital autonomy and economic security are now political Chefsache in countries throughout the world, including in Europe, as new technologies are revolutionising industries and reshaping societies. Set against this context, the Dutch government is preparing implementable measures to act on open strategic autonomy (OSA) in the digital domain, to be presented in October 2023. This comes just months after the launch of the European Economic Security Strategy by the European Commission. The Dutch government must reckon with the move in this new direction – from DOSA to (digital) economic security – if it wishes to leverage its reputation as a European frontrunner in this field. This report offers a strategic international analysis to inform Dutch policies and action on digital economic security, in a European context. It reflects on the geopolitical context that shapes digital OSA (DOSA) concerns and showcases the key features of both the European and Dutch approaches to the digital component of strategic autonomy. Next, the authors present a concise overview of the state of play in a select group of key countries (in-depth case studies focus on Germany, France and Finland; as well as the United States, China and India) and offer suggestions for future action. A key point emerging from the report is that European governments need to ensure that the focus on Regulate and Protect of recent years must be complemented by greater investments in Promote and Shape policies – both within the European Union and in coordination with key partners. The networks of Innovation Attachés and Economic Security Attachés (image below) play an important role in the Netherlands’ enhanced approach to digital economic security. The longstanding network of Innovation Attachés is an asset on the Promote side of Dutch technology policy that needs to be geared towards more strategic objectives. The newly established Economic Security network focuses on the Protect line of action.
- Topic:
- Security, European Union, Economic Security, and Digital Autonomy
- Political Geography:
- Europe