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532. The New British Government, the 'Special Relationship,' and the Middle East
- Author:
- Simon Henderson
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
- Abstract:
- On May 6, Britain went to the polls to elect a new government, producing no clear result but forcing the resignation of Labor Party leader Gordon Brown. Within hours of taking over as prime minister, Conservative Party leader David Cameron had created a new body, a British national security council, whose first meeting focused on "discuss[ing] the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and review[ing] the terrorist threat to the UK." Apart from Britain's economic problems, these issues and Middle East policy in general will likely dominate the new government's agenda -- and its relations with Washington.
- Topic:
- Foreign Policy, Politics, Terrorism, International Security, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, United Kingdom, Washington, and Middle East
533. Combining Realism with Vision Options for NATO's new Strategic Concept
- Author:
- Riccardo Alcaro
- Publication Date:
- 05-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Elaborating a Strategic Concept is a delicate undertaking which implies a good deal of resolve, far - sightedness, and realism. Allies should neither search for a new North Star nor give in to the temptation of de facto acceptance of the status quo as the optimal solution. Instead, they should make choices reflecting a synthesis, not just a list, of their security priorities. In particular, they should consider the future of the allied deterrence and defence strategies in a security environment characterised by significant political and technological changes, including by thinking about steps towards withdrawing US nuclear weapons in Europe and creating an integrated missile defence system; learn the lessons from the Balkans and Afghanistan and accord greater priority to stabilisation than to rapid reaction capabilities; recognise that compromises will be inevitable if they are serious about considering Russia as a partner, and start by pausing for a while with enlargement. Allies should also make it clear that they have no ambition of turning NATO into a world gendarme and shift towards cooperative crisis management.
- Topic:
- NATO, Treaties and Agreements, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, United States, and Europe
534. Africa's Irregular Security Threats: Challenges for U.S. Engagement
- Author:
- Andre Le Sage
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- The United States has a growing strategic interest in Africa at a time when the security landscape there is dominated by a wide range of irregular, nonstate threats. Militia factions and armed gangs are ubiquitous in the continent's civil wars, fighting both for and against African governments. Other security challenges include terrorism, drug trafficking, maritime threats such as piracy in the Indian Ocean, and oil bunkering in the Gulf of Guinea. Organized criminal activities, particularly kidnapping, human smuggling and trafficking in persons, weapons smuggling, and environmental and financial crimes, are increasingly brazen and destructive. These are not isolated phenomena. Rather, they create a vicious circle: Africa's irregular threat dynamics sustain black markets directly linked to state corruption, divert attention from democratization efforts, generate or fuel civil wars, drive state collapse, and create safe havens that allow terrorists and more criminals to operate
- Topic:
- Political Violence, International Cooperation, Poverty, International Security, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and India
535. Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones as a New Deterrent?
- Author:
- Janene Sawers
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- United States Institute of Peace
- Abstract:
- Deterrence is an outdated approach to the threat of nuclear weapons and does not meet the security needs of the post-Cold War era. Nuclear weapon-free states can establish a new regional security framework through the strengthening of existing and creation of new Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZs). These zones operate under the assumption that more nuclear weapons make the world inherently less safe and demonstrate that countries do not need nuclear weapons to deter attack.
- Topic:
- Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security
536. (Information) Revolution in One Country
- Author:
- Anthony Olcott
- Publication Date:
- 06-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University
- Abstract:
- Speaking in China on November 16, 2009, President Barack Obama said, “I think that the more freely information flows, the stronger the society becomes, because then citizens of countries around the world can hold their own governments accountable. They can begin to think for themselves” [video—transcript]. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton quoted most of the same phrase two months later in her own ringing endorsement of Internet freedom, delivered in a speech at the Washington, DC, Newseum on January 21, 2010.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Globalization, International Security, and Power Politics
- Political Geography:
- China and Washington
537. The Challenge: NATO Amidst Geopolitical Realities
- Author:
- Rob de Wijk
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Should NATO remain primarily a collective defense alliance or should it be transformed into a worldwide security provider? This question lies at the core of the debate in allied capitals as NATO develops its next Strategic Concept. New security challenges, as well as NATO's military operations in Afghanistan, suggest that the pressure for change has become irresistible.
- Topic:
- NATO, Climate Change, Economics, Politics, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Europe, and North America
538. The United States, NATO and the European Union : Partnership in the Balance
- Author:
- Robert Hunter and Sven Biscop
- Publication Date:
- 02-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The drafters of the new Strategic Concept for NATO must realize that the transatlantic context in which the Alliance operates has changed fundamentally. Accordingly, in addition to improving NATO-EU relations and streamlining the NATO apparatus, basic changes in the organization of transatlantic relations overall are required, taking into account two major developments.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation and International Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and North America
539. NATO Missile Defense: Is Europe Ready?
- Author:
- Edgar Buckley
- Publication Date:
- 11-2010
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- No wonder everyone looks forward to a positive decision on making territorial missile defense a NATO task at the upcoming Lisbon Summit. Allies will breathe a collective sigh of relief for two reasons. First, proliferation of missile technology has exposed Europe to real future risks and threats, which can only be countered defensively through early preparation and deployments. Second, absent such a decision, the United States' Phased Adaptive Approach (PAA) – to be deployed in Europe whatever the summit decides – is a fundamental challenge to NATO, detracting from its overall responsibility for collective defense and raising acutely uncomfortable issues, such as the prospect of U.S.-commanded defenses operating in parallel with Article 5 defense of NATO.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Europe
540. STRATCON 2010: An Alliance for a Global Century
- Publication Date:
- 04-2010
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- In the late 1940s, a visionary generation of transatlantic leaders – shaped by the experience of the most devastating war in human history – decided to build a new world based on respect for universal human values and cooperation among nations. Thus was born the United Nations, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the International Court of Justice, the Bretton Woods Institutions of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, the European Coal and Steel Community and, of course, NATO.
- Topic:
- International Relations, NATO, International Political Economy, International Security, and Reform