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261. Bulgaria and Black Sea Security

Author:
Siemon T. Wezeman and Alexandra Kuimova
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
The Black Sea region is experiencing a changing military balance. The six littoral states (Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine) intensified their efforts to build up their military potential after Russia’s takeover of Crimea and the start of the internationalized civil war in eastern Ukraine in 2014. As a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Bulgaria aims to support NATO’s security objectives of increasing military spending, enhancing defence capacities and developing interoperability. Bulgaria contributes to NATO’s military activities in the Black Sea region and regularly hosts and participates in exercises with NATO partners. However, Bulgaria also tries to remain on good terms with Russia by way of bilateral economic and political cooperation.
Topic:
Security, Military Affairs, Nuclear Power, Arms Trade, Disarmament, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Eurasia, Bulgaria, and Black Sea

262. Global Mapping and Analysis of Anti-vehicle Mine Incidents in 2017

Author:
Yeonju Jung and Gulzhan Asylbek Kyzy
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
The need for systematic data collection on anti-vehicle mine (AVM) incidents was first recognised during joint research by the GICHD and SIPRI for a study on the humanitarian and developmental impact of anti-vehicle mines published in October 2014. As a response, both organizations have been collecting global data on AVM incidents since 2015 with a view to improving evidence on and identifying trends in AVM impact. Data is available on interactive and regularly updated online maps. This report presents and analyses AVM incident data from 2017. The GICHD and SIPRI recorded 169 incidents in 2017 that were related or suspected to be related to AVMs in 24 states and territories.
Topic:
Development, Peace, Sustainability, Landmines, and Mapping
Political Geography:
Global Focus

263. “Pax Americana”: the United States and the transformation of the 20th century’s global order

Author:
Patrick O. Cohrs
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:
This article seeks to re-appraise the transformation of America’s international role and its influence on the transformation of the 20th century’s global order. It focuses on a re-appraisal of US aspirations to construct a “Pax Americana” and their impact on an unprecedented peace system that was first conceptualised after 1918 but only consolidated after 1945: the cold war’s transatlantic peace order. Yet my analysis also highlights important distinctions between American conceptions and behaviour vis-à-vis Europe and the superpower’s more hierarchical and often neo-imperialist approaches to “global order” and other regions during the cold war, including East Asia and Latin America.
Topic:
Cold War, History, Peace, Transatlantic Relations, International Order, and Pax Americana
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

264. Hybrid democracy: electoral rules and political competition in Afghanistan

Author:
Aureo Gomes
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:
Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI)
Abstract:
Departing from the hybridity literature on peacebuilding and electoral studies, this paper treats democratization in Afghanistan as a hybridization process. As a result, to understand the durability of corruption, fragile political parties, and non-democratic practices in the country, one should look more closely at the interplay between the current electoral system and how elites and local people respond to it.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Peace, and Hybridization
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and South Asia

265. Our Voice Makes a Difference: A Civil Society Guide to Advocacy on Women, Peace and Security

Author:
Eleonore Veilet Chowdhury, Katrina Leclerc, and Kelly Yzique Zea
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP)
Abstract:
This publication, “Our Voice Makes A Difference: Civil Society Advocacy Toolkit on Women, Peace and Security,” was developed by GNWP, with support from Cordaid, to aid women’s advocacy efforts during the CSW sessions. It provides women’s rights and peace activists with information and insights on how to navigate global policy spaces such as the CSW to effectively advocate on issues they care about
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Women, Peace, and Advocacy
Political Geography:
Global Focus

266. GROOMING THE NEXT GENERATION OF FOREIGN POLICYMAKERS: Women, Peace and Security in Practice

Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Our Secure Future
Abstract:
The Problem: There is a need to groom the next generation of policymakers on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. This is due to a rising demand in international affairs-related careers that require gender and WPS expertise, and the passage of the 2017 Women, Peace and Security Act which mandates enhanced professional training and education on Women, Peace and Security. However, trainings and educational programs on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) are created in silos such as academia, military, government, etc., and are often ad hoc. The Solution Strengthen the Women, Peace and Security community of educators and practitioners. Regular collaboration across sectors can help map the field, inventory strategies to professionalize the field, and encourage institutions to offer more training and educational programs on WPS on a regular basis. Key Takeaway from the Experts Policymakers, practitioners, and scholars identified a key first step: in order to professionalize the field, it is necessary to establish an agreed-upon set of “minimum core competencies” for Women, Peace and Security to groom the next generation of policymakers and leaders.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, Women, Peace, and WPS
Political Geography:
United States and Global Focus

267. WOMEN, PEACE & SECURITY: BY THE NUMBERS

Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Our Secure Future
Abstract:
There is a growing body of evidence that shows us that women’s participation yields positive results. Whether in governance, in peace processes, or serving as peacekeepers, increasing the number of women at the table can reduce corruption, increase trust, and create sustainable peace.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, Women, Peace, and WPS
Political Geography:
United States and Global Focus

268. WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE WOMEN, PEACE, AND SECURITY ACT of 2017

Author:
Sahana Dharmapuri, Jolynn Shoemaker, and Sarah Williamson
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Our Secure Future
Abstract:
The Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017 is a major milestone for US law. It recognizes that women are on the frontlines of international security challenges as powerful agents of change to create stability and peace. The law mandates women’s meaningful participation in international peace and security.
Topic:
Security, United Nations, Women, Peace, and WPS
Political Geography:
United States and Global Focus

269. Set the Torturers Free: Transitional Justice and Peace vs Justice Dilemma in Burma/Myanmar

Author:
Michal Lubina
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
Burma/Myanmar seems to be a perfect ground for transitional justice with both long-failed transitions to democracy that seemed to succeed in 2015 finally and smouldering civil war taking place there since 1948 (since the 1990s limited to Borderlands). Unfortu- nately, the political realities in Burma/Myanmar make it unlikely, if not impossible, for tran- sitional justice to be applicable in Burma/Myanmar. The victorious in 2015 elections demo- cratic opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) came to power thanks to the political deal with the former military government and is consequently being forced to co- habitate politically with the army that still holds critical political checks over the government. It made NLD’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to conduct moderate domestic policy without trying to charge the generals for their former crimes. In this circumstances, transitional justice is unwanted by mainstream political actors (NLD, the army) and seen as threatening to peace by many in the Myanmar society. This approach firmly places Burma/Myanmar on one side of the ‘peace vs justice’ dilemma. It answers the “torturer problem”, one of the central problems of transitional justice – how to deal with members of the previous regime which violated human rights – in ‘old fashion’ way, by granting them full amnesty. As such Burma/Myanmar case also falsifies an optimistic claim that transitional justice is necessary for political reforms.
Topic:
Torture, Reform, Transitional Justice, and Peace
Political Geography:
Asia, Burma, and Myanmar

270. Post-Conflict Peace-Building in a Contested International Border: The Nigeria-Cameroon Border Conflict Settlement and Matters Arising

Author:
Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Institution:
Brazilian Journal of African Studies
Abstract:
The political solution under the Green Tree Agreement which led to the handover of the contested Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon by Nigeria following the International Court of Justice (2002) ruling signaled the end of the protracted Nigeria/Cameroon border conflict, at least on the surface. However, some analysts believed that it marked the beginning of what may result into a future conflict (Agbakwuru 2012; The Guardian 2006). From the analysis of the verdict of the Court, it would appear that while the interests of the two states involved in the conflict appeared to have been taken into cognizance, the interest of the indigenes and inhabitants of Bakassi was not. Apart from alienating these local people from their ancestral homes, cultural sites and livelihood opportunities, activities such as fishing; interstate water transportation, trading etc, which were operated as early as the precolonial days by the local inhabitants, appear to have been disrupted, thus, endangering their means of livelihood and survival. The Anglo-German agreement of March 1913 which the ICJ ruling relied on for its verdict on the Nigeria-Cameroon border conflict represents the earliest milestone in the process of alienation of the inhabitants of the Bakassi Peninsula, the causus bellum; especially since the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar exercised sovereignty over the Bakassi3 , a title which was subsumed in that part of Nigeria as the sovereign state during the period of this conflict. While the ICJ ruling gave precedence to contemporary western constructions of the notions of boundaries and sovereignty to the detriment of the historical consolidation (Sama & Johnson-Ross 2005-2006, 111), “protectorate treaty made without jurisdiction should not have taken precedence over a community title rights and ownership existing from time immemorial” (Nigerian Information Service Centre 2002; The Guardian 2002, 1-2) In other words, Germany transferred to Cameroon what it did not derive from Britain, since the right to title ownership lay with the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar. The focus of this article is not to delve into the juridical issues relating to legal ownership of the territory since the ICJ ruling had put that to rest. Rather the objective is to analyse matters arising from the settlement that could jeopardise the “cold peace” between the two countries; issues relating to psychological, socio-economic and political fallouts which the method of settlement of the conflict and its application brought on the indigenes and inhabitants of the Bakassi Peninsula as well as proffer recommendations for lasting peace in this troubled region.
Topic:
Territorial Disputes, Border Control, Conflict, Peace, and Settlements
Political Geography:
Africa, Nigeria, and Cameroon