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201. Mitigating the Security Risks Posed by a Near-Nuclear Iran

Author:
Matthew Kroenig
Publication Date:
11-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
US President Barack Obama has called the international dispute over Iran's advanced nuclear program "one of the leading security challenges of our time." Fitting for a problem of this magnitude, analysts have thoroughly examined the major policy options for addressing the challenge, including most notably, diplomacy, containment, and military strikes. Lost in this focus on the broad policy options to prevent or deal with a nuclear-armed Iran, however, is the acknowledgement that Iran already possesses a latent nuclear weapons capability and that this capability poses several threats to international peace and security at present. Moreover, it is almost certain that Iran will retain such a capability in the short to medium term regardless of how the nuclear diplomacy progresses-and even if the international community and Iran agree to a "comprehensive" nuclear deal. Rather than an exclusive focus on broad strategies for preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, therefore, it would also be prudent to identify and mitigate against the challenges posed by Iran's extant latent nuclear capability, a capability that will likely remain in place even if Washington's policy of prevention is successful.
Topic:
Nuclear Weapons and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Iran

202. Nordic-Baltic Support to Military and Security Capacity Building?

Publication Date:
12-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Support to Military and Security Capacity Building is expanding as a way to strengthen the resilience of states and enhance their ability to manage conflict and insecurity constructively. It offers new openings for Nordic and Baltic engagements and partnerships.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, NATO, United Nations, Fragile/Failed State, and Peacekeeping

203. National Ownership and Post-Conflict Peace Building: From Principle to Practice

Author:
Timothy Donais
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for International Governance Innovation
Abstract:
There is a growing consensus, both within and outside the UN system, around the importance of national ownership for sustainable post-conflict peace building. Reflecting on the broader peace-building project in 2009, for example, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon invoked national ownership as a central theme, reflecting the common sense wisdom that any peace process not embraced by those who have to live with it is likely to fail (UN 2009).
Topic:
Civil Society, Governance, Reconstruction, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
United Nations

204. A New Deal for Somalia?: The Somali Compact and its Implications for Peacebuilding

Author:
Sarah Hearn and Thomas Zimmerman
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
In this brief, we analyze the process that led to the "Somali New Deal Compact," the framework's potential effectiveness as a peacebuilding tool, and potential ways to strengthen it.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Governance, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

205. Rethinking Peacebuilding: Transforming the UN Approach

Author:
Michael von der Schulenburg
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has found itself intervening directly within its member states to help them end intrastate conflicts and rebuild their war-torn countries. Peacekeeping missions that were originally designed to keep opposing national armies apart and that had the consent of the host state are now expected to secure a much more comprehensive peace, intervene much more deeply in states' internal affairs—with tenuous legitimacy—and resolve active conflicts where there is no "peace" to keep.
Topic:
Cold War, Peace Studies, War, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
United Nations

206. Peacebuilding and Postconflict Recovery: What Works and What Does Not?

Author:
Robert Muggah and Christian Altpeter
Publication Date:
07-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The fourth International Expert Forum (IEF), "Peacebuilding and Postconflict Recovery: What Works and What Does Not?" was focused squarely on the challenges of rebuilding peace in countries and societies emerging from conflict and the role of external actors in supporting these processes. The IEF was held at the International Peace Institute (IPI) on May 23, 2013, and participants considered the track record of peacebuilding, political and economic transition processes, as well as rule of law and transitional justice. The goal was to distill insights and identify policy implications. This IEF was the fourth meeting in a series of high-level seminars dealing with the conflict cycle. Previous forums considered conflict prevention, the mitigation of consequences of conflict, and peacekeeping. The IEF serves as an informal platform for exchange and dialogue among researchers, practitioners, and decision makers on issues related to conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding. The IEF convenes one-day workshops at IPI in New York and is a joint initiative by IPI, the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), the SecDev Foundation, and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF).
Topic:
Security, Peace Studies, War, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
New York

207. Toward a Lasting Ceasefire in Gaza

Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
More than seven weeks after the most devastating war yet waged in Gaza, its underlying causes remain unresolved. Hamas did not achieve an end to Gaza's closure; Israel did not attain the demilitarisation of the Strip or Hamas. The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) remains unrepresentative and its credibility continues to fade. Fatah's popularity has sunk while Hamas's has increased to levels unseen since its 2006 electoral victory. Small steps toward reconciliation between Hamas and the PLO have been taken, but they are very distant from the end goal of a unified, representative Palestinian leadership. But in reconciliation lies the only hope of achieving a sustainable ceasefire and, more broadly, of bringing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank under one authority.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, War, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Middle East and Palestine

208. Her Excellency Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway

Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Columbia University World Leaders Forum
Abstract:
This World Leaders Forum program features an address by Her Excellency Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Norway titled, To End Poverty, We Need Peace, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.
Topic:
Peace Studies, Political Economy, Poverty, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Europe and Norway

209. Improving UN Capacity for Rapid Deployment

Author:
H. Peter Langille
Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Rapid deployment of large peace operations into conflict zones worldwide is a demanding process. Within the United Nations system, the process is further complicated and frequently delayed by a long list of tasks, including the need to seek the support of member states for the deployment of their national personnel and resources. Yet, rapid deployment remains an important standard with specified response times and an objective that underpins many related reforms.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation, Peacekeeping, and Reform
Political Geography:
United Nations

210. Bringing Back the Palestinian Refugee Question

Publication Date:
10-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The Palestinian refugee question, like the refugees themselves, has been politically marginalised and demoted on the diplomatic agenda. Yet, whenever the diplomatic process comes out of its current hiatus, the Palestinian leadership will be able to negotiate and sell a deal only if it wins the support or at least acquiescence of refugees – because if it does not, it will not bring along the rest of the Palestinian population. Refugees currently feel alienated from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which they regard with suspicion; doubt the intentions of Palestinian negotiators, whom they do not believe represent their interests; and, as one of the more impoverished Palestinian groups, resent the class structure that the PA and its economic policies have produced. As a result of their isolation, refugees in the West Bank and Gaza are making demands for services and representation that are reinforcing emerging divisions within Palestinian society and politics. There arguably are ways to address refugee needs, both diplomatic and practical, that are not mutually exclusive with core Israeli interests. This report examines what could be done on the Palestinian side to mitigate the risk that the Palestinian refugee question derails a future negotiation.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Refugee Issues, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Arabia