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2061. Public Forum and Workshop on Securing Food Futures in the Asia-Pacific: Evaluating Regional Frameworks for Food Security

Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Between 2005 and 2008, global food prices increased 83 per cent. The price of wheat rose by 127 per cent, rice by 170 per cent and that of maize tripled. As a result the number of people suffering from chronic hunger reached a historic high of 1.02 billion in 2009, with the Asia- Pacific region accounting for 63 per cent of that total (642 million people). Although the situation improved in 2010 due to a more favourable economic environment and a fall in both international and domestic food prices, the future remains daunting. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), for example, forecast that the average wheat and coarse grain prices over the next 10 years will increase by between 15 and 40 per cent in real terms compared to average levels during 1997–2006. These events and projections demonstrate the global nature of the food problem, and underscore the importance of deeper regional cooperation.
Topic:
Security, Globalization, and Food
Political Geography:
United Nations

2062. Regional Workshop on Dealing with Energy Vulnerabilities

Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS)
Abstract:
Much literature on energy security in East Asia has focused on the dynamics of competition over resources, and how conflicts could arise from this. While this analytical perspective identifies potential risks and is conducive to the proposing of pre-emptive solutions to likely problems, it also risks precluding necessary attention to the possibilities for cooperation between states in the region. While the themes of competition and conflict will continue to be relevant in discussions on East Asian states and societies, it ought to be a useful exercise to review case studies of how countries in East Asia have managed to overcome their respective vulnerabilities and thus meet their energy needs. Such knowledge can in turn contribute to the exploration of cooperation-based solutions for addressing energy security in the region.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, and Energy Policy
Political Geography:
Israel and East Asia

2063. The Role of Women in Global Security

Author:
Valerie Norville
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Building lasting peace and security requires women's participation. Half of the world's population cannot make a whole peace. Ten years after the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1325 on increasing women's participation in matters of global security, the numbers of women participating in peace settlements remain marginal. While improvements have been made, women remain underrepresented in public office, at the negotiating table, and in peacekeeping missions. The needs and perspectives of women are often overlooked in postconflict disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR), as well as in security sector reform, rehabilitation of justice, and the rule of law. Many conflicts have been marked by widespread sexual and gender-based violence, which often continues in the aftermath of war and is typically accompanied by impunity for the perpetrators. A continuing lack of physical security and the existence of significant legal constraints in postconflict societies hamper women's integration into economic life and leadership. Best practices for increasing women's participation include deployment of gender-balanced peacekeeping units, a whole-of-government approach to security sector and judicial reform, and more intentional solicitation of the input of women at the community level on priori - ties for national budgets and international programs.
Topic:
Security, Gender Issues, Globalization, and United Nations

2064. Breaking the Cycle of Electoral Violence in Nigeria

Author:
Ebere Onwudiwe and Chloe Berwind-Dart
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Nigeria's 2011 polls will mark the fourth multiparty election in Nigeria and, if a power transfer occurs, only the second handover of civilian administrations since the country's return to democracy in 1999. Past election cycles have featured political assassinations, voter intimidation, intra-and interparty clashes, and communal unrest. Party primary season, the days immediately surrounding elections, and the announcement of results have been among the most violent periods in previous cycles. Although the most recent elections in 2007 derived some benefit from local conflict management capacity, they were roundly criticized for being neither free nor fair. The 2011 elections could mark a turning point in the consolidation of Nigeria's democracy, but they could also provoke worsening ethnosectarian clashes and contribute to the continuing scourge of zero-sum politics. President Umaru Yar'Adua, who died in May 2010, kept his 2007 inauguration promise to create an Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) but failed to adopt key recommendations that the committee made. His successor, President Goodluck Jonathan, appointed a widely respected professor, Attahiru Jega, to head the Independent National Electoral Commission, inspiring hope that electoral processes will improve in 2011. The issue of “zoning,” the political elite's power-sharing agreement, has taken center stage in the current election cycle and will drive significant conflict if the debate around it devolves into outright hostilities. his unusual election cycle, local and international organizations and Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) must redouble their efforts both to prevent and resolve conflicts and to promote conflict sensitivity. The near term requires an increasingly important role for the judiciary in combating electoral fraud, and the longer term requires the creation of the ERC–recommended Electoral Offenses Commission, which would specialize in the investigation and prosecution of crimes. Local agencies and respected community leaders must remain proactive and creative in violence-prevention programming, irrespective of international funding. Established local organizations with preexisting networks are best situated to perform early-warning and conflict management functions. High voter turnout and citizen monitoring are vital for ensuring that the 2011 elections in Nigeria are credible and civil.
Topic:
Security, Political Violence, and Democratization
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

2065. Security Debates and Alliance against Terrorism

Author:
Ramazan Erdag
Publication Date:
11-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
Institution:
Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
Abstract:
This article searches the answer that how security could be defined, what the new security studies are and what can be done against global terrorism and how can be assured peace and stability condition? In this context, with new security disputes and perspectives it can be said that security is not an alone issue, it's a collective study and mostly claimed as dilemma. It also can be said that in the new era more international collaboration and alliance are need to supply international security. In this regard this article expounds global alliances' effectiveness -especially NATO for global security.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Europe

2066. The geopolitics of Asia – What role for the European Union?

Author:
Fraser Cameron
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Politics
Institution:
Palgrave Macmillan
Abstract:
This article reviews the European Union's policy towards Asia since 2001, when an ambitious Communication from the European Commission suggested that the EU should play a political and security role in the region commensurate with its economic strength. After assessing a number of political and security issues in Asia, the article concludes that the EU has had little or no impact on the major geopolitical issues but that it is making some impact on security issues of lesser importance. The article also touches on integration as a contribution to security. It reviews the limited progress in Asian integration and suggests that the basic criteria for integration are missing in Asia. Some aspects of the EU model, however, might be useful for Asian countries wishing to move forward towards closer integration.
Topic:
Security and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe and Asia

2067. EU and ASEAN: Issues of regional security

Author:
Nicholas Rees
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Politics
Institution:
Palgrave Macmillan
Abstract:
The article critically explores how, and in what ways, the EU and ASEAN have addressed contemporary security issues, including non-traditional security threats. The comparison of the EU and ASEAN responses to these threats highlights the different forms and functions that regional integration has taken in Europe and Southeast Asia, and the implications of these differences for intra- and extra-regional security cooperation. The article considers how the EU and ASEAN might work more cooperatively together, noting some existing examples in which experiences and good practice are already shared, as well as other areas in which cooperation might be possible. The article concludes that while security cooperation in the EU and ASEAN, as well as between the two regional entities, is problematic, reflecting differing regional and national interests and organisational capabilities, there are concrete areas in which cooperation is possible.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Europe and Southeast Asia

2068. Russia, Ukraine, and Central Europe: The Return of Geopolitics

Author:
F. Stephen Larrabee
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
Nine November 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, effectively marking the end of the Cold War. It opened the way to the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, the reunification of Germany, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the emergence of a new security order in Europe.
Topic:
Security and Cold War
Political Geography:
Europe

2069. Russia and Europe's Mutual Energy Dependence

Author:
Christophe-Alexandre Paillard
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
In the field of energy, Europe will be confronted with various risks in the next twenty years. Most notably, there is no clear alternative to fossil energy on a large scale with the possible exception of nuclear energy; yet few countries are able to pay for the large investment required by a nuclear industry. The need to ensure greater energy security and better regulation of energy supplies will turn energy policy into a much more politicized issue. Energy, already an important security concern, will continue to shape future military and political relations, especially if there is no other option other than oil and gas to satiate growing demand.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

2070. Re-Examining Russian Energy Power

Author:
Michael Broache
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
The conventional wisdom concerning Russian energy policy is overwhelmingly alarmist: Russia's role as a major oil and gas producer has strengthened the Russian state vis-à-vis domestic civil society, undermined democratization and market reforms, and emboldened Russia to pursue a more aggressive foreign policy. Russian Energy Power and Foreign Relations, a compilation of essays edited by Jerome Perovic, Robert W. Orttung, and Andreas Wenger, confronts this conventional wisdom by presenting a nuanced account of recent developments in Russian energy policy and their implications for global energy security and Russian foreign relations.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, and Reform
Political Geography:
Russia