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20241. Côte d'Ivoire's Political Stalemate: A Symptom of Africa's Weak Electoral Institutions

Author:
Dorina Bekoe
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The political stalemate in Côte d'Ivoire following the November 28, 2010, presidential election continues. The majority of the international community recognizes Alassane Ouattara as the winner, but Laurent Gbagbo, the sitting president, insists he won. Financial and diplomatic sanctions imposed on the Gbagbo administration have thus far not forced Gbagbo from power. Maintaining international pressure and focus is critical to resolving the Ivorian crisis, but African states are increasingly divided on how to proceed. The power-sharing arrangement settled on by five African nations in recent elections sets a dangerous precedent. Losers with a strong militia may find it easier to use threats of violence or actual violence to retain a critical power role, thus subverting the intent of the election. African states will continue to experience violence during elections until the security sector is reformed, states refrain from holding elections while militias remain mobilized and armed, elections can be clearly and independently verified, institutions are politically independent, and policies exist to discourage the violent acquisition of power.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Post Colonialism, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

20242. Global Rebalancing: The Dangerous Obsession

Author:
Uri Dadush
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
The current emphasis on global rebalancing—which aims to reduce trade deficits and surpluses—is misguided. Trade deficits and surpluses narrowed significantly during the Great Recession, can be financed and eased over time, and are largely the result of domestic forces—making further global rebalancing unlikely. The obsession with global rebalancing stokes currency and protectionist tensions and diverts attention from what is really needed—reforms at home. Rather than focusing on global rebalancing, countries should concentrate more on fixing their domestic problems and expanding their domestic demand at the maximum sustainable rate.
Topic:
Debt, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, Global Recession, and Financial Crisis

20243. China and the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review

Author:
Lora Saalman
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
China is increasingly factored into U.S. nuclear strategy. When President Obama released the administration's Nuclear Posture Review (NPR)—a document that guides America's nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities, and force posture for the next five to ten years—in April 2010, China was named 36 times. By contrast, China was barely mentioned in the last NPR completed in 2002. The United States expressed its desire to enhance strategic stability with China, but there needs to be a better understanding of how China perceives America's nuclear posture.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Diplomacy, and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, China, and Israel

20244. Policing the People, Building the State: Authoritarian Transformation in the West Bank and Gaza

Author:
Yezid Sayigh
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza have sought to strengthen their respective Palestinian Authority Security Force (PASF) sectors in recent years, they have adopted very different approaches. The Fayyad government in the West Bank largely relies on financial and training support from the West, while the Haniah government of Hamas in Gaza, lacking significant outside help, has been forced to streamline its operations.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Foreign Aid, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Gaza

20245. Africa Can Feed Itself in a Generation

Author:
Calestous Juma
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
African agriculture is at a crossroads. Persistent food shortages are now being compounded by new threats arising from climate change. But Africa also has three major opportunities that can help transform its agriculture to be a force for economic growth. First, advances in science, technology, and engineering worldwide offer Africa new tools needed to promote sustainable agriculture. Second, efforts to create regional markets will provide new incentives for agricultural production and trade. Third, a new generation of African leaders is helping the continent focus on long-term economic transformation.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Economics, Science and Technology, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa

20246. The Foreign Fighter Phenomenon: Islam and Transnational Militancy

Author:
Thomas Hegghammer
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
A salient feature of armed conflict in the Muslim world since 1980 has been the involvement of so-called foreign fighters. These foreign fighters are unpaid combatants with no apparent link to the conflict other than religious affinity with the Muslim side. Since 1980, between 10,000 and 30,000 such fighters have inserted themselves into conflicts from Bosnia in the west to the Philippines in the east.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:
Bosnia, Middle East, Philippines, and Arabia

20247. The Future of U.S. Nuclear Policy: The Case for No First Use

Author:
Michael S. Gerson
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Despite heightened expectations for significant change in U.S. nuclear policy—especially declaratory policy— the Obama administration's Nuclear Posture Review changes little from the past. The NPR's declaratory policy retains the option for the United States to use nuclear weapons first in a variety of circumstances, including in a first strike against Chinese, North Korean, Russian, and (perhaps) future Iranian nuclear forces. Equally important, the United States can threaten the first use of nuclear weapons to deter and, if necessary, respond, to a variety of nonnuclear contingencies, including large-scale conventional aggression by another nuclear power such as China or Russia and chemical or biological weapons (CBW) attacks from states such as Iran and North Korea.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, and North Korea

20248. AB 32 and Climate Change: The National Context of State Policies for a Global Commons Problem

Author:
Robert N. Stavins
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Abstract:
Why should anyone be interested in the national context of a state policy? In the case of California's Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), the answer flows directly from the very nature of the problem— global climate change, the ultimate global commons problem. Greenhouse gases (GHGs) uniformly mix in the atmosphere. Therefore, any jurisdiction taking action—whether a nation, a state, or a city—will incur the costs of its actions, but the benefits of its actions (reduced risk of climate-change damages) will be distributed globally. Hence, for virtually any jurisdiction, the benefits it reaps from its climate-policy actions will be less than the cost it incurs. This is despite the fact that the global benefits of action may well be greater—possibly much greater—than global costs.
Topic:
Climate Change and Environment
Political Geography:
United States and California

20249. How Empires Emerge

Author:
Morten Skumsrud Andersen
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
In the Assyrian empire, boasting about how terrible and ferocious the Assyrian kings and their armies were in war served to install fear in the to-be-conquered populations (Mann 1986: 232-234). But their relations were not only of fear and awe. One event, as retold in the Bible, describes how the Assyrian army approaches the walls of Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem are on the walls to see and listen. The Assyrian envoy, the Rab-shakeh (a vizier), is negotiating with the He- brew representative, but is asked by his fellow Assyrians not to speak in Hebrew when negotiating. The people on the wall will understand. But that was exactly the purpose. The Assyrians had chosen an envoy that mastered the local language. He 'stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the word of the Great King, the King of Assyria. Thus says the King...Make your peace with me and come out to me; then every one of you will eat of his own vine, and every one of his own fig tree”' (2 Kings 18:31, quoted in Watson 1998: 36). He was reaching out to influence the people, not only talking to the local rulers.
Topic:
Imperialism, International Affairs, and Political Theory

20250. Accountability in the United Nations

Author:
Ole Jacob Sending and Morten Skumsrud Andersen
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
This report presents the key findings from a study of the role and functioning of the Board of Auditors (BoA), the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) and the Joint Inspection Unit (JIU). It is based on assessment of central policy documents and research papers as well as in-depth interviews with key representatives from these organizations and other stakeholders. The report analyses the functioning, mandate and perceived effectiveness of each of these three core organizations.
Topic:
International Cooperation, United Nations, International Affairs, and Governance