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7762. The Adaptation of the Spanish Armed Forces to Western Security in the 1960s / La adecuación de las Fuerzas Armadasespañolas a la seguridad occidental en la década de 1960
- Author:
- Carlota García Encina
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- This work explores the changes that took place in the 1960s in the Spanish Armed Forces. The aim is to analyse the nature of such changes and transformations and to what extend there was an influence or assimilations of the development in such field beyond our borders. The main sources are the writings, works, essays and speeches that have come out of the hands of the militaries of the three armies thanks to an abundance of unpublished documentation under-explored.
- Topic:
- Security, Armed Forces, Military Affairs, and History
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Spain, and Western Europe
7763. Crisis Management in the Armies of Advanced Societies / Gestión de crisis en los ejércitos de las sociedades avanzadas
- Author:
- Jesús Martínez Paricio
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Modern armies and societies are facing a crisis that affects their organizational structure, doctrine and, above all, the identity of their professionals. In the horizon of what is possible they must maintain the undesirable scenario of a symmetrical conflict. However, they have to cope with the demands of the uncertainty of asymmetric conflicts. The armies remain national but increasingly act in joint and integrated organizations where they must achieve success in a defined objectives diffused. The effectiveness of these international groups and contingents is recognized, but the identity and sense of belonging remain national. Armies are complex institutional organizations that cannot be explained in dichotomous terms. The doubts that arise when managing this crisis are present directly in the opinions of the military. They assume contradictions, ambivalences, even eccentricities at an important cost in the personal, family and professional spheres.
- Topic:
- International Organization, Military Affairs, Crisis Management, and Army
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
7764. Cyberactivity in Postmodern Revolutions / El ciberactivismo en las revoluciones posmodernas
- Author:
- Dario Cortés and Tannia Garzón
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Bearing in mind the technological context in which the action of global society revolves around and the influence that the digital age has on human daily life, it can be inferred that the technological component has become an influential factor within social phenomena, according to the search for structural social changes and at the same time can produce some concerns and risks to the stability of the ruling systems of government, for which this research has been proposed, in order to demonstrate the actions and factors that make these facts tangible, which are exposed above.
- Topic:
- Social Movement, Revolution, Insurrection, and Identity
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
7765. The Political Polarization of Afghan Society and its Democratic Failure (1973-2001) / La polarización política de la sociedad afgana y su fracaso democrático (1973-2001)
- Author:
- Francisco Berenguer López
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- The article analyzes the complex Afghan political situation that the international community found when the fall of the Taliban happened in December 2001 and how it was reached. It describes how the Afghan Islamism developed during the eighties in its various interpretations to reach the emergence of the Taliban movement, and the contradictions that this ideology represents to come to constitute an element of national integration. It is argued that precisely has been the lack of understanding of the Afghan political sociology by many countries that have formed part of the international effort to rebuild the Afghan state, which has determined the animadversion to meddle in specific regeneration projects and integration of a fragmented elite after more than twenty years of war.
- Topic:
- Politics, Religion, Sociology, Ethnicity, and Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and South Asia
7766. Salafism: From a Religious Movement to a Political Force / Salafismo: de un movimiento religioso a una fuerza política
- Author:
- Juan Carlos Antúnez
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- Globalization has introduced rapid changes in the social, political and economic realms of life. It has provoked perturbing and turbulent effects and has challenged established and rooted notions of identity. Globalization has also changed the essence of religion and its role in international affairs. Religion is growing in countries with a wide variety of religious traditions and levels of economic development. Islam is also experiencing a genuine revival. Salafism is a primarily theological movement in Sunni Islam concerned with purifying the faith. Islamic Salafism, as other major religious movements of today, has become universal and less affiliated with any one territory, and more personal and private, increasingly embodying a spiritual search for self-fulfilment. Salafism has also evolved from being a non-political ideology to develop into a political force.
- Topic:
- Globalization, Politics, Religion, Salafism, and Islamism
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
7767. International Security and Human Rights: an Examination through Critical Cosmopolitarianism and Offensive Liberalism Approaches / Seguridad internacional y Derechos Humanos: una reflexión a partir delos aportes del cosmopolitismo crítico y el liberalismo ofensivo
- Author:
- María Eugenia Cardinale
- Publication Date:
- 06-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
- Institution:
- International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
- Abstract:
- This paper will examine two theoretical perspectives about International Security, through the theoretical framework of IR (International Relations) Debates. The focus will be on “thin cosmopolitarianism” and offensive liberalism. Both approaches emphases the linkage between international security and human rights as the core of ideas and practices in the field. International Security has a central role in IR contemporary debates and within them has emerged proposals that pursue the aim of presenting innovative forms and contents for security. Among those approaches experts highlights critical views of cosmopolitarianism and a specific form of liberalism called offensive or interventionist, usually associated with USA security policies. Particularly, this last perspective has not received enough attention in Spanish IR literature. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to review, to compare and to call into question both perspectives, considering that as a basis for analyze international security-human rights relationship.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Human Rights, International Security, and Liberalism
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Spain, and United States of America
7768. Sustaining Peace and peace Operations Mandates: The Liberia Transition
- Author:
- Gizem Sucuoglu
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Peace Operations Review
- Abstract:
- On 14 December 2016, NYU’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC), the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation (DHF) and the International Peace Institute (IPI) organized the first in a series of workshops in support of efforts to better understand and implement sustaining peace. At this first workshop, participants discussed practical ways to improve the peacebuilding implications of peace operation mandates, drawing on the upcoming Liberia transition as a prime case, under the Chatham House rule. Participants included member states active in the Security Council and/or the Peacebuilding Commission; experts from different parts of the UN system including the Peacebuilding Support Office; the Department of Peacekeeping Operations; the Department of Political Affairs; the UN Development Program; and representatives from CIC, IPI, DHF, the Institute for Security Studies, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The discussion took place against the backdrop of the transition from the UNMIL mandate, voted on 21 December 2016 at the Security Council.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, United Nations, Peace, and Transition
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Liberia
7769. Restructuring the UN Secretariat to Strengthen Preventative Diplomacy and Peace Operations
- Author:
- Sarah Cliffe and Alexandra Novosseloff
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Peace Operations Review
- Abstract:
- ince 1945, the United Nations has helped support many successful peace processes and protected millions of civilians around the world. Peace operations deliver results: research estimates suggest that the presence of a UN peace keeping mission can reduce the risk of relapse into conflict by 75 – 85 percent;1 and that larger deployments diminish the scale of violence and protect civilians in the midst of fighting.2 Peace operations can be highly cost effective, with one General Audit Office assessment finding the cost to be roughly half of what a bilateral stabilization operation would cost.3 Different types of peace operations - from mediation and special envoys through to multidimensional peace-keeping and specialized justice and emergency health missions - have helped end long running conflicts and prevented violence from escalating or recurring in situations as diverse as Burkina Faso, Cambodia, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. Yet in 2017 the UN’s peace and security pillar faces deep challenges. Three reviews in the past two years have highlighted serious inadequacies in UN peace and security responses at large. Many of the recent challenges are due to real world shifts in the nature of conflict and geopolitical dynamics – the tragedy of Syria, renewed fighting in Yemen and South Sudan, continued crisis in Libya, difficulties in preventing a political and humanitarian crisis in Burundi, longstanding missions that are struggling to deliver sustainable peace in DRC and Haiti, and newer missions in Mali and CAR where geography creates sustained cross-border security risks. These situations are also affected by divisions amongst Member States that have prevented agreement on action in some cases. Part of the weaknesses, however, are managerial and structural. The sense of urgency pervading Member States at the UN, together with a new Secretary-General who has signaled his determination to reform this area, provides the opportunity to take a more fundamental look at what would give the UN’s peace and security pillar the right form to deliver the functions that it is called to serve, now and in the future. The purpose of this report is to analyze options for organizational restructuring in the UN’s peace and security pillar. It focuses on headquarters structures since this has been identified as a primary source of overlap and competition: the purpose however is to deliver better results in the field, from prevention through crisis management to post-conflict recovery. It does not cover wider reforms across the UN’s three pillars, which are supported in other CIC work streams.4 Following an introductory section, Section II traces the history of UN peace and security structures since the UN’s founding (see Box). The UN has had no shortage of reform in the past, each designed to address specific weaknesses or new demands. Cumulatively, however, these changes have resulted in a structure that is no longer fit to fulfill the functions needed.
- Topic:
- Security, Diplomacy, United Nations, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Middle East, Yemen, Haiti, Syria, North America, and South Sudan
7770. Partnering for Sustainable Peace in Liberia
- Author:
- Amanda Lucey and Liezelle Kumalo
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Global Peace Operations Review
- Abstract:
- Liberia is at a pivotal point in its transition to a peaceful democracy. In October 2017 the country will have its first ‘open seat’ elections. The incumbent, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, will step down and hand over power to the leader of one of the 22 political parties that are currently participating in the election. Moreover, despite security fears for the elections, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) has downsized from over 15 000 military troops in 2007 to around 1 000 soldiers in 2016 (see Figure 1). It will continue to draw down in 2017 in recognition of Liberia’s growing ownership of its own transition. The country has made steady progress in transitioning from decades of civil conflict into a new democracy. It has instituted a number of legal reforms, national strategies and peacebuilding activities to address the root causes of violence. Liberia has been receiving support from the United Nations’ (UN) Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) since 2010, but its institutions still need to be supported to consolidate their democracy gains. The 2015 review of the UN’s peacebuilding architecture argued that, for the peacebuilding components of peace operation mandates to be more effective, there must be better coordination between the UN Security Council Summary Liberia is going through an important period in its transition, with elections in October 2017 and the final drawdown of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in March 2018. Despite having made significant strides towards sustainable peace, the country still has a number of urgent peacebuilding priorities that need to be addressed. This policy brief is based on field research carried out in November 2016. It makes targeted, practical recommendations to the UN Peacebuilding Commission on enhancing its support to Liberia, drawing on a wide range of partnerships with other internal and external peacebuilding actors. Partnering for sustainable peace in Liberia Amanda Lucey and Liezelle Kumalo 2 Partnering for sustainable peace in Liberia (UNSC), the PBC and UN Country Teams. It also stated that the PBC could play an enhanced role in advising the UNSC on the diverse range of views from the full spectrum of international peace, security and development tools and actors, and in developing practical and context-specific solutions. Finally, the PBC could be instrumental in bringing together various stakeholders, both from New York and from the field, to mobilise peacebuilding support to conflict-affected countries. What does this mean in the case of Liberia? Noting the numerous peacebuilding actors (including national, regional, subregional and international organisations) involved in Liberia’s efforts to sustain peace, this policy brief makes practical recommendations on how the PBC, particularly its Liberia Configuration, can enhance its role in the country. Liberia has instituted a number of legal reforms, national strategies and peacebuilding activities to address the root causes of violence Statement of Mutual Commitment on peacebuilding in Liberia is signed by the government of Liberia and the PBC This paper is part of a broader project called ‘Enhancing African responses to peacebuilding’, made up of a consortium of three partner organisations – the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and New York University’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC). It is one of a series of products derived from research carried out from 2–10 November 2016 in Monrovia with 36 stakeholders from 22 institutions. It takes its point of departure from the Statement of Mutual Commitment (SMC) on peacebuilding in Liberia, signed in April 2016 by the government of Liberia and the PBC. This statement is particularly important, as it is the most comprehensive document confirming the Liberian government’s peacebuilding priorities,3 namely security sector development, rule of law, national reconciliation and a peaceful and inclusive society.4 Cross-cutting issues such as decentralisation and empowering youth and women were also noted. This paper first looks at those of Liberia’s national frameworks relevant to peacebuilding. It then examines the engagements of multiple peacebuilding actors in Liberia, with a particular focus on the roles of African regional, subregional and bilateral organisations. It also unpacks principles as to why they may hold an advantage in certain peacebuilding activities. Finally, the paper explores how the PBC can develop context-specific solutions to Liberia’s peacebuilding priority areas, making use of partnerships.
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, Elections, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Liberia