By: Richard Gowan | Column
Does the EU, notorious for producing
reams of official documents, need to churn out another one? In last
week’s column, I argued that the EU needs an overarching strategy to
respond to escalating challenges both on its periphery and at the global
level. The existing European Security Strategy, completed 10 years ago,
remains a pithy analysis of the problems the bloc faced in 2003. But
its age shows.
By: Iain Mills | Briefing
The Chinese Communist Party’s Third
Plenum culminated last month with the release of a reform-minded
document outlining significant changes in 60 key areas of the Chinese
economy. Coupled with recent events in the political sphere, the agenda
represents the emergence of President Xi Jinping as a leader and the
benchmarks by which he will be judged between now and the plenum’s key
target date of 2020.
By: Richard Weitz | Column
The Syrian civil war has presented
Moscow with two major challenges. First, the collapse of the Assad
regime would likely result in a sharp decline of Russian influence in
Damascus. Second, an Islamist victory in Syria could encourage Islamist
extremism in the North Caucasus and Central Asia. For these reasons,
Moscow has refused to turn its back on one of its few remaining allies
in the Middle East.
By: Megan Bradley | Feature
Although the return and reintegration
of refugees and internally displaced persons is a critical post-conflict
challenge, the questions return processes raise rarely receive the
attention they deserve. For instance, what does a “success” look like
when it comes to return and reintegration in post-conflict contexts? Who
is responsible for making this happen? What is meant by the “right of
return”? What are the obstacles to making repatriation safe and
sustainable, and how can they be addressed?
By: Michael Kagan | Feature
Among the most damning criticisms of
human rights law is that when it is needed most, it is nearly impossible
to enforce. Unless, that is, a person in danger of persecution manages
to cross an international border, when human rights law suddenly becomes
considerably more enforceable. This is the principle of nonrefoulement,
and while it doesn’t always work, and the systems in place to enforce
it are a patchwork with tremendous gaps, it might be the single most
effective rule in all of international human rights.
By: Laura Hammond | Feature
Last month, the governments of Kenya
and Somalia agreed in principle to begin working toward the return of
the half-million Somali refugees living in Kenya to their country of
origin. While the challenges of return will be considerable for
everyone, they will likely be most daunting to those Somalis who have
been living in exile for many years, including the second- and
third-generation refugees for whom repatriation does not involve a
return in any meaningful sense, but a move to a country that is theirs
only in name.
By: James Hamill | Briefing
This year has been one of fluctuating
fortunes for South Africa as it seeks to shape Africa’s emerging
security architecture and to cement its position as the leading player
in continental peace operations. Although the case for South African
leadership is a compelling one, those leadership aspirations do not
necessarily play well domestically, nor are they always well-received in
the wider continent.
By: Steven Metz | Column
Hamid Karzai is playing a dangerous
game with the security of both Afghanistan and the United States. The
Afghan president has said he will not sign a bilateral security
agreement negotiated with Washington in the near future. And while the
Obama administration has said it is not planning for the so-called zero
option, the strategic benefits of keeping troops in Afghanistan no
longer clearly outweigh the costs.
By: Coletta A. Youngers | Briefing
The violence that erupted during a coca
eradication campaign in Apolo, Bolivia, in October was an anomaly,
because forced eradication is only taking place in very limited areas of
the country. Nonetheless, Apolo illustrates the complex political
waters that the government of President Evo Morales has to navigate in
meeting the demands of its coca grower base while reducing coca
cultivated for illicit markets.
By: Eric Auner | Trend Lines
The United States has long sustained
levels of defense spending that dwarf those of other nations, especially
over the past decade. But in an era when the U.S. is scaling back its
offshore military footprint and struggling to get its fiscal house in
order, the amount of money available to sustain the defense industry is
in decline.
By: Saurav Jha | Briefing
In recent years India and Israel agreed
to compartmentalize their divergences over Iran’s nuclear program, as
U.S. pressure on Iran left India’s ties with the latter stunted. Now,
with Western pressure on Tehran beginning to ease, the level of India’s
dealings with Iran could become a matter of concern for Israel. It
remains to be seen if increased India-Iran ties impact Israeli-Indian
defense cooperation.
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