Showing papers in "Global Change, Peace & Security in 2017"
TL;DR: In this article, the concepts of resilience and environmental security can be jointly applied by non-governmental organizations working to implement peacebuilding projects in developing countries, and a conceptual framework for a joint application whereby environmental security sharpens the scope of resilience, while resilience allows for taking issues into account that a traditional environmental security perspective might miss.
Abstract: Resilience is a widely used concept among development, environmental, security and peacebuilding organizations. However, resilience has rarely been applied in conjunction with the potentially complementary concept of environmental security. Therefore, this paper explores how the concepts of resilience and environmental security can be jointly applied by non-governmental organizations working to implement peacebuilding projects in developing countries. We first review definitions of the concepts and explore their strengths and pitfalls. Second, we develop a conceptual framework for a joint application whereby environmental security sharpens the scope of resilience, while resilience allows for taking issues into account that a traditional environmental security perspective might miss. Finally, we apply the conceptual framework to a case study from Palestine.
28 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the relationships between myriad providers of security and justice and present a case for a relational approach to peacebuilding that introduces the concept of symbiosis to develop a framework for evaluating these relations.
Abstract: The multiplicity of sources of security and justice in post-colonial states are often categorized according to a series of fixed analytical binaries. Such reductive dichotomies often mask the fluid and evolutionary ecology of these highly networked actors. As a result, the ways in which they co-produce social order are seldom well-understood and the ramifications for peacebuilding remain underexplored. This article examines the relationships between myriad providers of security and justice. Using examples from fieldwork in West Africa, it presents a case for a relational approach to peacebuilding that introduces the concept of symbiosis to develop a framework for evaluating these relations. It argues that the framework and conceptual steps involved create important opportunities for both new research and emerging practices of peacebuilding.
18 citations
TL;DR: The Urmia Lake episode emphasizes that national security strategies may compromise other forms of security quite directly as discussed by the authors, and that security is additive across sectors and scales is not the case here as elsewhere.
Abstract: Geopolitics, climate change and environmental security operate in complicated and sometimes directly conflictual ways. Driven in part by national policies of food self-sufficiency in response to economic sanctions imposed on Iran by American and European policies, the destruction of one of the world’s largest inland lakes raises questions about the interaction of multiple forms of security, and in particular how securitizations by various actors interact at a number of scales. Lake Urmia in North Western Iran has rapidly dwindled in the last decade, a result of unsustainable water extractions to irrigate growing agricultural production of apples and other horticultural products. Clearly assumptions that security is additive across sectors and scales is not the case here as elsewhere, but the Urmia Lake episode emphasizes that they are in fact frequently operating at cross-purposes; national security strategies may compromise other forms of security quite directly. Blaming climate change, and possi...
15 citations
TL;DR: A provocative and interesting book on a subject of great geopolitical significance has been written by Christopher Coker as discussed by the authors, a professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, which has been published in the UK.
Abstract: Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics, Christopher Coker, has written a provocative and interesting book on a subject of great geopolitical significance. His argume...
11 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the politico-military significance of "Cultural Peacekeeping" (CPK) as a new task for international peace operations is explained and an initial insight into its objectives, opportunities and challenges is provided.
Abstract: This article aims to explain the emergence and assess the politico-military significance of ‘cultural peacekeeping’ (CPK) as a new task for international peace operations. The aim is to provide a conceptual appraisal of CPK and an initial insight into its objectives, opportunities and challenges. The analysis supports the inclusion of a cultural component in the mandates of peacekeeping interventions, even if we must be wary of the inherent difficulties and risk of unintended consequences. These are not to be underestimated, at the risk not only of failing to achieve the mission’s objectives but also of further deteriorating security on the ground and beyond. It follows that CPK should not be mistaken, nor presented to the public, as a minor, light, and inexpensive operation. Quite to the contrary, it is an extremely complex and politically very sensitive politico-military major exercise that needs careful planning and adequate capabilities. Misunderstanding or mismanaging CPK can severely backfir...
10 citations
TL;DR: The authors examines the impact of migrant worker rights norms on Thailand, the largest labour-recipient state in ASEAN, and argues that Thailand's diverging experience is caused by the lack of norm precision, resulting in the applicatory contestation.
Abstract: Existing studies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states’ engagement with migrant worker rights focus on the experience of such workers from gender, labour and security perspectives. As such, these studies are yet to consider the broader impact of migrant worker rights on the process and nature of cooperation between ASEAN members. This article addresses this gap by framing migrant worker rights within the broader human rights socialization ongoing within Southeast Asia, driven by both members of ASEAN and external stakeholders. It argues that, contrary to many existing accounts of norms as creating shared commitments, migrant worker rights have led to considerable contestation, often driven by diverging national approaches to the issue. This article examines the impact of migrant worker rights norms on Thailand, the largest labour-recipient state in ASEAN. It asserts that Thailand’s diverging experience is caused by the lack of norm precision, resulting in the applicatory contest...
7 citations
TL;DR: This paper argued that the securitization of the Palestinian zakat committees became a weapon in the counter-terror arsenal of Israel and the PA as each sought to exert hegemony over what became framed as a common enemy.
Abstract: In this article, the argument is offered that securitization of the Palestinian zakat committees became a weapon in the counter-terror arsenal of Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) as each sought to exert hegemony over what became framed as a ‘common enemy.’ The article extends the debate as it relates to the increasingly hostile response by state actors and the international community to the work of non- and semi-governmental Muslim charitable actors evidenced by proscription regimes, financial investigation, and prosecutions. Focusing on the example of Israel and the PA, it is contended that the securitization of Palestinian zakat committees was part of a wider policy to inhibit Palestinian autonomy and portray Islamic faith agency as terroristic. Both Israel and the PA, as governing powers, have engaged in attempts to undermine Palestinian zakat committees and their contribution to welfare and humanitarian support in the complex and enduring environment of conflict.
6 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors discuss the tension between the universalistic character of the R2P and the particularistic nature of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a normative scheme.
Abstract: One of the most challenging issues concerning the doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is ‘who should intervene’ in case of gross violations of human rights. After the intervention in Kosovo in 1999, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has been increasingly considered a legitimate actor to fulfil the duty to intervene for humanitarian reasons. In 2011, the first military intervention inspired by the R2P in Libya reinforced the appreciation of NATO as a viable enforcer of the doctrine. The paper problematizes the idea that NATO could be a straightforward solution to the problem of who should intervene. NATO's constitutive nature comprises aspects that are at odds with R2P as a normative scheme. In this regard, the paper delves into three aspects: (a) the controversial issue of ‘delegated authority’ from the UN to NATO; (b) the tension between the universalistic character of the R2P and the particularistic nature of NATO and (c) the military nature of the alliance and its conseq...
5 citations
TL;DR: In the past half-decade, the role of the Gulf in the international political economy has changed dramatically as discussed by the authors and the region's position as a supplier of world hydrocarbons has slipped, even as local consumption of oil and gas continues to expand.
Abstract: In the past half-decade, the role of the Gulf in the international political economy has changed dramatically. The region’s position as a supplier of world hydrocarbons has slipped, even as local consumption of oil and gas continues to expand. Gulf investments have shifted from the industrialized countries to the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi Arabia no longer exercises disproportionate influence in the Group of 20. Finally, relations with the People’s Republic of China and India have become truly interdependent, which gives the Gulf the capacity to exercise leverage over these two rising powers, despite its diminished position in global affairs.
5 citations
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper proposed a new concept of power as shared weakness (ruo shi jūn zhān de li liang), which refers to the inability of actors from the most powerful to the least powerful to exercise full control over the digitally networked environment in which they operate.
Abstract: The spreading application of digital networks throughout China’s social, economic and political structures exposes the Communist Party to new weaknesses that are increasingly exploited by citizens and used by them to contest and restrain its power monopoly. The Party successfully counters these trends by employing alternative web tactics. To make sense of this dynamic, the paper proposes a new concept of power as shared weakness (ruo shi jūn zhān de li liang). The term refers to the inability of actors (from the most powerful to the least powerful) to exercise full control over the digitally networked environment in which they operate.
5 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that three factors are critical to the success of inter-state preventive diplomacy in Southeast Asia: the level of great power interest in particular disputes, the perceived legitimacy of the PD actor, and the nature of the agreement being sought.
Abstract: Inter-state preventive diplomacy (PD) has mostly been regarded as successful in Southeast Asia as evidenced by the absence of inter-state armed conflict. This success has generally been credited to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Yet, in terms of addressing specific crises, the paper argues that three factors are critical to the success of inter-state PD in Southeast Asia: the level of great power interest in particular disputes, the perceived legitimacy of the PD actor, and the nature of the agreement being sought. Great power interference complicates strategic calculations and is therefore likely to make it harder for PD attempts to succeed. Reversely, the critical involvement of the United Nations as a PD-doer and negotiator helps de-escalate violence in interstate disputes in Southeast Asia. The paper applies these factors to understand why the East Timor and the Preah Vihear Temple cases were successful exercises of PD while PD, in regard to the South China Sea dialogue, has so fa...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that predictions that Brexit will precipitate the disintegration of the European Union (EU) have greatly overstated the prospect of such an event and that Britain's centuries-long conflicted relationship with E...
Abstract: Predictions that Brexit will precipitate the disintegration of the European Union (EU) have greatly overstated the prospect of such an event. Britain's centuries-long conflicted relationship with E...
TL;DR: In this article, a new wave of transnational farmland acquisition recently emerged, giving rise to two questions: What are the approaches in this wave of farmland acquisition and have relevant regulations been created for governance?
Abstract: A new wave of transnational farmland acquisition recently emerged, giving rise to two questions: What are the approaches in this wave of farmland acquisition and have relevant regulations been created for governance? Theories of international political economy are used to analyze the acquisition race, with two findings. First, grain-importing countries in Asia and the Persian Gulf region tend to use economic nationalism to conduct acquisition. Developed countries in the West tend towards liberalism, with market interests being the driving force behind acquisition, and the civil society of host countries in the South generally embrace both Marxism and liberalism, hoping to evaluate the acquisition process from perspectives of human rights and responsible farmland investment. Second, the existing governance regulations tend to favor investor countries’ interests, leaving host countries’ food security insufficiently protected.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigate the conditions that have facilitated the provision of private security in the context of Somali piracy, by deriving four conditions from the literature on private climate governance and applying them to the security realm, and empirically, by analyzing the activities of Private Military and Security Companies and the shipping industry in the case of piracy.
Abstract: Facing the threat of Somali piracy, private actors have created a private security governance framework by both issuing and implementing standards as well as offering operative security solutions through armed guards. Which conditions have facilitated this provision of private security? The present article approaches this research question in two innovative ways: Theoretically, by deriving four conditions from the literature on private climate governance and applying them to the security realm; and empirically, by analyzing the activities of Private Military and Security Companies and the shipping industry in the case of Somali piracy based on a series of semi-structured interviews. Thus, the article contributes to the literature on private security in at least two ways: it provides an extensive understanding of private security incorporating operative and regulative elements and it uses insights about private governance from a more developed field in order to understand private security governanc...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the current and projected demographic trends at the global level, evaluate their security implications and then draw inferences for the challenges and opportunities that will arise for NATO out of the sketched scenarios.
Abstract: Russia, cyberterrorism, Da’esh are among the most quoted challenges to NATO mentioned in the organizations’ documents, specialized literature and newspaper articles. How about a subtler, less striking but real challenge like demographic change? Demographic trends are increasingly recognized as relevant in understanding international politics and particularly international security, but only seldom taken into consideration when dealing with NATO’s future challenges. NATO, hence, suffers from the limits of a political–military institution designed for a post-Second World War demographic and security context that is changing drastically – and is expected to change even more in the foreseeable future. The aim of this article is to explore the current and projected demographic trends at the global level, evaluate their security implications and then draw inferences for the challenges and opportunities that will arise for NATO out of the sketched scenarios. Based on this analysis, we posit that the Alli...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a detailed analysis of the implementation of the de-Ba`thification process in Iraq and a number of lessons to be learned/relearned by policy-makers.
Abstract: Vetting/lustration/purging is one of many transitional justice mechanisms, designed for addressing the atrocities of a former regime, restoring peace, providing justice and engendering unity and reconciliation. It specifically aims to purify the public sphere of former regime members or of people who lack integrity. de-Ba`thification of Iraq is one of the latest transitional justice mechanism that can be examined under this category. The process of de-Ba`thification holds lessons and provides valuable insight into policy-making well beyond the Iraqi context. This article presents a detailed analysis of the implementation of de-Ba`thification process in Iraq and a number of lessons to be learned/relearned by policy-makers. Data gathering involves in-depth and formal interviews with the designers and implementers of de-Ba`thification project including Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) administrator and advisors; Higher National de-Ba`thification Commission (HNDBC) and Accountability and Justice ...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors contribute to the debate on the recent "stabilization turn" in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping by inquiring into a changing set of practices by which the UN intends to "strengthen the...
Abstract: This paper contributes to the debate on the recent ‘stabilization turn’ in United Nations (UN) peacekeeping by inquiring into a changing set of practices by which the UN intends to ‘strengthen the ...
TL;DR: In this article, a multidimensional examination of the concept of resistance is presented, defined by the author as: "group opposition, either formal or informal, against some element of the status quo that is do...
Abstract: This book is a multidimensional examination of the concept of ‘resistance,’ defined by the author as: ‘group opposition, either formal or informal, against some element of the status quo that is do...