Month: July 2011

Integrity and Voodoo

Switzerland: The Disneyland of liberty? Photo: Loren Javier/flickr

Freedom House has long held the view that there is a correlation between human trafficking and despotic political regimes. If you read the latest world trafficking report by the US State Department and compare it with Freedom House’s most recent list, you’ll see what I mean.

The State Department’s report looks at the type and extent of trafficking activity, as well as the government response, in order to assess a country’s commitment to protecting human rights.

So, which country might we expect to be the most vigilant in ending modern day slavery?

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A Saudi Perspective on Yemen

A minaret in Sana'a
A minaret in Sana'a Photo: Ai@ce/flickr

On 3 June – only days after he vowed not to step down or make further concessions – Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh was seriously wounded in an attack on the presidential palace and flown to Riyadh for medical treatment. If he does not return by early August, the constitution provides for fresh elections to be held. To a considerable extent, therefore, Yemen’s fate now lies in the hands of Saudi Arabia.

The Saudis, within the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council, have tried to broker a transition plan in Yemen before – to no avail. With Saleh now under Saudi authority and no longer on the political scene, their room for maneuver behind the scenes has greatly increased. Sure — cutting a deal between an increasingly fragmented opposition and an embattled administration remains extremely difficult. But Saudi Arabia has every reason to throw its weight behind negotiations for a peaceful power transition.

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Privatizing Conflict Mediation? Not Really

Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari has been a mediator for them all: governments, the UN and NGOs. Image: Joi Ito/flickr

In a recent article, The Economist suggests that efforts to resolve international conflicts are increasingly being outsourced to NGOs such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD Centre) or the United States Institute for Peace (USIP).

While we at the ISN are proud to have our partners mentioned among the leading conflict mediators — and grateful, as ever, to USIP and HD Centre for sharing their expertise with us in the form of case studies, practical guides and research reports — the Economist raises a serious question.  Have governments really lost their taste for mediating conflicts? Is the UN really as paralyzed by competing political agendas as the article suggests?

Even as private organizations play a bigger role in peace processes today than they did in the past, governments and the UN are hardly less active in this area. Consider the following:

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A Reading List on: Economics and Security

Books in perspective
Books in perspective.  Photo: Oldtasty/flickr

The intersection between economics and security is large and growing. Fighting wars and fulfilling security objectives has always had economic implications — in far more than just blood and treasure — and economic developments are having ever more rapid and dramatic consequences for traditional and emerging conceptions of security.  This syllabus will help keep you up to date.

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This Week at the ISN…

It's week 27 on our editorial calendar, Photo: Leo Reynolds/flickr

This week the ISN takes a closer look at the following topics:

  • On Monday, ISN Insights examines the potentially dark shadow of government overreach in its efforts to regulate the cyber sphere, courtesy of the University of Lucerne’s Jonas Rey.
  • We introduce a new information platform on Tuesday – the book syllabus – to point you in the direction of cutting-edge literature on the topic of energy and security.
  • On Wednesday, CEPR co-director Dean Baker opines about central banks and budget deficits in ISN Insights.
  • Read-up on Yemen in our country profile on Thursday.
  • And our Friday podcast with the Graduate Institute’s Thomas Biersteker tackles the topic of public-private partnerships.

And in case you missed any of last week’s coverage, you can catch up here on: US space policy; China’s consumption patterns; Turkey’s foreign policy; the perils of humanitarian aid; and cybersecurity.