Month: July 2018

Categories
CSS Blog

Mediation Perspectives: Women Mediators’ Networks

Image courtesy of Geralt/Pixaby

Mediation Perspectives is a periodic blog entry that’s provided by the CSS’ Mediation Support Team and occasional guest authors. Each entry is designed to highlight the utility of mediation approaches in dealing with violent political conflicts. To keep up to date with the Mediation Support Team, you can sign up to their newsletter here.

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has shown mixed results. While it is possible to report that some small gains in the number of women mediators in high-level positions are on their way, we are still at the beginning of a long journey. The growth of women mediators’ networks can be seen in this context. While these networks do seem to help professionalize women mediators and create linkages, they also face challenges. For example, these include issues related to the selection of mediators and the sustainability and linkages between networks. This blog explores the reasons for the growth of women mediators’ networks, and attempts a tentative analysis of where we stand in order to provide ideas for future efforts.

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Categories
Cyber

Cybersecurity: The China Problem

Image courtesy of Taskin Ashiq/Unsplash

This article was originally published by Pacific Forum CSIS on 27 June 2018.

As China rolls out its 2016 cyber security law, its drive to develop national cyberspace sovereignty continues. China’s law outlines a rules-based view of privacy and emphasizes critical infrastructure and domestic collection of citizen data. With the second largest economy in the world and the largest number of internet users, China has a tough task attempting to establish a national framework for cyber security while fostering an innovative technology sector. China is now a rule maker in cyberspace and home to a number of very large and highly capable technology companies. However, China’s lofty goals in cyberspace and innovation are undercut by its behavior in other countries.

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War in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Image courtesy of US Navy/John Williams.

This article was originally published by War on the Rocks on 19 June 2018.

Retiring Chinese general He Lei recently made news by suggesting that China’s greatest military weakness compared to the United States was that it has never fought a real war. He noted none of Beijing’s increasingly advanced weapons, jets, and ships have been tested in combat. Moreover, the large People’s Liberation Army continues to rely upon conscripts rather than the long-serving professionals in the U.S. military. He argued the Chinese military “will be ridden with doubts until they get into a real fight.”

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Categories
Cyber

Cyber War – And Nobody Will Come?

Image courtesy of Markus Spiske/Unsplash.

This article was originally published by the ETH Zukunftsblog on 15 June 2018.

Myriam Dunn Cavelty calls for a realistic assessment of what state institutions can do to combat cyberattacks.

When a cyberattack has been orchestrated by a state actor, people may be tempted to call it “war”. After all, it’s an attack waged on national infrastructures by a foreign power. But the term “cyber war” has been used so often for dramatic effect that I don’t just want to warn against hype. It’s also time to dampen expectations regarding the scope of governmental intervention.

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Global Military Spending Remains High at $1.7 Trillion

Image courtesy of the Ignacio D. Perez/US Navy/Flickr. US government work.

This article was originally published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on 2 May 2018.

Total world military expenditure rose to $1739 billion in 2017, a marginal increase of 1.1 per cent in real terms from 2016, according to new figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). China’s military expenditure rose again in 2017, continuing an upward trend in spending that has lasted for more than two decades. Russia’s military spending fell for the first time since 1998, while spending by the United States remained constant for the second successive year. The comprehensive annual update of the SIPRI Military Expenditure Database is accessible from today at www.sipri.org.

Continue reading “Global Military Spending Remains High at href=”https://isnblog.ethz.ch/uncategorized/global-military-spending-remains-high-at-1-7-trillion#more-63786″ class=”more-link”.7 Trillion”