Month: May 2019

Categories
CSS Blog

Mediation Perspectives: Third Party Pressure Fueling Rebel Fragmentation

Image courtesy of Jason Patinkin/voanews.com

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 only page [of the Darfur Peace Agreement] that really matters is the last page, which has the space for the signatures of the parties,” explained Salim Ahmed Salim to the conflict parties. One Darfurian rebel leader eventually signed the agreement because of tremendous external pressure. The conclusion of the peace agreement was followed by rebel fragmentation and the civil war dragged on for many years to come.

Continue reading “Mediation Perspectives: Third Party Pressure Fueling Rebel Fragmentation”

Understanding Trends in Electoral Violence: Lessons from South Africa

Image courtesy of flowcomm/Flickr. (CC BY 2.0)

This article was originally published by Political Violence @ a Glance on 25 April 2019.

The African continent will see two dozen elections in 2019. While many observers herald this year’s surfeit of political contests as a sign post of the “Third Wave of Democratization,” others are less optimistic, noting the violence that often accompanies putatively democratic elections across the continent. Indeed, the causes and consequences of electoral violence in Africa are currently at the fore of work in both academic and policy circles. And the focus on electoral violence is warranted—in 2019 alone, violence has marred the political process in countries as diverse as Senegal, Nigeria, and Malawi, among others.

Continue reading “Understanding Trends in Electoral Violence: Lessons from South Africa”
Categories
CSS Blog

Regional Organizations in the Post-Soviet Space

EmailFacebookTwitter

This chart maps the overlap in membership of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Union State. For an analysis of the role the EAEU plays in Russia’s Eurasian strategy, see Jeronim Perović’s chapter for Strategic Trends 2019 here. For more CSS charts and graphics, click here.

The Chinese Military’s Exploitation of Western Tech Firms

Image courtesy of richamehta31/Pixabay

This article was originally published in The Strategist by the Australian Strategic Policy (ASPI) on 12 April 2019.

For more than a year, debate has raged over allegations that the Chinese military is taking advantage of Google’s research and expansion into China. General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a senate committee in March that Google’s work in China indirectly benefits the Chinese military, an accusation echoed by President Donald Trump. Google’s response was unequivocal: ‘We are not working with the Chinese military.’

Continue reading “The Chinese Military’s Exploitation of Western Tech Firms”
Categories
CSS Blog

Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development: USA and China

EmailFacebookTwitter

This week’s featured graphic charts the convergence of Chinese and US GDP expenditure on research and development. Does it suggest that the West is about to lose its edge in military technology? Michael Haas thinks so. Read his Strategic Trends 2019 chapter in on the eclipse of Western military technology superiority here to find out why.  For more CSS charts, maps and graphics on economics, click here.