Emilie Boillat

British Defense Policy at a Crossroads

Post author By Emilie Boillat
Post date 19/11/2009
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Is British defense policy experiencing an East-of-Suez flashback?

In a new policy brief, CSS researcher Aleksandra Dier looks at whether Britain might have to scale back its global ambitions.

The current situation has been compared to 1968 when, largely as a result of lacking resources, Britain had to adopt a more modest international role.

According to her, the future of the country’s defense role depends on its relation to Europe:

“Strengthening its European commitment could help Britain to align its global ambitions with the resources it needs to project a credible international role.

Pursuing European ways to achieve global ends however remains a domestically disputed strategic option.

You can download the paper here.

Want to know more about British defense policy? Check out our publication holdings on the topic.

Tags European Union, Security, Foreign policy, United Kingdom, European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP), Defense

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Risk Communication in Security Policy

Post author By Emilie Boillat
Post date 26/10/2009
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Researchers from the ISN-supported expert community on crisis and risk have just published a new policy paper.

According to Myriam Dunn Cavelty and Jonas Hagmann, the concept of risk communication has so far been applied almost exclusively in the context of technical and environmental risks.

They show how the concept can be useful for foreign and security policy, too.

You can download the paper here.

Tags Government, Security, Security policy, Foreign policy, Communication

Uncategorized Audio/Video

Bruce Riedel on the US Af-Pak Strategy

Post author By Emilie Boillat
Post date 23/10/2009
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Bruce Riedel chaired the task force who reviewed the US strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan last winter.

The Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS), an ISN partner, has published a podcast of his talk at the Ottawa Roundtable on Security and Intelligence.

After a long career at the CIA and advising three US presidents to the US presidency, Riedel is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

In his talk, he presents the key conclusions of the Af-Pak strategic review released in March 2009. By the way, here is the US white paper summarizing the recommendations which came out of the review.

Riedel also outlines developments in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the last six months and looks at the direction US policy is likely to, or should, take.

Further ISN resources on the topic:

Special Report on Pakistan, published last month.
Articles by Naveed Ahmad, our correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan
President Barack Obama’s speech on the region last August
“Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and US Policy”, a report by the US congressional research service
“America’s Involvement in Afghanistan”, a working paper by the Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) in Singapore

Tags United States of America, Foreign policy, Military strategy, Conflict policy, Military operations, Afghanistan, Security, Pakistan

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SNIS Day 2 – The Policy Relevance of Research

Post author By Emilie Boillat
Post date 19/10/2009
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Video of the podium discussion, SNIS Conference, 16 October 2009

The second day of the SNIS conference was devoted to interaction between the academic and policy worlds (I introduced the conference in my previous post).

While everyone agreed that not all research must necessarily be policy relevant, the participants stressed the need for more cooperation.

The tension between demand-driven research and academic excellence dominated the discussions. On the one hand, research should provide information to help solve practical policy problems. On the other hand however, research must remain independent from the policy realm in order to guarantee objectivity and innovation.

A panelist argued that this tension was very present among European researchers, but that it didn’t bother US academics as much. Fellow Americans, if you read this, how did you solve the problem?

Here are a few (summarized) thoughts from panelists, both academics and policymakers.

Tags International Relations, Government, Research, Conferences

Business and Finance

Swiss International Studies, Migration and Finance

Post author By Emilie Boillat
Post date 16/10/2009
1 Comment on Swiss International Studies, Migration and Finance

Swiss Network for International Studies / snis.ch

I’m writing from Bern, where I’m attending the Swiss Network for International Studies‘ (SNIS) first yearly conference. The Network was established two years ago to promote interdisciplinary research in issues of international relevance among Swiss academics.

The international relations field is still pretty new at Swiss universities. It might well be a corollary of the fact that, for much of the past century, the country’s neutrality in international politics boiled down to passivity. Several speakers at the first day of the conference reminded us that Switzerland only joined the UN in 2002.

In any case, the young Swiss’ interest in international affairs is exploding at the moment: A Geneva professor talked to me about the exponential rise in student numbers since his university launched an undergraduate program in international relations.

Here are two highlights from the first day of the conference – based on my own biased personal interests…

Tags International Relations, Government, Switzerland, Migration, Finance, Development, Financial regulation, Conferences