Kaisa Schreck

Justice and Hope for Afghanistan?

Post author By Kaisa Schreck
Post date 12/11/2009
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Lone girl in Afghanistan, photo: Papyrrari/flickr

As the world anticipates Obama’s long-awaited strategy review for Afghanistan, the debate around the war intensifies with politicians, experts and laymen weighing in on the desired course of Afghan policy.

A war that has lasted eight years, and that costs the US $3.6 billion a month, has become a source of intense historical and strategic debates about the nature of conflict in South Asia, the region’s geopolitical significance, and the role of US power in the modern era. With America’s Vietnam legacy in mind the pressure to deliver something positive is immense.

But in these debates about strategy- how to quell the Taliban insurgency; how to address the region as a whole, particularly with Pakistan’s shortcomings in mind, and how to strengthen the Afghan government without giving Karzai carte blanche, etc – the humanitarian focus is exactly what seems to be missing.

Tags Military strategy, Politician, Afghanistan, Security, United States of America, Foreign policy

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ISN Weekly Theme: US-China Relations

Post author By Kaisa Schreck
Post date 11/11/2009
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Obama and Mao T-shirts, photo: Shea Hazarian/flickr

Obama’s three day visit to China is expected to breathe new life into the US-China partnership. With deep economic and financial links, as well as responsibility for 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, the US and China are under immense pressure to deliver on the promise of great power cooperation and progress on a daunting set of challenges.

This week’s Special Report features an article by Graham Ong-Webb, from King’s College London, on the need for Obama to set a tone of mutual understanding on his visit, and a podcast with Elizabeth C Economy of the Council on Foreign Relations discussing the trip, related expectations and China’s problematic and conflicted view of itself as a emerging global power with strong roots in the developing world.

In Policy Briefs we feature a German Development Institute brief on the impact of the financial crisis on China and the country’s main economic policies in response to it.

In our Publications section, a Hudson Institute Paper on America’s strategic advantage in Asia and a Crisis Group Report examining China’s expanding role in UN peacekeeping.

A piece of history, from Primary Resources, in the form of the 1972 Shanghai Communique signalling the opening of relations between the US and China.

And finally, in Links, the Future of US-China relations website that focuses on the result of a conference about the future of US-China relations and on the relationship from a multidimensional perspective.

Tags China, Bilateral relations, United States of America, East Asia, Politician

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ISN Weekly Theme: Twenty Years Since the Fall of the Wall

Post author By Kaisa Schreck
Post date 04/11/2009
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The Berlin Wall in 1987, photo: fjords/flickr

Two decades after the fall of the Wall the world and Germany itself is afforded a moment for self-reflection and an opportunity for analysis of the consequences of that momentous event. As well as providing us with a unique reference point in terms of the end of the Cold War and Cold War history more generally, the end of Germany’s division provides us with a benchmark for the analysis of the progress that Germany has made since its re-unification nearly two decades ago.

This week, we publish an ISN Special Report on Germany Beyond the Wall, featuring three articles by top level academics. Victor Mauer, deputy director of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) examines German foreign policy before and after the fall, with an emphasis on the continuing quest to balance tradition and Cold War legacies with transformation. Dan Hough, from the University of Sussex, examines the evolution of German national politics and political culture. Belinda Cooper, a senior fellow at the World Policy Institute looks at the German national identity and the search for a cultural one.

In our Policy Briefs section, a Center for Eastern Studies (CES) paper evaluates German memory in the year of the double anniversary of 1949 and 1989 and analyzes its influence on the collective identity of the German people.

In our Links section we feature 20 Years After the Wall, a web page provided by Spiegel Online that offers articles, background and opinions on the anniversary of the fall of the Wall.

A piece of history from our Digital Library: a 1987 EastWest Institute analysis of Gorbachev’s policies.

And a classic from our Primary Resources section, JFK’s Ich bin ein Berliner speech from 1963.

Tags Re-unification, Germany, War, History, Berlin Wall

Press Freedom is a Luxury

Post author By Kaisa Schreck
Post date 26/10/2009
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Silenzio. Press Freedom under Fire in Italy, photo: Zingaro. I am a gipsy too/flickr — Silenzio. Press freedom under fire in Italy, photo: Zingaro. I am a gipsy too/flickr

Not many countries on Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index 2009 have reason to celebrate. The index sees many countries like Iran and Israel, quite predictably, slip as a consequence of protests, wars and crackdowns in the past year.

While it may not be a surprise that reporters in conflict zones or in countries that are slipping deeper into authoritarianism face severe restrictions and harassment, countries that have always prided themselves on their freedom and openness are slipping down the ranks at an alarming rate.

As the accompanying analysis suggests, several EU members, most notably France and Italy, have slipped down the index and now find themselves ranked in places 43 and 49, respectively, well below countries like Jamaica, South Africa, Mali, Uruguay and Macedonia; countries that may not always have been associated with the concept of free press. In Berlusconi’s fiefdom this is no surprise, but why is France almost as badly off as Italy? And, one might add, why is Spain ranked just one below France at place 44? What is wrong with the grand old dames of Europe?

Tags Media freedom, France, Italy, Iceland, Freedom of Expression, Journalism

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ISN Weekly Theme: Islam in Southeast Asia

Post author By Kaisa Schreck
Post date 14/10/2009
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Muslim girls walking to school in Indonesia, photo: Shreyans Bhansali/flickr

Islam, Islamic politics and religiously motivated violence are usually issues associated with the wider Middle East region or South Asia.

Less visible, yet no less significant is the presence of Islamic politics, tensions and political expression in Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

A region marked by immense historical and religious diversity, by painful historical schisms, and in certain cases by an unrivaled dynamism and ability to marry Islam with modernity, Southeast Asia deserves closer inspection and more contextually sensitive analysis.

This week the ISN publishes a Special Report on the issue with a backgrounder on Islam in the region and a case study of the Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines.

We have a wealth of further information on the topic in our Digital Library and Current Affairs section- check out:

In our Digital Library, a National Bureau of Asian Research paper examines Islamism in South and Southeast Asia and discusses policy implications for the US.

An Al Naklah article looks at the role if Islam in Acehnese separatism.

In our Current Affairs section, an International Crisis Group briefing examines Indonesian Islamic terrorism and the role of Noordin Top in the July 2009 Jakarta bombings.

In our Links section, check out the website of the National Bureau of Asian Research which analyzes less visible issues related to Islam and Muslim societies in Asia.

And in our IR Directory, the Southeast Asia Regional Centre for Counter Terrorism which trains and builds the capacity of enforcement and security officials from governments in the region and beyond.

Tags Islam, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, Terrorism, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia