International Peacekeeping in Africa: Conference Roundup

Burundi peacekeepers preparing for the next rotation to Somalia. Photo: US Army Africa/flickr

On 23-24 November, colleagues from our parent organization, the Center for Security Studies (CSS), hosted a two-day conference entitled International Peacekeeping in Africa: Actors and Missions.  The event brought together an assortment of academics and practitioners to discuss a broader range of issues than the conference’s title suggests. And since the majority of the sessions were by-invitation only, today we would like to present a series of brief podcasts that summarize some of the research topics raised and discussed at the conference.

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India, Japan and the US Step on the Gas

Obama and Singh participate at Hyderabad House, New Delhi.
President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh participate in a bilateral meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, Nov. 8, 2010.

The third trilateral dialogue between India, Japan and the United States was held in New Delhi on 29 October 2012. This series of dialogues began on 19 December 2011 in Washington DC, with a second held in Tokyo on 23 April 2012. The Indian delegation at the New Delhi meeting was led by the Joint Secretary for East Asia in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, Gautam Bambawale, the Japanese delegation by the Deputy Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kenji Hiramatsu, and the US delegation by Robert Blake, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

The three countries discussed a wide variety of issues from the prospects of cooperation between the three countries in Myanmar, Africa and Afghanistan, as well as ways and means to pool their resources in the fight against piracy.

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2012 Advanced Distributed Learning Working Group Meeting: Introducing Learning Solutions for Today’s Mobile World

Editors Note: In order to inform our readers about some of the existing and new technologies that are available for mobile and e-based learning, today we feature a brief report from the ISN’s Training and ADL Competence Center.

From 6-8 November 2012, the Partnership for Peace Consortium’s Advanced Distributed Learning Working Group (ADL WG) staged its annual meeting in Vienna, Austria. The event – hosted by the Austrian National Defence Academy and organized by the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) and Partnership for Peace Consortium (PfPC) – primarily focused on mobile learning opportunities, although it also concentrated on other IT-based learning technologies, methods, tools and future standards. What follows is a brief overview of some of the key issues and developments covered during the meeting.

November 6:  Introducing Tools to Support Mobile Learning

ADL WG meetings traditionally begin by introducing new tools and methods that are ready for immediate use. This year, 35 ADL professionals learnt about the specific challenges of mobile learning and received  hands-on training for a range of tools. They included:

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Colombia and the Philippines: Worlds Apart but on the Same Path to Peace

 

Colombian Paratroops
Colombian Paratroops. Photo by Ronald Dueñas/Flickr.

In addition to their love for telenovelas, as well as their cuisine and religion borne out of a shared Spanish heritage, Colombia and the Philippines now have one more thing in common. This [month], both countries took another step toward peace with their respective armed groups, which could lead to the end of internal conflicts that are among the oldest in the world. On October 15, the Philippines entered into a peace accord with the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Two days later, Colombia’s government began peace talks in Oslo with the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Each of these presents a unique opportunity for civil society to sustain peace by fostering trust and accountability over issues such as land rights, delivery of social services, political participation at the local and national level, and tolerance for other people’s beliefs.

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Is Pakistan’s Paranoia Pushing it Into a Nuclear War with India?

The flags of India and Pakistan. Photo: Jack Zalium/flickr

The possibility of a nuclear war between Pakistan and India grows every day. If the Pakistanis do not bring under control the terrorist groups in the country and resolve the conflicts with India, it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.

There have been few achievements to celebrate in the sixty-five year history of Pakistan and that has made the success of the nuclear program central to the national identity. This is especially true for the military that receives a quarter of the budget and is the only strong national institution.

Development of the weapons started in January of 1972 by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, when he was the Minister for Fuel, Power and Natural Resources. The decision to go nuclear came after a disastrous military defeat in 1971 by India. Bangladesh with Indian assistance separated from Pakistan.

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