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PRISM Syrian Supplemental
PRISM syria A JOURNAL OF THE CENTER FOR COMPLEX OPERATIONS About PRISM PRISM is published by the Center for Complex Operations. PRISM is a security studies journal chartered to inform members of U.S. Federal agencies, allies, and other partners Vol. 4, Syria Supplement on complex and integrated national security operations; reconstruction and state-building; 2014 relevant policy and strategy; lessons learned; and developments in training and education to transform America’s security and development Editor Michael Miklaucic Communications Contributing Editors Constructive comments and contributions are important to us. Direct Alexa Courtney communications to: David Kilcullen Nate Rosenblatt Editor, PRISM 260 Fifth Avenue (Building 64, Room 3605) Copy Editors Fort Lesley J. McNair Dale Erikson Washington, DC 20319 Rebecca Harper Sara Thannhauser Lesley Warner Telephone: Nathan White (202) 685-3442 FAX: (202) 685-3581 Editorial Assistant Email: [email protected] Ava Cacciolfi Production Supervisor Carib Mendez Contributions PRISM welcomes submission of scholarly, independent research from security policymakers Advisory Board and shapers, security analysts, academic specialists, and civilians from the United States Dr. Gordon Adams and abroad. Submit articles for consideration to the address above or by email to prism@ Dr. Pauline H. Baker ndu.edu with “Attention Submissions Editor” in the subject line. Ambassador Rick Barton Professor Alain Bauer This is the authoritative, official U.S. Department of Defense edition of PRISM. Dr. Joseph J. Collins (ex officio) Any copyrighted portions of this journal may not be reproduced or extracted Ambassador James F. Dobbins without permission of the copyright proprietors. PRISM should be acknowledged whenever material is quoted from or based on its content. -
Afghan Women at the Crossroads: Agents of Peace—Or Its Victims?
AFGHAN WOMEN AT THE CROSSROADS: AGENTS OF PEACE—OR ITS VICTIMS? ORZALA ASHRAF NEMAT A CENTURY FOUNDATION REPORT The Century Foundation Headquarters: 41 East 70th Street, New York, New York 10021 D 212.535.4441 D.C.: 1333 H Street, N.W., 10th floor, Washington, D.C. 20005 D 202.387.0400 THE CENTURY FOUNDATION PROJECT ON AFGHANISTAN IN ITS REGIONAL AND MULTILATERAL DIMENSIONS This paper is one of a series commissioned by The Century Foundation as part of its project on Afghanistan in its regional and multilateral dimensions. This initiative is examining ways in which the international community may take greater collective responsibility for effectively assisting Afghanistan’s transition from a war-ridden failed state to a fragile but reasonably peaceful one. The program adds an internationalist and multilateral lens to the policy debate on Afghanistan both in the United States and globally, engaging the representatives of governments, international nongovernmental organizations, and the United Nations in the exploration of policy options toward Afghanistan and the other states in the region. At the center of the project is a task force of American and international figures who have had significant governmental, nongovernmental, or UN experience in the region, co-chaired by Lakhdar Brahimi and Thomas Pickering, respectively former UN special representative for Afghanistan and former U.S. undersecretary of state for political affairs. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors. Nothing written here is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Century Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before Congress. -
Newspapers Are a Basic Necessity
june 2009 Newspapers are a Basic Necessity Informers, not agitators to impede the press in carrying out its functions as the “fourth power” and as the “watchdog of democracy.” They are not As a representative of an independent publication, the regional interested in the press writing the truth, most of all about their weekly SP published in Bălţi. I am convinced that only an inde- mistakes, inactivity or inefficient activity, illegal activities and pendent publication can be considered a true mass medium. corruption. This attitude toward the press proves that, in the Party publications and newspapers that are subsidized from end, they are not interested in building a truly democratic either the local or the national budget are, in contrast, exclu- society in Moldova or in a complete transition to a market sively a means of agitation and propaganda. Having said that, economy or in a real fight against corruption and general I do not dispute by any means the existence of the party press. poverty. I am sure that most of the laws generally favorable to Such media exist worldwide, and they have the right to exist the press - on access to information, on fighting corruption in Moldova too if the party to which they belong is mentioned and others -have been adopted mainly due to pressure from in the masthead. It is deceptive when a newspaper disguises itself as independent but promotes the ideas of one or another European organizations and not to our own initiative; that is political entity in its pages. Unfortunately, we have many such why they do not work well. -
International Initiatives Committee Book Discussion
INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES COMMITTEE BOOK DISCUSSION POSSIBILITIES Compiled by Krista Hartman, updated 12/2015 All titles in this list are available at the MVCC Utica Campus Library. Books already discussed: Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. (Nigeria ; Fiction) Badkken, Anna. Peace Meals: Candy-Wrapped Kalashnikovs and Other War Stories. Cohen, Michelle Corasanti. The Almond Tree. (Palestine/Israel/US ; Fiction) Hosseini, Khaled. A Thousand Splendid Suns. (Afghanistan ; Fiction) Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Namesake. (East Indian immigrants in US ; Fiction) Maathai, Wangari. Unbowed: a Memoir. (Kenya) Menzel, Peter & D’Alusio, Faith. Hungry Planet: What the World Eats. Barolini, Helen. Umbertina. (Italian American) Spring 2016 selection: Running for My Life by Lopez Lomong (Sudan) (see below) **************************************************************************************** Abdi, Hawa. Keeping Hope Alive: One Woman—90,000 Lives Changed. (Somalia) The moving memoir of one brave woman who, along with her daughters, has kept 90,000 of her fellow citizens safe, healthy, and educated for over 20 years in Somalia. Dr. Hawa Abdi, "the Mother Teresa of Somalia" and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is the founder of a massive camp for internally displaced people located a few miles from war-torn Mogadishu, Somalia. Since 1991, when the Somali government collapsed, famine struck, and aid groups fled, she has dedicated herself to providing help for people whose lives have been shattered by violence and poverty. She turned her 1300 acres of farmland into a camp that has numbered up to 90,000 displaced people, ignoring the clan lines that have often served to divide the country. She inspired her daughters, Deqo and Amina, to become doctors. Together, they have saved tens of thousands of lives in her hospital, while providing an education to hundreds of displaced children. -
Observation of the Parliamentary Elections in Moldova (5 April 2009)
Doc. 11870 27 April 2009 Observation of the parliamentary elections in Moldova (5 April 2009) Report Ad hoc Committee of the Bureau of the Assembly Rapporteur: Mr David WILSHIRE, United-Kingdom, European Democrat Group Summary I. Introduction II. Political and legal context III. Electoral administration IV. Registration of candidates and voters V. The election campaign VI. Media environment VII. Election day VIII. Events after the election IX. Conclusions X. Recommendations I. Introduction 1. At the invitation of the Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, the Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided, on 30 January 2009, to form an ad hoc committee composed of 20 members to observe the parliamentary elections in Moldova on 5 April 2009, and to organise a pre-electoral visit by five members of this committee, one from each political group. This visit took place on 5 and 6 March 2009. Mr David Wilshire was appointed chair and rapporteur of the ad hoc committee. 2. On 4 October 2004, the Parliamentary Assembly and the European Commission for Democracy through Law (the Venice Commission) signed a co-operation agreement. Article 15 of the agreement states that "when the Bureau of the Assembly decides to observe an election in a country in which electoral legislation was previously examined by the Venice Commission, one of the rapporteurs of the Venice Commission on this issue may be invited to join the Assembly’s election observation mission as legal adviser." 3. Based on the proposals from the Parliamentary Assembly's political groups, the ad hoc committee had the following membership: Mr David Wilshire, Chairman of the delegation F – 67075 Strasbourg Cedex | e-mail: [email protected] | Tel: + 33 3 88 41 2000 | Fax: +33 3 88 41 27 33 Doc. -
Transitional Justice and Violent Extremism
i n s t i t u t e f o r i n t e g r at e d t r a n s i t i o n s Transitional Justice and Violent Extremism September 2020 About IFIT The Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) aims to help fragile and conflict-affected states achieve more sustainable transitions out of war or authoritarianism by serving as an inde- pendent expert resource for locally-led efforts to improve political, economic, social and security conditions. IFIT seeks to transform current practice away from fragmented inter- ventions and toward more integrated solutions that strengthen peace, democracy and human rights in countries attempting to break cycles of conflict or repression. The ideas in this publication are informed by the diverse global experiences of IFIT’s Law and Peace Practice Group, whose members have had direct involvement in the negotia- tion of amnesty and accountability issues in over 20 countries. About the Project This publication is part of a project that aims to fill a major gap in policy making: the fail- ure to integrate lessons learnt and best practices from the field of transitional justice in relation to conflict resolution strategies with two kinds of unconventional armed actors: 1) “violent extremist” groups, such as jihadists; and 2) organised crime groups, such as mafia, gang networks and drug cartels. IFIT’s work on the former began in 2017 with the UN University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR). The project was concerned with the fact that, to date, what has reigned is an overwhelmingly punitive and dragnet approach which, rather than helping address root causes and break cycles of resentment and vio- lence, instead risks renewing or reinforcing them. -
Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention in Moldova: the Role of the EU
Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention in Moldova: the role of the EU Authors: Roxana Cristescu [email protected] Denis Matveev [email protected] This paper was prepared in the framework of the Civil Society Dialogue Network (CSDN) http://www.eplo.org/civil-society-dialogue-network.html The paper was produced for discussion during a CSDN Member State Meeting entitled Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding in the EU's Eastern Neighbourhood and the Western Balkans, which took place on 28 June 2011 in Bucharest, Romania. The views expressed in the paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the CSDN as a whole, or of EPLO, the European External Action Service or the European Commission. Civil Society Dialogue Network The Civil Society Dialogue Network (CSDN) is a three-year project funded by the European Commission aimed at facilitating dialogue on peacebuilding issues between civil society and the EU institutions. For more information about the Civil Society Dialogue Network, please visit the EPLO website. Contents 1. Overview: The Moldova-Transdniestria Conflict 3 Political Dimensions 3 Key Aspects of the Conflict 4 Impact of the Conflict 5 Parliaments and Political Parties 5 Civil Society 6 Economy and Business Sector 6 Grassroots 7 2. EU Policies in Moldova-Transdniestria that Affect the Conflict 7 ENP at a Glance 8 ENP Implementation Tools 9 EU Engagement in Conflict Resolution in Moldova-Transdniestria 10 ENP Implementation Tools in the Moldova-Transdniestria Context 11 EU Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine 14 Financial Assistance 15 Recent Developments 15 3. Member States’ Engagement in the Conflict 17 4. -
Muslim Democratic Parties: Economic Liberalization and Islamist Moderation in the Middle East
Muslim Democratic Parties: Economic Liberalization and Islamist Moderation in the Middle East Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Abdulkadir Yildirim, M.A. Graduate Program in Political Science The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: Sarah M. Brooks, Co-Chair Amaney A. Jamal, Co-Chair Marcus J. Kurtz Irfan Nooruddin Copyright by Abdulkadir Yildirim 2010 Abstract Islamist political parties – once marked by their uniformity across countries in their oppositional and non-democratic platforms, and the goal of Islamizing state and society – face challenges leading to the emergence of a qualitatively-different and more moderate kind of political party: the Muslim democratic party (MDP). My dissertation answers two interrelated questions on the rise of MDPs: What explains the emergence of Muslim Democratic Parties recently, and why have these parties been successful in some cases, but not others? I theorize that the way in which a country liberalizes its economy shapes the social foundations of Islamic party politics. MDPs emerge and find societal support when Islamic peripheral businesses find a chance to compete economically – a feature of competitive liberalization –, and peripheral masses experience an improved income. In contrast, when economic liberalization’s reach remains limited because of its uncompetitive character and the perpetuation of pre-liberalization economic structure, societal support for MDPs fails to materialize, leaving Islamist parties’ societal support intact. I call this process crony liberalization. I test my theory in a three-country, structured comparison of Egypt, Morocco and Turkey. These countries were selected in order to maximize the variance I observe on my key causal variables while holding other factors constant following the most similar systems design. -
Elections, Parties, and Democratization in Postcommunist States
Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 2013 Who's Attending the Party? Elections, Parties, and Democratization in Postcommunist States Jonathan Windle Riggs Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Riggs, Jonathan Windle, "Who's Attending the Party? Elections, Parties, and Democratization in Postcommunist States" (2013). Dissertations. 544. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/544 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 2013 Jonathan Windle Riggs LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO WHO’S ATTENDING THE PARTY? ELECTIONS, PARTIES, AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN POSTCOMMUNIST STATES A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PROGRAM IN POLITICAL SCIENCE BY JONATHAN W. RIGGS CHICAGO, ILLINOIS MAY 2013 Copyright by Jonathan W. Riggs, 2013. All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... -
General Elections in Moldova, from Corinne Deloy Th Translated by Helen Levy 28 November 2010
MOLDOVA European Elections monitor General Elections in Moldova, from Corinne Deloy th Translated by Helen Levy 28 November 2010 ANALYSIS On 5th September last although 87.8% of Moldovan electors approved the constitutional reform 1 month before that meant the modification of article 78 of the Constitution to enable the election of the President the poll of the Republic direct universal suffrage the referendum was invalidated due to a low turnout rate. Indeed only 30.98% of Moldovans voted whilst the Constitution demands a minimum 33% turnout for the elections to be declared valid. The popular consultation was an attempt to bring Moldova out of the political deadlock in which it has found itself since the spring of 2009. Indeed according to the Constitution in force since 2000 the Moldovan Head of State is elected by secret ballot by 3/5 of the MPs i.e. 61 of the 101 in Par- liament. If this procedure fails the President of the Republic has to dissolve Parliament and convene early general elections. The parties of the European Integration Alliance in office for over a year do not enjoy a wide enough majority in Parliament to take their candidate through as Head of State but the communists do not have an adequate majority either. Moldova has therefore been deprived of a President for over one year. The failure of the referendum on 5th September obliged the Moldovan authorities to dissolve Parlia- ment which is what the interim President, Mihai Ghimpu (Liberal Party, PL) did on 28th September. He announced an early election on 28th November next. -
The Boko Haram Insurgency Revisited
Vol. 9(3), pp. 90-99, March 2015 DOI: 10.5897/AJPSIR2014.0719 Article Number: F57CEA550745 African Journal of Political Science and ISSN 1996-0832 Copyright © 2015 International Relations Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/AJPSIR Review Unemployment and poverty as sources and consequence of insecurity in Nigeria: The Boko Haram insurgency revisited USMAN Solomon Ayegba Department of Political Science, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. Received 29 July, 2014; Accepted 4 February, 2015 Central to the discussion in this paper is the issue of the crisis of unemployment and extreme poverty prevailing in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region where it is endemic. It is the contention of this paper that contrary to expectations and dreams nourished by many that the country’s abundant resources will help alleviate poverty from among the citizenry, lack of judicious utilization of these resources by the country’s leadership has undoubtedly created a vicious circle of poverty among Nigerian masses. More importantly, the expectations of the citizens in 1999 that democracy will afford them good job opportunities with improved standard of living has been proved unrealistic. Rather, the gap between the rich and the poor widens as the level of official corrupt practices exacerbated. Although, while it is unarguable that unemployment and poverty are not sufficient variables in explaining heighten insecurity in Nigeria vis-à-vis Boko Haram insurgency in the northern part of the country, this paper establishes that there exists a strong connection in unemployment, poverty and prevailing insecurity in the region. The experience of Muhammed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in Tunisia in December 2010 arising from unemployment which later sparked popular uprising in Arab world dubbed ‘the Arab Spring’, confirms the position of this paper that there is a nexus between poverty, unemployment and widespread discontent. -
Moldova Page 1 of 38
2009 Human Rights Report: Moldova Page 1 of 38 Home » Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs » Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor » Releases » Human Rights Reports » 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices » Europe and Eurasia » Moldova 2009 Human Rights Report: Moldova BUREAU OF DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND LABOR 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices March 11, 2010 Moldova is a republic with a form of parliamentary democracy. The country has an estimated total population of 3.95 million, including 532,000 in the secessionist-controlled region of Transnistria. An estimated 900,000 citizens, including approximately 250,000 Transnistrians, lived outside the country. The constitution provides for a multiparty democracy with legislative and executive branches, as well as an independent judiciary and a clear separation of powers between them; however, under the previous government led by the Party of Communists (PCRM), which was in power until September 25, the three branches of government were heavily influenced by the president. On April 5, the country held parliamentary elections that failed to fully comply with international standards. In that election the ruling PCRM increased its previous majority in parliament. Following that parliament's failure to elect a president, as prescribed by law, new parliamentary elections took place on July 29, and the four opposition parties won enough seats to establish a governing coalition, known as the Alliance for European Integration, which entered office on September 25. International observers noted some of the same problems in the July elections as in April but also reported improvement in the electoral process.