Iran and the Centrality of the IAEA
Iran and the Centrality of the IAEA Author: Dr. Aldo Zammit Borda Originally published at Peace and Conflict Monitor on 03/15/2005 Introduction In February 2005, Iran rejected an EU-3(1) offer that would have limited its nuclear capabilities, to replace its heavy-water nuclear reactor with a lightwater reactor2. This offer was made as part of the […]
Religions and War
The study of religions and war is somewhat inchoate, yet for many years scholars have noted the important role religion plays in national, ethnic and international conflicts. Many have recently pointed to the use and abuse of religious symbolism by politically motivated leaders who employ religious language as a means of generating support for purportedly righteous causes.
We have become increasingly aware that when conflicts are couched in religious and moral language, followers often quickly and enthusiastically fall in line many willing to make ultimate sacrifices to fight on God s behalf, or at least on God s side as defined by their leaders.
Whether such political leaders are sincere in espousing religiously-imbued rhetoric or whether they are simple demagogues, the approach clearly works. It works to a great extent because it seems that many people, no matter what their political leanings, prefer to reduce complex socio-economic, or political conflicts into a zero-sum values game of right and wrong.
A Kashmiri Pandora’s Box
Speaking at an Iftar party (the supper to break fast during the holy month of Ramadan) last week, Pakistan’s ruler Gen. Parvez Musharraf opened a Pandora’s box. He suggested that India and Pakistan should consider the option of identifying ‘’some regions’’ of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, demilitarise them and grant them the status of independence or joint control under the United Nations.
Role of History in the Creation of National Identities in Central Asia: Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan Case Studies
Muzaffar Suleymanov explores the uses and abuses of history teaching in two Central Asian Republics. Tamurlane and the mythical figure of Manas are being used, it is argued, in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, to help build nation states regardless of the real histories of the region.
Towards Conflict Transformation in Nepal: A Case For UN Mediation
UN peace facilitators could help the Nepalese to draw up a viable compromise, perhaps engaging the parties and the civil society in “constitution making” as itself a part of the process of conflict transformation. They could help overcome the problems of mutual distrust, and ensure transparency and compliance with the code of conduct. UN resident coordinator in Nepal, Matthgew Kahane, has said that UN help could build trust in both sides to facilitate the resumption of the peace negotiations. Unfortunately, the government of Nepal can veto UN mediation because the UN can only intervene if it has the consent of all parties.
The Role of Identity in Georgia s Security Policies: Critique of Realism
The BBC reports (May 5, 2004) that the “Georgian leader Mikhail Saakashvili has imposed direct presidential rule in the rebel region of Ajaria. The moves came amid growing pressure on Ajaria’s leader Aslan Abashidze to accept Tbilisi’s authority or resign. The Georgian government has warned Aslan Abashidze that he has only a few hours to step down and avoid bloodshed.” We offer Vahagn Muradyan’s article on the problems of identity in Georgia in explaining its Security Policies.
The Japanese Constitution as Peace System
The wars in Asia would seem to demand that certain European countries, the U.S., and Japan all re-examine the value systems that presumably provided the justification for those wars. Many situations of “instability” in this century were actually based on the preconceptions and deeds of the nations that applied that label. Now as ever, if a country has reason to be opposed to something, it will typically display a tendency to assume that other countries are engaged in strategic designs or acting from an adversarial position.
Where do ideas come from? An Intellectual History of the United Nations
As lifelong participants and observers of multilateral development work and diplomacy, it struck Dr.Emmerij and his collaborators for some time that the UN story deserves to be better documented if it is to be better understood and appreciated. This article examines the importance of the history of ideas in relation to the United Nations, its formation and its major contribution to world peace and well-being.
Talking Peace for North Korea
The announcement last week that China, Japan, North and South Korea, Russia and the United States will meet within one month for multilateral talks on the North Korea issue has been greeted worldwide with unbridled optimism (‘A Welcome First Step on the Path to Korean Peace’, South China Morning Post, 2 August, 2003). A military solution has largely been ignored or downplayed, with the exception of a predictably hawkish article by former CIA Director R. James Woolsey in the Asian Wall Street Journal, detailing why an invasion of North Korea would be logistically easier and politically less sensitive than the invasion of Iraq.
Post tenebras lux
The Burundi war is sordid like all the other wars in the world. For this reason it must not be singled out. Burundi is plunged into mourning by a violence that the international community, out of ignorance or oversimplification, tends to simply portray as an ethnic war between Hutus and Tutsis, fanned by ancestral antagonism between these two communities. It’s utterly wrong. The Burundi war is complex and frightfully modern. It is a war for trifling political power and control of the resources. It simply uses the most fallacious pretexts (ethnic group, region, political affiliation) to disguise its true face. In so doing, it utterly resembles so many other armed conflicts in the world