The future is here, the world is changing, and the United Nations must as well. In view of that, the United Nations Intellectual History Project (UNIHP) nears completion. It identifies three types of challenges for the UN: Intellectual, participatory, and personnel. Louis Emmerij, co-director of the UNIHP, brings us this
The fertile lands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the wheat planes just south of Basra were, until the 1980s, the base of a robust agricultural sector in modern Iraq. This essay traces the steady and tragic decline of the Iraqi food system over the last 3 decades, emphasizing
In the first of a two-part series, researcher Paula LeRoy discusses several ways in which poverty and violence interact in El Salvador. Of particular emphasis in this analysis is the inadequate fulfilment of the 1992 Peace Accords. The companion article (forthcoming) will assess the viability of potential responses to the
Youth are variously described as the hope and future of our species or the most irresponsible and potentially violent of our kind. Unfortunately, it seems as though this later view has gained ground among certain social critics who see a large youth populations as potentially destabilizing to society. As Shahbaz
Vital Nshimirimana discusses the transitional justice process as planned by the government of Burundi for 2012. He argues that issues including ongoing insecurity, human rights abuses, lack of dialogue and trust among social partners, as well as lack of rule of law will undermine the process.
Jan Oberg discusses the legality of Kosovo's declaration of independence, the dangers of an increasingly militant and tactless EU foreign policy, and the continued need for creative thinking and enlightened policy reform.
What is the real story behind Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh’s Dubai death? After understanding the Palestinian Question, Hamas and Mossad, this essay will tackle an information overload and analyze how Israel’s The Jerusalem Post, Dubai’s Khaleej Times and Britain’s The London Independent covered this James Bond style, January assassination. Who said what,
It is my contention that, desirable as it is to conduct a DDR programme in the region, there are certain critical preconditions that have to be met for it to be successful. Analysing these preconditions was the main focus of this paper and contribution to the proposed DDR in the
Genocide in Darfur is stuck between international bureaucracy and lethargic, discriminate Sudanese politics. Pkalya probes Western states, special interests, and humanitarian aide initiatives, while we sit and wait to see who will save Darfur.
The Niger Delta region of Nigeria has become known for spates of violence and conflict that have eluded attempts at peaceful resolution. This paper traces the crisis in relation to the current attributes of the region and advocates for responsible governance, which embraces corporate social responsibility, along with trustworthy national
