From Vienna to New York: Diverging attitudes and expectations among NPT members spell trouble for the 2015 NPT Review
The resurgence of Cold War style rhetoric between Russia and “the West”, ongoing concerns over North Korea’s nuclear program, a still elusive nuclear deal with Iran, and the recurrent fear of nuclear-armed non-state actors all stand as stark reminders that humanity still lives with the unacceptable risk of nuclear war. In this timely and important article, Rob van Riet reviews the promises and ambiguities of recent conferences, summits, working group sessions, legal actions, and negotiations on nuclear weapons, and evaluates the potential of the NPT review conference in May this year to make real political progress towards the goal of nuclear disarmament.
The Mizrahi – Palestinian Connection, Part I
holarly analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has depicted it as a conflict between two homogenous entities, namely Israel and the Palestinians. However, scholars largely ignore the impact of the “inner-Israeli” conflict between Mizrahim and Ashkenazim on the “external” conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Not only are the Mizrahim excluded from the peace process itself, but academics also fail to research the role they play in the conflict, while their occasional public role is that of extremely right-wing “Arab-haters” who prevent the Ashkenazi-dominated “liberal peace camp” from reaching a solution– hence they are portrayed as an obstacle to peace .
Regional Integration and Peace
Visiting University for Peace professor Philippe De Lombaerde gives an overview of regional economic theory and its causal relationship to regional security.
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 […]
Kyoto Bites
In the seven years since the Kyoto Conference the scientific debate over the reality of global warming has been largely settled. Yet the effectiveness of the treaty that has been rejected by the U.S, and which excludes the worlds fast growing developing economies remains widely questioned. Kyoto’s leading critic, the U.S Government, recently admitted that global warming is taking place and that this is a result of human activity.
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.
The Marshall Plan Mystique
The war in Iraq had not even begun when public discussion began on the rebuilding of Iraq by the US. Is this to be another “not the Marshall plan”? David Ekbladh calls for rethinking the approach to so-called Marshall Plans.