Counterinsurgency has not worked: A conversation with Col. Gian Gentile
Col. Gian Gentile, a prominent critic of US counterinsurgency policy in Iraq and a history professor at West Point, speaks with Lawal Tsalha about the tactics and goals of counterinsurgency, the breakdown of leadership and discipline that led to Abu Gharib, the pros and cons of drones as a tactic for applying military force within an uncertain strategic framework, and America’s strategic interest in Syria.
Costa Rica’s Emphasis On Cars Challenges Environmental Narrative
Key terms: Costa Rica, Tourism, Environmentalism, Transportation, Car Culture
Causes and catalysts of the civil war in Syria
The causes and catalysts of the current civil war in Syria are many and varied, including narratives that range across religion, poverty, past repression, and ideology. Understanding why the conflict began is only possible when these causes are considered together as a holistic whole rather than as stand-alone explanations. However, this is not to deny that some causes and catalysts have been more significant than others. Whilst early triumphs of civil society movements in Tunisia and Egypt greatly helped to catalyse opposition to the government in Syria, they only serve to mask the critical and much more important underlying change in the social dynamic created by the ideological drift of the Ba’ath Party. Under Bashar al-Assad’s Presidency, the Ba’ath Party increasingly disengaged and decoupled itself from its original political constituency, creating a broad and deep-seated disillusionment with the government within Syrian society. It is this schism that can be identified as the greatest of the causes of the current conflict.
Bend it Like Beckham [in a Burka]: Qatar v. Migrant Workers’ Rights – A Game of Deflection
Tags: FIFA World Cup 2022, Oatar, ILO, Workers Rights, Human Rights, International Labour Law
Awakening to Our Role in Human Rights and Global Peace
Dr Prasad comments on peace education for the protection of human rights and global peace on the occasion of UN Human Rights Day, emphasizing the role of the rich and powerful of society to leverage their privilege for the good of society and the necessity of each of us to awaken our best potential and serve the common good above selfish interests.
Achieving the mission: A conversation with UPEACE Vice Rector Amr Abdalla
Lawal Tsalha asks UPEACE Vice Rector and professor Amr Abdalla about his own life and work, and how it fits within the story of the University for Peace.
Gendered Language in the United Nations Secretary-General’s Report on Sudan
This article discusses the 2005 report of the UN Secretary-General calling for a “peace support operation” in Sudan (S/2005/57), a proposal subsequently supported by the Security Council in resolutions 1547 and 1574. Hala Eltom analyses the language of this report from a gender perspective and finds that it relies on generalities that lead to policy ambiguities, and reflects the persistent gender biases of the UN as an institution.
Fragments of the Iraq War Ten Years Later: International Law, Constitutional Law, and Erga Omnes
Ten years after the US invasion of Iraq, Professor of International Law and Vice President of IALANA Dr Kenji Urata discusses some of the literary fragments we are left with, including attempts to justify preemptive war, domestic assertions that a foreign nation should be “liberated”, reassertions of American exceptionalism, and the emergence of universal jurisdiction and global constitutionalism.
Fallujah and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Victoria Fontan reports from Fallujah where the medical consequences of war and the US occupation of Iraq continue to express themselves through congenital malformations and high cancer rates, particularly among children.
Egypt in Flux: A Conversation with Karim El Mantawi
The PCM catches up with Karim El Mantawi, Egyptian-Canadian researcher and media consultant. We discuss the current situation in Egypt in terms of increasing insecurity in North Sinai, the recent constitution crafted by the Muslim Brotherhood, the upcoming parliamentary elections, worsening economic conditions, and the shifting media landscape.