Critical infrastructure is widely recognized as an immediate and pressing security concern for liberal democracies. Large, dispersed, and highly complex systems like energy grids and transport systems that support today’s way of life were not designed with security in mind and are highly vulnerable to all sorts of disruptions that can have widespread social and economic… Read more »
Month: June 2018
This Week in South Sudan – Week 25
Tuesday 19 June The EU donates 68 million euro in humanitarian assistance for vulnerable communities in Sudan and South Sudan. Wednesday 20 June A delegation from the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) will arrive in Khartoum at the end of June to discuss and initiate the oil production and cooperation between the two Sudans. The… Read more »
Fewer Lives Being Lost in Conflicts
In 2017, approximately 90,000 people died as the direct result of armed conflict. This figure is down for the third year in a row, and is now 31 percent lower than in 2014. Nearly a third of all conflicts – and four of the 10 most serious wars worldwide – now involve a local division… Read more »
New Education Policy in Burundi Could Halve Teenage Pregnancy
As of 2014, the Burundi government has pledged that children can continue their basic schooling until grade 9. The fertility impact of this new schooling policy is potentially strong. However, there are three important elements in this story that are less well understood: what will be the magnitude of this new policy’s effect; what is… Read more »
Conspiracy and Foreign Policy
The spectre of conspiracy looms large in politics and international affairs. We hear of covert Russian interferences in the 2016 US Presidential Elections or of renewed intrigue surrounding the assassination of John F. Kennedy over half a century ago. Intelligence dossiers, anonymous sources, secret meetings and suspicious connections make up the political world we live… Read more »
The Crystal Peace: Civilian Militarism and Wake Civil Society in Colombia
In my special issue article “Building Civilian Militarism: Colombia, Internal War, and Militarization in a mid-term Perspective,” I talk about how civilian militarism became a large part of Colombian society over their years of internal conflict and how, within this context, Columbian civil society will be a key player in the success of the current… Read more »
Russia Celebrates the Football Fiesta, but the Hangover Will Hit Hard
The start of the 2018 World Cup had everything millions of fans in Russia could wish for: Perfectly prepared stadiums, beautiful and short opening ceremony, and spectacular performance of the national team. The country has indeed come together and rejoiced in welcoming the greatest sport event, which will be watched with keen attention in every inhabited… Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 24
Wednesday 13 June Riek Machar accepted an invitation from the Ethiopian Prime Minister to meet with the South Sudanese president Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa next week. The Government of South Sudan (GoSS) demands that a non-IGAD country hosts the meeting. Atem Garang de Kuek resigned from his position as the SPLM Chief Whip in… Read more »
Doing security or doing military in Israel- why does it matter?
When you visit Israel for the first time you see uniforms everywhere and you might mistake the many soldiers on the streets for police officers or private security guards. If you can tell them apart, you might even ask: “hey, aren’t they all doing the same thing?” Security actors in Israel go back and forth… Read more »
What Shapes Which Migration Flows We Study?
How might decolonising the academy intersect with academic everyday practice, for instance in the context of migration studies? As efforts to decolonise the academy are gaining force, not least in universities in the United Kingdom, such as at the School of Oriental and African Studies, questions about how this timely intellectual scrutiny can or ought… Read more »