Political Defeat – Military Inadequacy! The Swaddling Blanket of Intervention

Posted by & filed under Peacebuilding, Regions and Powers

The military interventions by the West in the Middle East, Afghanistan and North Africa in recent years are examples of bold and efficient use of force resulting in immediate achievement of goals. Saddam Hussein’s military forces were defeated, the Taliban were deprived of their havens and possible massacres in Libya were prevented. The attempts however to build stable democracies in the aftermath of such use of military force have been less successful. Iraq, Syria and Libya are all once again experiencing significant conflict, and the Taliban are back on the advance.

A Norwegian soldier on a mission in the Faryab province, Afghanistan. PHOTO: Creative Commons

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Against the Merger of Humanitarianism with Development and Security

Posted by & filed under Humanitarianism

Opening of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, May 2016

In the recent World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul 23-24 May, the interconnections between humanitarianism, development and security were highlighted. Recognising that humanitarian assistance alone cannot address ‘the needs of over 130 million of the world’s most vulnerable people’, the conference chair’s summary report states: ‘A new and coherent approach is required based on addressing root causes, increasing political diplomacy for prevention and conflict resolution, and bringing humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts together’ (page 2). Similarly, the background report of the UN Secretary General – One Humanity: shared responsibility – prescribes the merger of humanitarian policies with peace and development agendas. These agendas include the prevention and management of conflict and disaster, the building of institutions conducive to ‘the protection of civilians’, the fight against terrorism, and the building of ‘resilient societies’.

Yet, while coordination across these policy domains is certainly needed, the current challenge for humanitarianism is rather to establish a clearer division of labour between them, where humanitarian relief retains its political neutrality, development aid its concern with justice, and where policies of peace and security maintain focused on the mitigation of international and civil war rather than a broader humanitarian agenda of ‘human security’.

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This Week in South Sudan – Week 22

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Wednesday 1 June The UN Security Council unanimously renewed until 31 May 2017 sanctions against South Sudanese leaders perceived to be blocking peace, security and stability in the country. Thursday 2 June There are conflicting interpretations within the presidency of the mandate for the announced committee to review the 28-state plan. Friday 3 June Renewed clashes between… Read more »

African Drone Proliferation: The Meaning of Leapfrogging

Posted by & filed under Humanitarianism

The ongoing drone proliferation throughout Africa has received little critical attention. However, African drone proliferation has become a vehicle for the production and distribution of forms of legitimacy and of resources that have implications for drone proliferation both within and outside Africa.  More specifically, the percep­tion of Africa as being in need of external drone intervention dovetails with the drone industry’s efforts to identify and promote good uses for drones — efforts that are central to increasing the legitimacy of drones in the eyes of the Global North. This blog post discusses the ways in which drones are presented as a means of “leapfrogging” past Africa’s development problems.

A South African Drone. PHOTO: Creative Commons

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Russia is showing uncharacteristic prudence – Why, and will it last?

Posted by & filed under Regions and Powers

Russian Su-24 performing a mock attack on USS Donald Cook.

With the NATO summit in Warsaw coming up in July, the rhetoric in many Western quarters is becoming shriller about the need to contain Russian aggression. There are good reasons for concern about Russia’s intentions and capabilities, as elaborated at the recent Lennart Meri conference in Tallinn. But in the last couple of months, Moscow has actually been quite prudent. This self-restraint is entirely uncharacteristic and is often accompanied by typically assertive language, but it shouldn’t be ignored and deserves a closer look.Read More

This Week in South Sudan – Week 21

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Monday 23 May National Security officers, deployed to control queues at fuel stations, accused of extorting money from customers. The SPLA (IO) refuted allegations that their forces had attacked SPLA locations near Bentiu, Unity State.  Tuesday 24 May Tens of thousands of people in the western regions of South Sudan have been forced to flee killings,… Read more »

The ‘Sovereign’ according to Ola Tunander

Posted by & filed under Governance, Law and Ethics, Regions and Powers, Security, Uncategorized

HPIM0873On Friday 27 May 2016, PRIO celebrated Ola Tunander’s 30-year academic career with a seminar on ‘Sovereignty, Subs and PSYOPS’, and a reception. The celebration was, of course, focused on Ola and his work, spanning topics from the geopolitics and organic state theory of Rudolf Kjellén to the 27 October 1981 ‘Whiskey on the Rocks’ submarine crash in the Swedish Archipelago. Obviously, sovereignty was a key topic of the seminar, and is arguably also the critical theme of Ola’s work.

As a digital footnote to the seminar, and a distillation of the ‘sovereign’ according to Ola Tunander, here are some excerpts of Ola’s writings on the subject (all from ‘Democratic State vs. Deep State – Approaching the Dual State of the West’ in Eric Wilson’s Government of the Shadows: Parapolitics and Criminal Sovereignty, published by Pluto Press, 2009): Read More

This Week in South Sudan – Week 20

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Wednesday 18 May About 3000 Ethiopian troops left South Sudanese territory on 15 May. They entered South Sudan following the Murle attacks on Gambella in April. Thursday 19 May The SPLM (IO) claimed it will register as an independent party if the Arusha Reunification Agreement of May 2015 is not respected. The two directors of… Read more »

The Humanitarian Quest for Accountability: Examining the role of UNHCR

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The European refugee crisis has been a difficult experience for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). On the one hand, UNHCR has been criticized by civil society and the humanitarian community for not being present on Greek islands. On the other hand, the organization has experienced difficulties in negotiating this access with Greek authorities. In addition to criticism of UNHCRs actions/inactions in Greece, the organization also faced criticism for not doing enough to push states across Europe to admit a bigger responsibility for the refugee crisis, and to accept greater numbers of refugees for resettlement.

The new UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

In the fall of 2015, there was explicit criticism of previous High Commissioner of Refugees, Antonio Guterres, as it was argued that his ambitions of becoming the new United Nations Secretary General was getting in the way of confronting European states more explicitly to  ensure that they live up to their responsibility as stated in the 1951 Refugee Convention:

“The heads of U.N. agencies with ‘well-nourished careers’ prefer to ‘put out cutesy heart-warming videos’ about individual refugees rather than criticize governments… They want another U.N. job … And they won’t get it if they piss governments off. You have to start shaming governments. That’s how things get done.”

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This Week in South Sudan – Week 19

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Monday 9 May According to UN World Food Program, South Sudan is heading for the worst lean season since its independence in 2011, with almost half its population facing severe hunger. Radio Tamazuj: “Malakal attack: What UN knew vs what it said. Insights from a leaked report.” Tuesday 10 May Tensions remain high in Moangala… Read more »