Resources are strategically invaluable economic and political tools. It is the unquestionable human thirst for black gold, and other vital resources such as water and minerals, where global capitalism, post-colonial kleptocracy and the disenfranchised insurgent will meet in an unpredictable and volatile new paradigm.
Both the Anglo-Boer War and the Russo-Japanese War offer evidence of fundamental shifts in the nature of warfare. The Boer War demonstrated a shift between the previous post-Napoleonic traditions to a brand new paradigm. Both conflicts show evidence of many fundamental shifts in warfare as the world entered the Twentieth Century.
A lack of cooperation between agencies, ignorance in dealing with the methods of fund-gathering and fund-moving measures, and the implementation of contradictory policies have resulted in a system in which the West cannot find a comprehensive strategy to curb the financing of Islamic terrorism.
The fight for women’s suffrage in Switzerland dates back to the 19th century. Yet, it may seem surprising to learn that women, in one of the oldest modern democracies in Europe, lacked the right to express their voice on national matters well past the middle of the 20th century.
Some are calling the coalition intervention that began 19 March 2011, in Libya a success. I call tens of thousands of deaths and injuries a tragedy. When such casualties occur owing to a military intervention never shown to be necessary, the intervention is a failure.
The echoes of the imaginary geographies associated with the Cold War undoubtedly underpin many of the geopolitical phenomena that typify the current ‘War on Terror’; inherent to the geopolitical discourses of both eras are binary distinctions; distinctions between good vs evil, us vs them etc, all stemming from a firmly rooted ‘conflict of ideologies’
As Turkey readies sanctions against Syria, there is some confusion as to how one best reads the relationship between these two neighbors. Until this year, the government of Turkey led by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) appeared friendly with the Assad regime, and has spent the recent months diplomatically urging Bashar Assad to curb his violent crackdowns against protesters.
Modernity-inspired international development has often failed when not taking into account local context, culture and belief. Failing to consider religion risks the failure of enduring social change. This seems a more productive and appropriate way of framing societies and people’s lives, rather than suggesting secularity should supersede other forms of faith.
The EU is already the hegemon within its geographic region but to be considered a credible actor in international affairs it needs to stabilize regimes in its neighbourhood more rapidly and successfully than competitors like China and India can manage in their own regions.
Because of the deep concern on the part of many UN member states that RtoP could give rise to a regime change agenda and the equally deep global opposition to such an agenda, it is incumbent on us to explore the relationship more deeply in order to ascertain whether there are ways of maintaining a clear distinction between RtoP and regime change without sacrificing the protection of civilians.
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