At the root of poverty, lies a lack of access to modern energy. Most of the Millennium Development Goals cannot be fulfilled without first meeting the energy needs of the 1.6 billion people without access to modern energy services. How could South-South Cooperation initiatives help to overcome this problem?
The western way of war, in which conflict is politics/policy by other means, need not be the only lens through which the military understands problems, even if it remains the only lens through which it operates. Insurgencies are not fought simply for political reasons but also for intractable social and cultural reasons, and this lesson must be further examined and understood.
Access to information is a vital building block for lasting peace, yet media interventions are not a ‘quick fix’. While they may not be able to solve conflicts, there is certainly an important role for them in spurring debate, reconciling communities and changing behaviour towards peacebuilding.
In the wake of 9/11, private actors have played an increasingly crucial role at both sides of the conflict. Not only is the war on terror a response to the unprecedented threat posed by non-state actors such as terrorist networks; it is also a conflict characterized by a growing role of commercial actors supporting bureaucracies and military organizations.
Does Somaliland exhibit modern state qualities? Are we witnessing the development of a ‘beacon of light’ in an otherwise war-torn area of Africa? Or is this an overly positive analysis, resulting in an idealistic, rather than realistic, approach to the problematic of statehood in the region?
This essay is concerned with the motivations that drive states to intervene, and argues that their actions are never wholly disinterested. The scope of this essay will be limited to interventions which third-parties have justified on humanitarian grounds, looking in particular at the case of the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999.
Ireland’s perceived neutrality is a myth not sufficiently examined by theorists, politicians or the public, an illusion that has become a widely accepted ‘reality’. Study of Ireland’s foreign policy from the 1930s through to the 1970s shows two key strands guiding decision-making, blending ideology with diplomatic pragmatism.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) is viewed as an important tool in the fight against terrorism, yet this approach is fundamentally flawed and has resulted in the adoption of policies which have done little to combat radicalisation, but have severely hampered the provision of aid to those who need it.
The ever growing problems and the struggle to fight terrorism comes from many factors; the lack of understanding radical Islam as opposed to moderate Islam, the alienation of the vast Muslim populations, continued unpopular foreign policies and the War on Terror with its death and destruction imposed in many Islamic states.
Jason Stearns’ recently released book ‘Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse of the Congo and the Great War of Africa’ brings an analytical lens to a conflict that until now has largely been discussed in sentimental terms, if at all. Stearns delivers a fresh perspective on the conflict and an understanding of not just its symptoms, but also its roots.
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