A new issue of the journal Papeles de Cuestiones Internacionales, published by the Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz, CIP-FUHEM) has just been released.
Issue 96 (Winter 2006-2007) includes, in the Current Issues section, articles on Latin America in the Security Council; North Korea’s Nuclear Testing; two different articles on Israeli policies. This issue also contains a special dossier on Africa ("Perspectives from Africa"). It also looks at topics related to international interventions and human rights violations by UN peace missions in the Dialogue, Interview and Book Review sections.
Table of Contents in the attached document (Spanish)
The Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz, CIP-FUHEM) has just published a condensed version in English of its CIP Yearbook 2006, including analyses by international and national researchers on security and conflict; international trends; the Mediterranean and Middle East;and Latin America. A summary of the contents is in the attached file.
This new issue of the journal PAPELES DE CUESTIONES INTERNACIONALES --no. 95, Fall 2006-- focuses on the challenges of global democracy. PAPELES presents a dialogue between David Held and Heikki Patomäki on the challenges of global democracy and on the same theme contains analyses by Manuela Mesa and Daniele Archibugi. This issue also looks at the war in Libano; Afghanistan, after five years of the international intervention; global security; the future of Cuba; the new situation of Servia-Montenegro; global security; and the European Policy of Security and Defense. All the content in the attached file.
More information at: www.revistapapeles.fuhem.es
The United Nations General Assembly will hold a special session on September 14th and 15th on the topic of International Migration and Development. The momentum for this debate to take place is particularly adequate, at a time when the issue of immigration is at its height, both in Europe and the United States.
Migrations have become a key component in the policies of developed countries, particularly for those whose border lies between the ¨haves¨ and the ¨have-nots¨, such as Spain and the United States. Starting from the original perception of immigration as a ¨conjunctural problem¨, it is increasingly accepted that we are dealing with a structural phenomenon, linked to globalization.
This Special Dossier by CIP-FUHEM analyses the phenomenon of immigration from varying angles.
Susan George dwells in her article ¨Immigration: the Great Surprise¨ on the trading policies of developed countries, and their devastating effects on the South, as a starting point related to the current migratory phenomenon. This article originally appeared in TNI News published by the Transnational Institute.
Graciela Magesini provides an in-depth analysis of the migratory phenomenon in Spain, and the recent tendency towards the rural environment in her article: ¨Immigrants from Urban to Rural Areas in Spain. The Impact of Transnationalism¨.
Tom Barry focuses his article ¨Where is the Immigration Reform Heading? On the Search for a Comprehensive Migration Policy¨ on the United States, and revises the existing political proposals related to the regulation of immigration in the United States. He highlights several key elements that the policies must contain with the double aim of respecting national interest, and the immigrants´ rights. This article was published originally as a working document by the International Relations Center (IRC).
Further analyses and resources are enclosed in the attached file.
Since 9/11 and the development of the 'war on terror', international terrorism has been promoted in Washington, London and other Western capitals as the greatest threat facing the world at the current juncture. However, this paper shows that international terrorism is actually a relatively minor threat when compared to other more serious global trends, and than current responses to those trends are likely to increase, rather than decrease, the risks of further terrorist attacks.
Considering this report to be a document of interest, the Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz, CIP-FUHEM) offers its readers access to the full version, available in:
http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/publications/briefings/globalthreats.pdf
A synthesis article by John Sloboda is available in Open Democracy at:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-institutions_government/global_security_3630.jsp
Poder y democracia. Los retos del Multilateralismos is the title of the most recent edition of the CIP 2006 Yearbook. Coordinated by Manuel Mesa and Mabel González Bustelo, the 2006 edition looks at some of the major challenges facing the multilateral system from a variety of perspectives. In the introduction, Mesa argues that, if 2005 was the year of intergovernmental proposals and diplomatic initiatives, then it can also be seen as a lost opportunity with respect to building a more solid multilateral system. These failures are a symptom of disturbing trends within the global system.
The CIP 2006 Yearbook consists of articles and analyses written by specialists in the following areas:
- International trends: security and conflict
- The geopolitical stage
- Middle East and Mediterranean
- Latin America
A press release and the table of contents of the Yearbook can be found in the attached document.
A condensed version in English under the title Power and Democracy. The Challenges of Multilateralism is forthcoming.
Throughout the year 2006 we can expect to see a deterioration of the international situation, despite the existence of certain positive trends. This is the main idea that emerged from the internal seminar The World in 2006. Perspectives and Trends, held by the Peace Research Center (Centro de Investigación para la Paz, CIP-FUHEM) in Madrid, on the 26th of January 2006, which gathered around twenty experts from the fields of International Relations, peace research and human rights from Spain and Europe.
More analyses:
Del petróleo a la gripe aviar, by Alberto Piris (only available in Spanish)
This article is a summary of the paper presented by the author to the International Seminar "The Gender Perspective in the International Relations Agenda and Peace Building", held on November 18th 2004 organized by the Instituto Complutense de Estudios Internacionales (ICEI) – Area of Gender and Development, Complutense University of Madrid.
Terrorism has grown and evolved substantially in recent years, causing the reactions to terrorism to evolve as well. This report discusses international terrorism in respect to its causes and strategic implications, focusing on international security and individual liberties. The article begins with a presentation of the terrorist context and the plurality of structure, means, and organization inherent in these groups. It moves on to discuss the perception of terrorism, the asymmetrical nature of power, and the various responses to terrorism.
In 2005, the United Nations Organization (UNO) celebrates its 60th anniversary. Over these six decades it has succeeded in achieving important successes, but it has also proven to have many problems. In the aftermath of the 11th of September of 2001, its image has been significantly damaged. Many of the criticisms that are leveled against it are based upon real problems, but it is also important to keep in mind who is making such criticisms, and what are their interests. The United States, the most influential actor in the UN, has been, and still is, its main opponent. Having said this, and despite the problems that exist within the organization, and which translate into inefficiency and incoherence, the UN is now more necessary than ever. This is the opinion of the majority of its member states, and of organized civil society, which is calling for some participation in the process of reforming the organization. This text is an abstract of the report La reforma de las Naciones Unidas: entre el juego político y la coherencia, published by CIP-FUHEM in September 2005.
A report prepared prior to the UN High Level Summit of September 2005. The author reviews the main issues, presenting a panorama where there is little hope for the ambitious reform program that the Secretary General has presented, despite the support of an important part of the international community.
This analysis by Manuela Mesa and Mabel González Bustelo is the introduction to CIP Yearbook 2005, Cartographies of Power. Hegemony and Responses. The article presents a vision of the main international current issues, explaining the main tendencies in the present changing international system and providing a deep insight into the interrelations, confrontations and alliances which are shaping the new maps of power. It looks into the significance of George Bush’s re-election; the abuses to international justice and the state of health of multilateralism; the evolution in the EU construction; the situation in the Middle East, Central Asia and Latin America and the emergence of new regional power; and entrenched crises.
This article calls attention to the debate on the mechanisms of adequate transitional justice for the building of a sustainable peace and briefly analyses some approaches to the relationship between justice and peace in societies in transition. It addresses the mechanisms and standards of international law relating to justice during and after the conflict, specifically focusing on human rights and the effects of judicial processes on the maintenance of peace. International law, penal justice, and local agendas are also included in this analysis.
