CSCP

3D 'The Next Generation'. Lessons learned from Uruzgan for future operations

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 10:57:50 +0100

This report about the Dutch comprehensive approach is based on a study by Ja�r van der Lijn of the Clingendael Institute, commissioned by Cordaid. The purpose of the report is to contribute to the debate about comprehensive approaches. It takes a look at the perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Dutch comprehensive approach and at what dilemmas play a role in it. To answer this question and arrive at policy recommendations for future operations, the study maps perceptions regarding the �3D approach� consisting of defence, diplomacy and development in the Dutch mission in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. In addition to an extensive literature research, focus group meetings were held with NGO representatives, military personnel and diplomats (the latter working on political and development affairs). Read more�

Russia's Military Reforms: Victory after Twenty Years of Failure?

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:44:59 +0100

New Publication in Series: Clingendael Paper No. 5 by Marcel de Haas. Russia�s army has been in decay since 1991. Moscow is currently making a comeback, by way of an assertive foreign security policy that is supported by modernized and restructured armed forces. Since Russia is an important and influential security actor in and around Europe, and a nuclear competitor of the United States. The current military reforms will not result in Moscow returning as a military super power, but its regional power projection capabilities could well influence Western security ambitions towards the East. Read more�

Libi� en �The responsibility to protect�

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:28:18 +0100

De NAVO-interventie in Libi� wordt alom beschouwd als de eerste volledige toepassing van het op de VN-top in 2005 aanvaarde beginsel van �the responsibility to protect�. Dit beginsel houdt in dat primair de staat verantwoordelijk is voor de bescherming van zijn bevolking. Indien de staat zijn bevolking niet kan of wil beschermen, gaat deze verantwoordelijk echter over op de internationale gemeenschap. De NAVO is op basis van Veiligheidsraad Resolutie 1973, met het afdwingen van een no fly zone en een wapenembargo de bevolking gaan beschermen. Dit leidde uiteindelijk tot het einde van het Kadhaffi regime en een vrij Libi�.
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International Conference on Strengthening Intelligence Oversight in Western Balkans

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:24:48 +0100

Since 9/11, intelligence and security services have been granted broader mandates, increased powers and greater resources to tackle the threats posed by international terrorism. The expansion of intelligence services� competencies and capacities has created new challenges for accountability and for ensuring that their counter-terrorism activities respect the rule of law and human rights. Intelligence services engaged in counter-terrorism are increasingly difficult to monitor, as they cooperate extensively across state boundaries, make use of enhanced powers and technologies, and operate with increasingly large budgets. For this reason, the best practices employed by oversight bodies to keep pace with rapidly evolving intelligence services are of vital concern to anyone interested in effective oversight. Read more �

Russia, our Distant Neighbour. The Burden of Conventional Beliefs

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 12:29:18 +0100

In het nieuwe boek Russia, our Distant Neighbour. The Burden of Conventional Beliefs onderzoekt Hugo Klijn, die twee jaar als onderzoeker verbonden is geweest aan Instituut Clingendael, enkele westerse conventionele opvattingen over het grootste land ter wereld � een land dat sinds Peter de Grote een aanzienlijke invloed heeft gehad op de Europese geschiedenis. Op maandag 28 november a.s. vanaf 17.00 vindt de boekpresentatie plaats in Nieuwspoort, waarin Hugo Klijn het boek zal toelichten, en Arnout Brouwers (correspondent Moskou van de Volkskrant) een coreferaat zal geven. Read more �

NAVO posture review: nieuwe dreigingen, nieuwe capaciteiten?, 18 november

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:37:34 +0100

Instituut Clingendael organiseert op 18 november a.s. een bijeenkomst getiteld �NAVO posture review: nieuwe dreigingen, nieuwe capaciteiten?�. Tijdens de NAVO-top in Lissabon in november 2010 is het nieuwe Strategisch Concept van de Alliantie aangenomen door de leiders van de 28 lidstaten van de NAVO. In het Strategisch Concept worden de kerntaken van de Alliantie benadrukt en de uitdagingen voor de toekomst uiteengezet. In de verklaring van de NAVO-top in Lissabon wordt de Noord-Atlantische Raad de opdracht gegeven een review uit te voeren, gebaseerd op een brede, geactualiseerde dreigingsanalyse, van de middelen die noodzakelijk zijn voor een effectieve afschrikking en verdediging van het Bondgenootschap. In mei 2012 wordt deze posture review tijdens de NAVO-top in Chicago ter goedkeuring voorgelegd aan de staats- en regeringshoofden. Read more �

Clingendael Policy Brief: 'Internationale Militaire Samenwerking: Knelpunten en Kansen'

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 09:00:00 +0100

De Nederlandse defensie wordt de komende jaren geconfronteerd met rigoureuze bezuinigingen. Minister van Defensie, Hans Hillen, geeft aan meer samenwerking te willen met Europese partners, ervan uitgaande dat dit een kostenbesparing zou kunnen opleveren. Het Instituut Clingendael zet in een Policy Brief de verscheidenheid aan samenwerkingsvormen die we nu al kennen op een rij en laat zien welke knelpunten daarbij een rol spelen. Tenslotte worden de kansen en mogelijkheden besproken om tot meer internationale militaire samenwerking te komen. Deze Policy Brief bepleit onder meer dat niet alleen bezuinigingen de leidraad mogen zijn voor samenwerking, maar ook het inzetpotentieel van de krijgsmacht en dat van de Europese landen gezamenlijk. De Policy Brief �Internationale Militaire Samenwerking: Knelpunten en Kansen� is geschreven door Margriet Drent, Wouter Hagemeijer en Kees Homan. Read more �

CRU Policy Brief: Supporting the Syrian summer

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 16:07:44 +0100

Supporting the Syrian Summer: Dynamics of the Uprising and Considerations for International Engagement

Since the Syrian uprising started in March 2011, President Bashar al-Assad�s regime has reacted with increasing brutality against the opposition movement demanding regime change. International condemnation has steadily grown throughout the crisis, resulting in recent calls for Bashar al-Assad to step aside. Syrian protesters have shown great resilience , and continue to flock to the streets in their thousands. Outside the country Syrians have also come out to support the uprising. Syrian activists, traders and politicians in exile are preparing for a post-Assad polity.

This policy brief provides an introduction to the Syrian case, an overview of key players and an analysis of the dynamics of the uprising. Subsequently, a number of considerations are presented to the international community for engaging with the Syrian opposition both domestically and abroad, and for building a constructive response to the crisis. Read more

Conference: Ten Years After 9/11

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 10:45:22 +0100

Since the shocking events of 9/11, the international security environment has been subject to constant change. The global dimension of contemporary terrorist threats has raised the demand for transatlantic cooperation and boundary-crossing interventions to combat radicalization and terrorism. The ten-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks offers a pivotal opportunity to evaluate a decade of intense security cooperation, including gains achieved, as well as remaining challenges.

To mark the 10th year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York, the Embassy of the United States of America and the Netherlands Institute of International Relations �Clingendael� co - hosted a seminar on September 12, 2011 at the Clingendael Institute (Clingendael 7, The Hague).

Among our distinguished guests were Ambassador Mr. Kurt Volker, who was the key note speaker. Ambassador Volker is the Senior Fellow and Managing Director of the Center for Transatlantic Relations at SAIS, Johns Hopkins University. Read more �

A Community Dilemma: DDR and the changing face of violence in Colombia

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 17:23:25 +0100

Colombia has stood at the forefront of debate across Latin America and the world on how chronic armed violence can be combated. Its programmes of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have aimed to put over 50,000 ex-combatants from paramilitary forces and guerrilla movements back into civilian life. But a rising tide of criminal violence has swept up former paramilitary fighters and is seizing control of Colombia�s many sources of illicit wealth, with cocaine production and trafficking at their heart. While thousands are still enrolled in reintegration courses, this paper asks what more the Colombian government, civil society and the international community can do to ensure that the demobilization process does not end in failure. The paper, based on extensive field research, argues that an essential first step is to ensure local communities are engaged, respected and protected. Read more �

The EU�s Support to Security System Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Perceptions from the field in Spring 2010

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 13:30:50 +0100

This case study report � based on interviews and fieldwork conducted in Spring 2010 � describes the EU set-up for supporting SSR in the DRC, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, and the successes and challenges of implementing EU SSR policy in practice. It seeks to analyse, from a theoretical and practical SSR perspective, to what extent the EU�s structural organisation, its approach and the ways it uses its tools allows it to effectively support the long-term and complex process that SSR is, particularly in conflict-affected or fragile states. The objective of the report is to contribute to the current debate on EU support to SSR whilst the changes brought about by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty are worked out. This case study report is part of a broader project which seeks to analyse the effectiveness of the EU's support to SSR. Previous reports published as part of the project are:

The Early warning and Conflict prevention Capability of the Council of the European Union.

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 12:00:18 +0100

In the mid-1990s, the Rwandan genocide and the atrocities in former Yugoslavia enhanced international attention for the concept of early warning and underscored the importance of adequate systems to predict, prevent and respond to the eruption of violent conflict. Around that same time, the European Union (EU) gained an increasingly prominent role on the international stage and started to build up its capacity to forecast crisis situations and, where possible and appropriate, take action accordingly. In line with its fundamental values, the EU vowed to give the highest political priority to improving the effectiveness and coherence of its external action in the field of conflict prevention. As part of the first phase of a larger research project under the Initiative for Peacebuilding � Early Warning (IfP-EW), this working paper provides an overview of existing early warning and conflict prevention bodies and instruments within the Council of the EU, depicting the state of affairs before the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty. It also identifies a number of possible gaps in and limitations of the Council�s early warning and conflict prevention architecture so as to inform further research. Read more �

CRU Policy brief: Increasing Security in DR Congo: Gender-Responsive Strategies for Combating Sexual Violence

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:14:14 +0100

Sexual violence in the DRC is gendered. Not only is this violence gendered in how it is performed, but also in how it can be fought against. Prevailing over gender related violence means dismantling the ongoing tensions between men and women related to prescribed gender norms, roles, and identities. In providing this analysis, this brief aims to inform donors, as well as (international) non-governmental organizations (I-NGOs) how an intensified focus on the gender-dimensions of violence will improve programmatic effectiveness in the fight against sexual violence in the DRC context. Read more �

Kosovo�s new map of power: governance and crime in the wake of independence

Tue, 03 May 2011 16:10:19 +0100

The nationalist euphoria that greeted Kosovo�s declaration of independence in 2008 has given way to acute international concern over the character of this new Balkan state. Alleged corruption, abuses of power, murky ties between politicians and business, authoritarian reactions to the media and the continuing existence of inter-ethnic tensions in the flashpoint of north Mitrovica point to serious weaknesses in the country�s capacity for responsible and accountable governance. Recent reports of senior politicians� involvement in wartime atrocities have only served to deepen the gloom. But this portrait of the country obscures other crucial developments. This report highlights the fundamental obstacles in the way of reform as well as the signs of change in the attitudes of Kosovo�s citizenry towards malfunctioning institutions, exemplified in the elections of December 2010. It concludes by offering some recommendations for donors that would strengthen mechanisms for domestic accountability in Kosovo on the basis of a realistic assessment of the way power is handled and distributed. Read more �

Local Justice and Security Programming in Selected Neighborhoods in Colombia

Tue, 03 May 2011 13:30:42 +0100

The Clingendael Conflict Research Unit examines the role of non-state security and justice providers and the options for donors to support their services as part of broader SSR programming. This case study focuses on Colombia, where local actors such as Justices of the Peace and Community Development Boards often provide services of justice and security to local neighbourhoods. Effectively, the state has delegated the authority to do so to them and in a situation where large parts of the population do not trust the state and have no access to formal structures that provide justice and security, these local actors are an important ingredient for the day-to-day provision of justice and security. This report investigates the role of these types of actors in Colombia, and argues that while support to centralized institutions is important, programming aiming to improve justice and security needs to take into account the crucial role played by local actors. It discusses the set-up and activities of these actors, their linkages with the state, and the opportunities and risks as well as entry-points and programmatic alternatives for donors to support them. If you are interested in this topic please visit our website again by mid-2011 when two more case studies will follow focusing on Burundi and Eastern DR Congo. Read more �