The world is not prepared for climate-related conflict

Posted on April 28, 2011 | 2 Comments

A recent meeting at DFID brought together a number of people from different government departments, NGOs and research centres to discuss some of the under-discussed aspects of the climate/security links. Laurie Goering captured the essence of the discussion in this AlertNet article.

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace

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Libya and the fog of intervention

Posted on April 10, 2011 | 6 Comments

The three weeks of what has become NATO’s armed intervention in Libya have generated far more questions than anyone could hope to answer. The uncertainties by no means overwhelm the case for intervention but they do add immediacy to the reservations expressed by the doubters and sceptics. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace

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The work of peacebuilding

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 1 Comment

The Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars was kind enough to interview me about the work of International Alert recently when I was visiting Washington. I think they edited the material very effectively to produce a quite effective summary account of some of the work and issues of peacebuilding.

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Posted in Conflict & peace, International development

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Intervention in Libya? A case of shooting slowly from the hip

Posted on March 10, 2011 | 7 Comments

Only ten days ago, when UK Prime Minister David Cameron put up the flag for a no-fly zone over Libya, nobody saluted. Now the British and French are drafting a UN Security Council Resolution. After all, you cannot just sit and watch the dictator wield overhwelming force so he and his disgusting son can hang onto power and not think something should be done to stop him.

True enough – but you should think very, very carefully about what can and should be done. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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Egypt and the outside powers

Posted on February 7, 2011 | 2 Comments

Now it is clear that Hosni Mubarak’s three decade presidency of Egypt cannot survive much longer, outside powers are visibly positioning themselves for the next phase. Hubristic temptations are clear but not everybody’s falling for them. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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Egypt: outside powers and their calamitous Algerian error

Posted on February 2, 2011 | 3 Comments

Sentences that start, “History teaches us that…” usually contain bad history and worse logic. Nonetheless, Egypt makes me think with foreboding of Algeria. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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EEAS update

Posted on December 10, 2010 | Comments Off

News from Brussels: Council and Parliament still want the Commission’s policy and planning officers for peacebuilding and crisis response to transfer to the External Action service.  Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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Climate, river, land, oil, insecurity

Posted on December 8, 2010 | 1 Comment

It is sometimes difficult to give a vivid and convincing sense of the link between climate and the problems of insecurity. The linkage is indirect and can seem intangible. And there is a lack of hard evidence with which to demonstrate it because the problems are only now beginning. But then sometimes the link is brought out into the open in the most vivid and cogent form. Continue reading →

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Posted in Climate change, Conflict & peace

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EAS: officially launched but the tussle continues

Posted on December 3, 2010 | 1 Comment

The EU’s new External Action Service was officially launched on 1 December as High Representative Catherine Ashton addressed a meeting of EU ambassadors. But the tussle over whether it will include key peacebuilding staff from the Commission continues (see my post of 22 Nov). The Commission’s position hasn’t changed and neither has the Parliament’s. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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Time to rescue the EU’s External Action Service from the European Commission

Posted on November 22, 2010 | 2 Comments

The air in Brussels is thick with a storm over the European External Action Service, basically caused by the European Commission trying to break its word. Continue reading →

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Posted in Conflict & peace, Power

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