http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/rss/13 This feed contains all new content on the Chatham House website related to International Security. http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/1003/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/1003/ 00:00, 13th November 2008 - Global Futures: The Chatham House Annual Conference 2008 Global Futures: The Chatham House Annual Conference will focus on issues of global importance each year. Drawing on Chatham House's extensive range of contacts and its adventurous thinking on international political, economic and geopolitical issues, this annual event offers you the opportunity to hear from, and engage in debate with, leaders from governments, business and international organizations as well as expert commentators. Chatham House has traditionally held an annual members' conference. This annual event, primarily for Chatham House members and Chatham House Foundation Fellows, will take a forward look at future trends in international affairs. Taking advantage of our independent stance and unparalleled convening power, it will provide new insights and high level debate on the most crucial issues facing the world today. Is Globalization in Crisis? Global Futures: The Chatham House Annual Conference 2008 will ask whether the most recent wave of globalization - the growing interdependence of societies and economies through the opening of markets and borders - has reached a turning point, marked by the crisis in financial markets and an increase in protectionist rhetoric. The arrival of a new US administration in Washington, new questions about globalization in the EU, the continuing rise of China and India, combined with financial instability in the West, and increased competition for resources globally, make this a significant moment to review the likely future course of this third wave of globalization of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Most of the speeches were held under the Chatham House Rule. Transcripts which are available are attached below. Previous Chatham House Annual Conferences >> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:03:55 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/997/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/997/ 12:30, 27th November 2008 - The Afghan Opium Survey 2008 released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) shows that opium has become less important to the Afghan economy due to a decrease in cultivation, production, and prices. Nevertheless, opium remains the basis of the Taliban war economy and is a major source of revenue for criminal groups and terrorists. Mr Antonio Maria Costa was appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Office UNODC in May 2002. An economist by training, Mr Costa served as Secretary-General of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development before joining UNODC. Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:21:42 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/676/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/676/ This is a transcript of a speech given by Dr Paul Cornish, Head International Security Programme and Carrington Chair in International Security, Chatham House, at the annual dinner for contributors to The Annual Register on 21 October 2008. Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:45:19 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/980/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/980/ 08:00, 3rd December 2008 - The talk will focus primarily on likely directions of US foreign policy under the new Obama administration. It will explore those areas where change is most and least likely to take place. It will also place US external policy within the context of the deep domestic economic challenges faced by the United States over the coming few years. This event is strictly by invitation only. To enable as open a debate as possible, this event will be held under the Chatham House Rule Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:54:25 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/473/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/473/ Chatham House experts offer their perspectives on the key foreign policy and economic challenges facing the new administration. The following quotes and comments from Chatham House are available for immediate use. Dr Robin Niblett, Director, Chatham House Mr Obama's first job will be to keep Americans safe and not to please the international gallery. This does not mean that Europeans should resign themselves to be disappointed. Read full comment >> Alex Vines, Research Director and Head, Africa Programme: Reining in stratospherically high expectations both from within Africa, and from within his own administration, will be a principle pre-occupation for the first years of Obama's Africa policy. Read full comment >> Dr Gareth Price, Head, Asia Programme: Barack Obama, whose formative years were spent in Indonesia, in some ways brings greater cultural awareness of the diverse region than any previous president. Read full comment >> Dr DeAnne Julius, Chairman, Chatham House: The downward lurch of the US economy during the final month of the campaign undoubtedly helped Mr Obama win the election. Can he now return the favour by arresting the economic decline? The fundamentals are against him. Read full comment >> Dr Paola Subacchi, Research Director, International Economics Cries for the end of US economic hegemony may be premature. Despite being badly hit by the credit crisis, the US may still show great resilience. Read full comment >> Robin Shepherd, Senior Research Fellow, Europe There are many unanswered questions on Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel-Palestine and Russia. Obama needs to put meat on the bone now. Read full comment >> Dr Claire Spencer, Head, Middle East Programme: The main headaches for the US administration will remain the three 'Is': Iran, Iraq and the lingering Israel-Palestine conflict. Read full comment >> James Sherr, Head, Russia and Eurasia Programme: It is important for the USA that Russia regain respect for its competence, interests and the judicious use of American power. Read full comment >> Notes to Editors Read all comments in full >> More information on the Chatham House Project, 'Rethinking the United States' International Role' >> Forthcoming event:Monday 17 November 2008 The Whitehead Lecture: Major Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next US President The 2008 Whitehead Lecture will be given by Dr Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Advisor to the President of the United States (1977-1981). Contact: Nicola Norton Media Relations Manager ++ (0) 20 7957 5739 ENDS Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:48:08 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2341/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2341/ Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:49:28 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2340/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2340/ Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:48:04 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2329/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2329/ For the last two decades the US has pursued what some analysts have called the 'fantastical idea' of military transformation that would enable the US to change the very nature of war. Known as the 'revolution in military affairs', this process would use technology to provide the US with battlefield dominance that no opponent could overcome. Motivated by the politics of the Cold War, however, this exit from reality has proved less than effective in what has become known as the 'war on terror'. The US has been pulled into nasty, 'small' wars, against enemies utilizing asymmetric tactics. The Bush administration has tried to destroy these groups through the use of military force, failing, or even worse refusing, to recognize that these enemies feed off the economical, political and social rot of weak and failing states. For the last eight years the US government has addressed the symptoms of a problem rather than the actual disease. If America wants to make serious progress with the most pressing national security risks, the next American president must enact a revolution in foreign affairs that sees a massive overhaul and substantial investment in the State Department and USAID. A critical mass of research exists to illustrate the links between development and security-it is time Washington gets serious and embraces a conception of security that is more holistic, and ultimately, more effective. Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:09:18 +0000 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/965/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/965/ 13:30, 26th November 2008 - The speaker will consider the ways in which he sees terrorist figureheads such as Osama Bin Laden drawing their energies from a parasitic relationship with the West they attack, conceiving of themselves as speaking from within its borders. He will assess the implications of this intimacy for our understanding of globalized militancy today. Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:29:37 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1825/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1825/ This is a pdf of the entire magazine. Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:19:51 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/958/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/958/ 18:30, 17th November 2008 - THIS MEETING IS NOW FULL AND REGISTRATION HAS CLOSED In the wake of the US election the speaker will discuss the major foreign policy issues which will confront the incoming President from the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the threat of nuclear proliferation and the competitive pursuit of resources. This event will be followed by an open reception. Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:54:12 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/471/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/471/ A new paper by Chatham House says that the once-in-a-century economic meltdown means that OECD countries' simultaneous collapse in consumer and business spending will get worse and more extraordinary 'out of the box' measures may still be needed before the situation turns around. The paper, Synchronized Dive Into Recession: Focus on Damage Limitation, by Vanessa Rossi, Senior Research Fellow, International Economics Programme, also analyzes China's increasingly important role as the single largest contributor to economic growth. Summary Points The global financial system has suffered a once-in-a-century meltdown that almost brought the world economy to a halt in late September. Confidence and trust have been shattered. In spite of concerted and extraordinary efforts on the part of central banks and political leaders, including recapitalizing the banks, it is not yet certain that the waves of panic and destruction have been halted. Many of the repercussions have yet to emerge, including possible legal action as well as economic damage. Even before this latest explosion, the leading OECD economies were plunging into an unusually synchronized recession, driven by the simultaneous collapse in consumer and business spending. This will now get worse. Will a severe OECD recession engulf the rest of the world? Up to mid-2008, the emerging markets remained strong - 'decoupling' did work. Now the crisis has deepened, no region will remain immune to shock waves. This time round, the outcome for China will be much more important because it has doubled its share of world GDP over the last decade and is now the single largest contributor to global growth. China will fight to avoid recession, but can it win? If it can keep up growth, bolstered by its enormous pool of savings pent up in the banking system, this will provide important sustenance for the global economy. Without doubt, this crisis will require substantial, persistent and coordinated global efforts to turn around - possibly including yet more extraordinary 'out of the box' measures. The US and EU are now getting to grips with the immensity of the task. The message has become 'whatever it takes' to halt further widespread destruction. Note to Editors Read Synchronized Dive Into Recession: Focus on Damage Limitation Vanessa Rossi is Senior Research Fellow, International Economics Programme, Chatham House. Contact Nicola Norton Media Relations Manager ++ (0) 20 7957 5739 ENDS Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:13:40 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2321/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2321/ In his important new book National responsibility and global justice, David Miller presents a systematic challenge to existing theories of global justice. In particular, he argues that cosmopolitan egalitarianism must be rejected. Such views, Miller maintains, would place unacceptable burdens on the most productive political communities, undermine national self-determination, and disincentivize political communities from taking responsibility for their fate. They are also impracticable and quite unrealistic, at least under present conditions. Miller offers an alternative account that conceives global justice in terms of a minimum set of basic rights that belong to human beings everywhere. Primary responsibility for securing such rights for an individual lies with his or her state, but in so far as these rights go unprotected, responsibilities for fulfilling them may fall on outsiders. While less ambitious that cosmopolitan egalitarian justice, Miller argues that his own view would nevertheless enable us to articulate what is most morally objectionable about our current world. In this article it is argued that none of Miller's critiques of cosmopolitan egalitarianism is effective, and that while certainly preferable to the status quo, a world governed by Miller's principles is not an attractive ideal. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:50:04 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2313/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/ia/archive/view/-/id/2313/ Scientific methods and concepts have been exerting a powerful influence on the exercising of armed force since the Scientific Revolution and the dawn of the modern era. In association with the respective technologies of the clock, engine and computer, the scientific theories of mechanism, thermodynamics, and cybernetics have all in turn been recruited to shape distinct approaches to the challenges of imposing order on the chaos of the battlefield. Today, it is on the basis of the new sciences of chaos and complexity that the latest regime of the scientific way of warfare is being erected. Chaoplexic warfare draws on the study of nonlinear phenomena of self-organization to propose a radical decentralization of armed forces through the adoption of the network form. For all its present flaws, network-centric warfare and its operational concepts of self-synchronization and swarming mark an important step on the path to chaoplexic warfare. Mon, 06 Oct 2008 16:22:21 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/470/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/470/ The current financial crisis should come as no surprise, writes Dr Paola Subacchi in this month's The World Today. As early as 2004 structural cracks became apparent and now the stability of the international financial system is at stake. The ultimate goal is to prevent a systemic crisis but it is not clear who should take the lead. Also in this month's issue: Martin Plaut, Africa Editor of the BBC World Service, examines the crisis facing South Africa following the removal of President Thabo Mbeki from office. He concludes that what is at stake is the question of whether the judiciary is above political interference. Romilly Gregory of Oxfam explains how cheap mobile phone devices and mobile internet services are fast-becoming critical tools in helping a billion people around the world. Other articles look at Russia and Georgia and the international arms trade. More about The World Today >> Full list of contents: Financial Crisis: Panic, Blame and Crash Avoidance Paola Subacchi Economic Crisis: Down They Fall Vanessa Rossi Russia and Georgia: A Dangerous GameJames Sherr Moscow's Domestic Policy: Russian Roulette Lilia Shevtsova Georgia, Russia and Energy: Going for Gas John Roberts Two-Tier NATO: Alliance DividedTimo Noetzel and Benjamin Schreer Food Reserves: Just One Failed Harvest...Daryll E Ray and Harwood D Schaffer Mobile Phones: Dialling Change Romilly Gregory South African Judicary: Threat to JusticeMartin Plaut South Africa's Leadership: Uncertain Future James Hamill International Arms Trade Treaty: Gun Control Paul Cornish Mon, 06 Oct 2008 12:56:19 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1812/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1812/ NATO is a divided alliance, the Georgia crisis has reinforced splits which were developing over Afghanistan. So can an à la carte alliance work? Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:34:16 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1810/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1810/ Russia's military action in Georgia was driven by Moscow's domestic agenda. Foreign policy has become a tool of collective control back home. While the 'ruling tandem' has gained popularity, the new consensus does not provide for modernisation. Will the predatory state reform or collapse? Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:26:09 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1809/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1809/ Dilemmas and dangers abound for the west as it tries to come to terms with the 'new' Russia. There is a mood of defiance and injury, which can only be answered with firmness and prudence. Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:24:03 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1808/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1808/ Policymakers' priorities are changing dramatically as autumn and winter approach. Gone are the worries over soaring oil prices and inflation risks, in comes the stark threat of being engulfed in a world recession and the next stage of the global financial meltdown. Those who singled out Britain as being at greatest risk may quickly be proved wrong but, unfortunately, this is not good news. Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:21:26 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1806/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1806/ Many people believe that the President of Yugoslavia, Slobodan Milosevic, is part of the Balkan problem rather than part of its solution. But how might he leave the stage and are there lessons to be learned from the departure of authoritarian leaders elsewhere? Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:11:56 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1805/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1805/ 'Time for a new Bretton Woods Conference.' The calls grow louder by the day. This is not surprising: in each period of turbulence in international markets, one hears calls to do what the United States, the United Kingdom and 42 other nations did in 1944: convene a conference to create a new framework for international financial cooperation. Nor is it surprising that the impulse now is exceptionally strong, the current crisis posing, as President Bill Clinton has aptly put it, 'the biggest financial challenge facing the world in half a century.' Mon, 22 Sep 2008 15:04:49 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/656/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/656/ This paper is an informal summary of a private roundtable discussion held on 22 July 2008 under the title 'Terrorism, Radicalisation and the Internet'. The meeting began with the presentation of a short paper in which three questions were posed: What role does the Internet really play in radicalisation and can we identify the 'digital footprint' of such activity? Should UK Government's PREVENT policies focus on disrupting the online channel, or on providing credible alternative messages? How can the Internet be used more effectively to pursue extremists and those who radicalise? Mon, 15 Sep 2008 11:11:40 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/919/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/919/ 15:00, 24th September 2008 - The European Security Strategy (ESS) has become an important reference framework for the EU since its inception in 2003. Based on the publication of their recent collaborative volume, Professor Biscop and Dr Andersson will examine how the ESS has shaped EU policy, how it relates to existing policies and whether the objectives of the ESS are sufficient to safeguard EU interests. Tue, 09 Sep 2008 14:58:30 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/900/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/view/-/id/900/ 23:00, 17th September 2008 - Please note this event is strictly by invitation only. This event will launch a Chatham House Commission Report, A British Agenda for Europe. The report addresses some of the key policy challenges facing Britain in the next couple of decades, and considers the part the European Union has to play in tackling them. Commission Chair Sir Stephen Wall and other Commission Members will introduce the key findings and recommendations of the report. There will then be opportunity for an in-depth discussion of these issues and to question the Commission members. During 2007-08 Chatham House convened a Commission on Europe after Fifty: Policy Implications for Britain, whose members would bring to the study a combination of different areas of individual expertise and experience on the European Union, including economics, energy, security and foreign policy. The majority of the Commission members are British, however, non-British perspectives were also included in the Commission in order to encourage a more rounded discussion of British policy options and how they might be received in other European capitals. More about the work of the Commission. Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:11:07 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/459/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/459/ As the Universal Declaration of Human Rights approaches its sixtieth anniversary, this month's The World Today looks at the status of human rights worldwide. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 2004-8, writes that while there may be much to celebrate, the goal of making human rights truly universal is far from being achieved. Profound and deepening divisions between rich and poor, a security environment that exposes minorities to additional risks, and an expanded UN membership, have all amplified and exacerbated cultural, religious and political divisions especially on issues such as human rights. Against this background of shifting interests and values, in the name of which, all too often, discrimination is perpetrated, international human rights law provides the best, most reliable and fairest guide for managing and protecting multiple identities. The task now is not only to prompt states to give real effect to human rights but also to create a constituency for the middle ground where different national and regional interests, concerns and experiences can meet, be reconciled and directed to honour the purpose of the Universal Declaration. This will ensure future generations are better equipped to uphold the Declaration's universal principles. Read article. More about The World Today >> Full list of contents: Human Rights Anniversary: Without Want or Fear Louise Arbour China and Human Rights: Power to the People Kerry Brown Rights in Africa: Why Africa? Bonita C. Meyersfield Children's Rights: Young and Vulnerable Mary Buckley Islam and Human Rights: In the Name of Islam Maha Azzam United States and Human Rights: Ending Lapse into Lawlessness Kenneth Roth US Presidential Election: Choice or Echo? Robert Singh UN and EU Terrorist Blacklists: I've Got a Little List Monika Heupel Book Review: Punishing the Wicked David Bentley Ukraine and NATO: Destination Unknown James Sherr Angola Elections: Back to Ballots Indira Campos Politically-Capped Reserves: Let the Oil Flow? Daniel Litvin Securing Electricty: Blackout Bill Durodié Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:37:15 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/458/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/news/view/-/id/458/ In this issue of International Afffairs, Thomas Hegghammer traces the history of the Saudi jihadist movement. Based on primary sources and extensive fieldwork in the Kingdom, the article argues that jihadism in Saudi Arabia differs from jihadism in the Arab republics as it's driven primarily by extreme pan-Islamism and not socio-revolutionary ideology. The article also traces the outbreak - and failure - of the 2003 terrorist campaign by 'Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula' (QAP). This campaign was made possible by the presence in 2002 of a critical mass of returnees from Afghanistan, a clever two-track strategy by Al-Qaeda, and systemic weaknesses in the Saudi security apparatus. The near-absence of violence in the Kingdom before 2003 was due to Al-Qaeda's weak infrastructure in the early 1990s and bin Laden's 1998 decision to suspend operations to preserve local networks. Now, the Saudi regime is more stable and self-confident - and therefore less inclined to democratic reform -than it has been in many years. Read article. Full list of contents: The Responsibility to Protect and the Problem of Military Intervention Alex J Bellamy Righting the Course? Humanitarian Intervention, the 'War on Terror' and the Future of Afghanistan Fatima Ayub and Sari Kouvo The Vienna Negotiations on the Final Status of Kosovo Marc Weller Iran Under Ahmadinejad: Populism and its Malcontents Ali Ansari Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia Thomas Hegghammer 'An Enemy at the Gates' or 'From Victory to Victory'? Russian Foreign Policy Andrew Monaghan Security and Democracy: The ASEAN Charter and the Dilemmas of Regionalism in South-East Asia David Martin Jones Using Negotiation to Promote Legitimacy: An Assessment of Proposals for Reforming the WTO Cecilia Albin The Dynamics of British Military Transformation Theo Farrell The End of Impunity? Lessons from Sierra Leone Gillian Wigglesworth Book Reviews Other Books Received Index of Books Reviewed Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:21:50 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1804/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1804/ Providing power for all the equipment regarded as essential in a wired world draws electricty across international borders. Keeping the supply safe is a major security issue. But how can societies make this a priority, when saving energy has become the issue of the day? Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:11:35 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1803/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1803/ With oil prices reaching new heights almost daily, and politicians pleading for greater production, it may be a surprise to discover that political decisions or constraints around the world have put substantial supplies out of bounds. At the very least, between three and six percent more oil could be produced - enough to trigger a big fall in price - if some of those decisions were reversed. But will they be? Should they be? Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:10:13 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1801/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1801/ As ever between NATO and Ukraine, the process advances, the destination is in doubt. Or so it seemed until the Bucharest summit declaration of April 3. The statement that Ukraine and Georgia 'will become members of NATO' was designed to remove doubt. Yet it was also designed to alleviate pressure on the organisation. Four months later, as the European Union prepares for its summit with Ukraine, pressure remains and doubt has returned. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:05:56 +0100 http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1800/ http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/twt/archive/view/-/id/1800/ David Bentley reviews A History of Political Trials: From Charles I to Saddam Hussein. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:04:38 +0100