Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Russia has adopted a development strategy for the Arctic for the period from October 2020 to 2035. Reflecting hopes and perceived threats associated with the successive warm­ing of the Arctic, it aims to advance development of the region’s abundant re­sources, first and foremost oil and gas, and improve living conditions for the popu­lation. In the longer term, the Kremlin hopes to establish the Northern Sea Route as a new global shipping artery. Moscow also worries that an increasingly ice-free Arctic could create new territorial vulnerabilities in its Far North, and is responding by re­building its military presence there. Finally, Moscow also wants to preserve the region’s ecological balance. The indications are, however, that the interests of the energy sec­tor and the military will be served, while funding to improve environmental protections and living conditions will remain inadequate.

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Security Law) highlights the shortcomings of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration and the inherent conflicts of the “one coun­try, two systems” principle. The arrangement has always been full of contradictions and grey areas. With the Security Law, the Chinese leadership has created facts on the ground. The move comes at the expense of civil liberties and accelerates the spread of socialist legal concepts in Hong Kong. But, on this issue, Beijing is not isolated in­ter­nation­ally. On the contrary, it is supported by economically dependent states in its assess­ment of the Security Law as an internal affair. China’s ambition to gain inter­nation­al discourse power in legal matters is strategically embedded in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Beijing’s course of action in Hong Kong serves as a test balloon in this endeavour. Decision-makers in Germany and Europe are still not sufficiently aware of the problems concerning Chinese legal concepts. More expertise is urgently needed.

ANALYSE – Pour innovant qu’il paraisse, le revenu universel ressemble plutôt à un continuum dans le débat intellectuel, traversant cinq siècles et présentant plusieurs ramifications idéologiques. Thomas More sourirait-il devant les débats politiques de la France en crise ? Cinq cents ans après la publication de son ouvrage L’Utopie, dans lequel l’humaniste anglais imaginait une […]

The post Pourquoi l’utopie du revenu universel resurgit face à la crise appeared first on Fondapol.

Un mois après le début du reconfinement, et comme il l’avait annoncé, le président de la République s’est à nouveau adressé aux Français, le mardi 24 novembre, pour faire le point sur la crise pandémique et donner des perspectives au pays, alors que les fêtes de fin d’année approchent, et que les tensions politiques et sociales s’aiguisent. L’adresse présidentielle a permis de clarifier le cap fixé collectivement à la nation pour tenir face à la pandémie,…

L’actuelle crise sanitaire mondiale aura des conséquences potentiellement explosives dans nombre de sociétés, dont la nôtre. Le Covid-19 se révèle d’ailleurs comme le deus ex machina d’un implacable processus de bouleversement des représentations collectives. À partir du krach de 2008, l’onde de choc des crises financières n’a cessé de se propager, fragilisant d’abord l’économie productive, […]

The post Chaos idéologique appeared first on Fondapol.

As the practice of the protection of civilians (POC) has evolved in peacekeeping missions, the UN has increasingly focused on “people-centered” approaches. As a result, community engagement has emerged as a core component of POC efforts. By engaging with communities, missions can build trust, gather information, and build a protective environment, ultimately improving their ability to protect civilians.

This paper examines the positive implications and impact of this increased focus on community engagement, as well as the challenges and risks it can pose for communities and missions. It analyzes the community engagement activities of the military, police, and civilian components of the UN missions in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mali, and South Sudan. The paper concludes with recommendations for these four missions, the UN Secretariat, and UN member states on the Security Council:

• UN member states should continue to refine the language on community engagement in peacekeeping mandates.
• The UN Secretariat should develop more in-depth modules on community engagement in relevant training materials.
• Relevant UN stakeholders should explore how missions’ military personnel can improve their community engagement.
• The UN Secretariat and missions should optimize their use of community liaison assistants.
• The UN Department of Peace Operations should continue to explore where the unarmed civilian protection methodology could complement community engagement by UN missions.

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Over the past decade a number of changes can be observed within the development policy system. This paper presents and discusses these changes along three dimensions: narratives, strategies and operational approaches. Changes  are  manifold,  ranging  from  the  application  of  new  narratives,  such as the migration narrative, to alternations in strategic objectives (e.g. developing  countries’  graduation  issues),  new  instruments  (in  the  form  of development finance at the interface with the private sector), and the application  of  new  concepts  for  project  implementation  (e.g.  through  frontier technologies). We discuss the implications and effects of these changes for the current and potential future role of the development policy system, as well as preliminary ideas for a concept of global co-operation for sustainable development (GCSD), spanning beyond the development policy system

Over the past decade a number of changes can be observed within the development policy system. This paper presents and discusses these changes along three dimensions: narratives, strategies and operational approaches. Changes  are  manifold,  ranging  from  the  application  of  new  narratives,  such as the migration narrative, to alternations in strategic objectives (e.g. developing  countries’  graduation  issues),  new  instruments  (in  the  form  of development finance at the interface with the private sector), and the application  of  new  concepts  for  project  implementation  (e.g.  through  frontier technologies). We discuss the implications and effects of these changes for the current and potential future role of the development policy system, as well as preliminary ideas for a concept of global co-operation for sustainable development (GCSD), spanning beyond the development policy system

Over the past decade a number of changes can be observed within the development policy system. This paper presents and discusses these changes along three dimensions: narratives, strategies and operational approaches. Changes  are  manifold,  ranging  from  the  application  of  new  narratives,  such as the migration narrative, to alternations in strategic objectives (e.g. developing  countries’  graduation  issues),  new  instruments  (in  the  form  of development finance at the interface with the private sector), and the application  of  new  concepts  for  project  implementation  (e.g.  through  frontier technologies). We discuss the implications and effects of these changes for the current and potential future role of the development policy system, as well as preliminary ideas for a concept of global co-operation for sustainable development (GCSD), spanning beyond the development policy system

Cet article a été mis à jour le 27/11/2020. 

On peut soutenir qu’en dépit de tous ses errements, le Président Trump n’a pas commis, sur le plan international, d’erreurs stratégiques équivalentes à celles de George Bush envahissant l’Irak ou Barack Obama renonçant à faire respecter ses lignes rouges en Syrie. La question se pose cependant pour sa gestion du dossier iranien : en mettant à mal l’accord nucléaire de 2015 (dit JCPOA), Trump a peut-…

79 % des électeurs se disent prêts à voter « antisystème » à la présidentielle de 2022. La faute aux partis « traditionnels » ? La contestation s’intensifie en France. Le politologue Dominique Reynié est aux premières loges pour l’observer, lui qui sonde l’opinion chaque semestre. Dans son second baromètre de 2020 (3 000 personnes interrogées), 79 % […]

The post Présidentielle. Le risque populiste progresse en France appeared first on Fondapol.

Ils ont beau être du même bord politique, tout oppose Boris Johnson à sa célèbre prédécesseure Margaret Thatcher. La détermination de l'une souligne d'autant plus l'amateurisme de l'autre. Et si Johnson restera immanquablement dans l'histoire de la Grande-Bretagne, ce n'est pas forcément pour de bonnes raisons, écrit Dominique Moisi.

La sortie récente de la saison 4 de la série The Crown - à la veille du départ…