Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

Al-Qaeda er forsvundet fra overskrifterne, men i ly af Islamisk Stats opblomstring og fald har al-Qaeda forskanset sig i en lang række lan de og vokser sig stærkere. Det skriver DIIS-forsker Dino Krause i en analyse i Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten

On September 27th, IPI, together with the United States Institute of Peace and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, cohosted a policy forum entitled “People Power and Preventing Violent Extremism: What is Working?”

In some of the most fragile states and communities around the globe, effective prevention of violent extremism is happening at the grass roots level. Local actors, and groups or organizations fill several important roles that counter the influence of violent groups, including: paving the way for nonviolent conflict transformation; providing space to strengthening practices that enable local communities have a stake in their own future; and delivering powerful positive psychological and social benefits associated with being part of a movement or peacebuilding effort.

Nonviolent action can provide an alternative method for people to address grievances while simultaneously strengthening community roots. The acts of nonviolent action can allow citizens to practice the methods of collective action that ultimately can lead to change, improvements in governance, and stronger social compacts. Building up a culture of dialogue between public actors and such grassroot actors is an additional central line of action.

Welcoming remarks
Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen, President, International Peace Institute
Ms. Nancy Lindborg, President, U.S. Institute of Peace

Opening remarks
Mr. Dominique Favre, Deputy Chief of Mission, Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations

Speakers
Mr. Abdul-Aziz Alhamza, Co-founder, Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently
Dr. Christian Pout, President, Centre Africain d’Etudes Internationales, Diplomatiques, Economiques et Stratégiques (CEIDES), Cameroon
Ms. Azaz Elshami, Sudanese-American Human Rights Advocate
Mr. Jesse Morton, Co-Founder, Parallel Networks (and former violent extremist)
Ms. Leanne Erdberg, Director, Countering Violent Extremism, and Interim Executive Director, RESOLVE Network, US Institute of Peace

Moderator
Mr. Jake Sherman, Director of the Brian Urquhart Center for Peace Operations, IPI

On September 27th, IPI, together with the Government of Sierra Leone, and Catalyst for Peace, cohosted a high-level policy forum entitled “An Agenda for the People by the People: Consolidating Peace and Advancing Development in Sierra Leone.” Sierra Leone has been at the forefront of localizing peace and development through a people-centered approach. The event highlighted the outcomes of this unique experience and how it can be translated in other contexts.

Over the past twelve years, the Sierra Leonean civil society organization Fambul Tok, its US-based funder and partner Catalyst for Peace, and the people of Sierra Leone have built an infrastructure that puts people and communities at the center of peace and development. This infrastructure is based on the People’s Planning Process (PPP), an inclusive organizing and planning process which after a successful pilot led to drafting a national policy framework, the Wan Fambul National Framework for Inclusive Governance and Local Development (WFNF).

Taken as a whole, the WFNF is an effective and evolving model of a whole- system partnership centered on local communities. The WFNF has been incorporated into Sierra Leone’s National Development Plan 2019–2023 as a priority. This flagship program aims to develop national capacity to engage villages, sections, chiefdoms, and districts through guardians from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development.

This identified key dimensions of the WFNF that can help put into practice Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 (gender equality), 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions), and 17 (partnerships) while supporting many of the other SDGs. 27

Welcoming Remarks:
Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen, IPI President

Opening Remarks:
Ms. Francess Piagie Alghali, Minister of State for the Office of the Vice President, Government of Sierra Leone

Speakers:
Dr. Francis M. Kai-Kai, Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Government of Sierra Leone
Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General
Mr. John Caulker, Executive Director of Fambul Tok International
Ms. Libby Hoffman, Founder and President of Catalyst for Peace

Moderator:
Ms. Jimena Leiva Roesch, IPI Senior Fellow

Closing Remarks:
Mr. Tamba Lamina, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Government of Sierra Leone

Foreign ministers from some 50 countries were welcomed by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on September 26th to the launch of the Alliance for Multilateralism, moderated by IPI President Terje Rød-Larsen. With nationalism and protectionism on the rise, this informal group of nations came together during United Nations General Assembly high-level week to boost international cooperation and sign commitments to multilateral initiatives on global issues such as digitalization, climate change, and respect for international humanitarian law.

Featured above are the foreign ministers of Canada, Ghana, Chile, France, Germany, Mexico, and Singapore with Mr. Rød-Larsen.

On September 26th, IPI hosted a policy forum on “The Importance of Multilateralism and Women’s Rights.”

Changes in the nature of conflict, national and global trends towards populism, shifting centers of power, and contestation of international normative frameworks have meant long-established norms regarding women’s rights are increasingly facing pushback. This is evident in venues from the Commission on the Status of Women to the UN Security Council, even as women’s rights defenders are under threat at the community level. These challenges are also occurring at a time when preparations are being made to mark the anniversaries of key international commitments to women’s rights in 2020, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (2000).

This discussion at IPI focused on these global challenges and offer an opportunity to openly discuss the possibilities for a way forward. Speakers drew upon their experience to discuss women’s rights amid the current geopolitical context, the deeply gendered nature of current threats to multilateralism, what these geopolitical trends mean for how the international community seeks to build peace, and how we can ground the multilateral system in respect for women’s rights and equal status.

Welcoming Remarks:
Mr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
H.E. Ms. Helen Clark, Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Former Administrator of The United Nations Development Programme, and Co-Founder of The Group of Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion
H.E. Ms. Irina Bokova, Former Bulgarian Politician, and Former Director-General of UNESCO and Co-Founder of The Group of Women Leaders for Change and Inclusion

Moderator:
Dr. Sarah Taylor, Senior Fellow and Head of IPI’s Women, Peace, and Security Program

On September 26th, IPI, together the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cohosted the thirteenth annual Trygve Lie Symposium on “Human Rights and the 2030 Agenda.”

Leaving no one behind is a core principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which all member states committed to in 2015. One path to achieving this principle is through rule of law and strong and inclusive political institutions that respect the norms and values enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the subsequent human rights instruments developed by the international community.

This year’s Trygve Lie Symposium brought together high-level government and UN officials, experts, and civil society representatives to discuss and address how the international community can promote and ensure the incorporation of human rights frameworks into the sustainability agenda. Presentations reflected on why having strong and inclusive political institutions that respect human rights is necessary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) enshrined in the 2030 Agenda

Welcoming remarks:
The Honorable Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia and the Chair of IPI’s Board of Directors

Opening Remarks and Moderator:
H.E. Ms. Ine Eriksen Søreide, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Norway

Speakers:
H.E. Ms. Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ghana
H.E. Ms. Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations
H.E. Dr. Kevin Casas-Zamora, Secretary-General, International IDEA
Mr. Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme
Mr. Maina Kiai, Former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association

On the occasion of the 74th UN General Assembly DIIS and US partner IPI hosted a seminar on small states and the future of multilateralism with a prominent list of foreign ministers and other participants. Video-recording available

Zusammenfassung:

Das Konjunkturbarometer des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) verharrt im September bei 89 Punkten. Damit signalisiert es für das dritte Quartal weiterhin eine um 0,2 Prozent schrumpfende Wirtschaftsleistung im Vergleich zu den vorangegangenen drei Monaten. Der Abwärtstrend in der Industrie setzt sich zunächst fort: Bis zuletzt hat sich die Stimmung der Unternehmen eingetrübt, die Zahl der Neuaufträge ist mittlerweile jedoch stabiler als noch zuletzt. Unter dem Strich wird die Wertschöpfung im verarbeitenden Gewerbe aber auch im dritten Quartal zurückgehen.

Photos

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On September 25th, 2019, the governments of Finland, Indonesia, Rwanda, and Uruguay, and IPI co-organized the seventh annual ministerial dinner on United Nations peace operations on the sidelines of the 74th annual UN General Assembly debate. The dinner was attended by foreign ministers and high-level delegates from capitals representing member states; the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, the Under-Secretary-General for Operational Support, and the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security were also in attendance.

This year’s high-level dialogue focused on strengthening partnership between the UN, regional organizations, and sub-regional organizations. Partnerships between the UN and regional arrangements, including the African Union, European Union, and regional economic communities, have become an important means of addressing complex peace and security challenges. In the Central African Republic, Mali, Somalia, and elsewhere, responsibility for peacemaking and peacekeeping is shared among multiple entities. Regional and sub-regional organizations often act as first responders in a crisis, drawing on political relationships, contextual understanding, and a willingness to act that complement the role of the UN. At other times, these same strengths present risks to effective engagement. As part of the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping initiative, member states and multilateral organizations, including the AU and the EU, committed to “enhance collaboration and planning between the UN and relevant international, regional, and sub-regional organizations and arrangements… while recognizing the need for a clear delineation of roles between respective operations.”

Participants examined contemporary dynamics of various partnerships in peace operations, including peacekeeping operations as well as broader conflict management efforts. While the discussions focused on the UN and its partnerships with the AU and the EU, participants noted with encouragement the growing space for other multilateral organizations—such as the League of Arab States (LAS), Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Organization of American States (OAS), and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), among others—to strengthen their contributions.

The partnership between the UN and the AU on peace and security received particular attention during the discussion. Participants highlighted the informal division of labor that has emerged between AU-led peace support operations and UN peacekeeping operations: the AU is often better positioned to serve as a first responder and intervene immediately in crisis situations, while the UN can undertake longer-term engagement on stabilization activities (e.g., demobilization, disarmament, and reintegration, electoral support, and rule of law) in environments backed by political processes. Discussions also reflected on the significant growth in the partnership’s political and operational dimensions over recent years. In this light, participants emphasized how more structured policies and more frequent consultations have helped the organizations align their understandings and more quickly work towards collective responses. Participants also recognized the urgency of ensuring predictable and sustainable financing for AU-led peace support operations, and how continued shortfalls in this regard inhibit the effectiveness and capabilities of peace operations that undertake work that the UN is unable to perform.

Participants underscored the centrality of partnerships for the future of peace operations. They universally agreed on the importance of leveraging complementarity in different contexts, and that collective action was essential at a time of broader challenges to multilateralism. While participants acknowledged areas for additional progress at both the political and operational levels, they were nonetheless encouraged by the pace at which partnerships had grown and the significant opportunities to build on this momentum moving forward. As one participant aptly summarized, “Whatever works for peace is good. It doesn’t matter who leads, partnerships are all about flexibility in reaching a collective goal.”

Zusammenfassung:

Die Klimaziele können nur mit einem Wechsel hin zu neuen Technologien und Praktiken für die Produktion und Nutzung von Grundstoffen, wie Zement, Stahl und Chemikalien, erreicht werden. Die Produktion solcher Grundstoffe macht nämlich rund 16 Prozent der europäischen und 25 Prozent der weltweiten Treibhausgasemissionen aus. Der moderate CO2-Preis im europäischen Emissionshandel (EU-ETS) und die unsichere Preisentwicklung bieten jedoch nicht genügend Anreize für Investitionen in und den Einsatz von innovativen klimafreundlichen Optionen. Hierfür sind neue Politikinstrumente notwendig. Projekt-basierte CO2-Differenzverträge sind, in Kombination mit einem Klimapfand, besonders geeignet: Sie senken die Finanzierungskosten von klimafreundlichen Investitionen, setzen die richtigen Anreize für Emissionsminderungen und wären ein klares Signal des Engagements der Regierungen für langfristige politische Ziele.

On September 25th, IPI, together with the Danish Institute for International Studies, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, cohosted a high-level panel discussion on the topic of Committed to Collective Action: Multilateral Engagement for Peace and Security by Small and Medium States.

Even as global and regional power balances are changing and longstanding anchors of the international rules-based order are turning away from multilateral engagement, support for international cooperation remains high among most member states. The rising tides of nationalism, protectionism, and xenophobia undermine collective action, yet the erosion of the rules-based order has also spurred renewed commitment to the multilateral system and a growing sense of shared responsibility among those states that are most at risk when only the powerful decide what is right.

Looking forward, how can small and medium states work together even more closely to address serious issues that defy national borders, to reinforce effective modes of cooperation, and to advance common goals of peace and security? What are the multilateral mechanisms best suited to address traditional and emerging international peace and security challenges? How can small and medium states cooperate to strengthen these mechanisms? How do these mechanisms promote shared interests and reaffirm sovereignty?

Opening remarks:
Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen, President, International Peace Institute
Dr. Louise Riis Andersen, Senior Researcher, Foreign Policy, Danish Institute for International Studies.

Speakers:
H.E. Mr. Jeppe Kofod, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Denmark
H.E. Mr. Urmas Reinsalu, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Estonia
H.E. Mr. Ayman Al Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jordan

Moderator:
The Honorable Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia; President, Asia Society Policy Institute; and Chairman, IPI Board of Directors

On September 25th, IPI together with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cohosted the first annual Women, Peace, and Leadership Symposium, a High-Level Forum on Advancing Women’s Roles and Rights amid Global Challenges.

For decades, governments, civil society, and the United Nations have recognized that women’s leadership and women’s status are inextricably linked with conflict prevention and conflict resolution. Indeed, women’s roles and rights can be seen as a litmus test of a community’s resilience. The women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda has been institutionalized internationally, regionally, and nationally. More than 70 countries have national actions plans on WPS (NAPs), and numerous countries have WPS envoys and ambassadors at the national level. The African Union, NATO, and UN all have special representatives or special envoys on various aspects of the WPS agenda. New regional networks of women mediators are being established with the goal of increasing women’s meaningful engagement in peace processes. The UN Security Council has, to date, adopted nine dedicated resolutions on WPS and has established an Informal Expert Group to receive timely information on WPS and analysis of individual conflict situations.

Yet despite these commitments, by many indicators the status of women’s roles and rights globally are under threat. In conflict resolution processes, mediators and negotiators are rarely women, and women’s rights are insufficiently reflected in agreements. In the multilateral system itself, women’s rights are increasingly the focus of debate in venues from the Commission on the Status of Women to the UN Security Council.

The inaugural Women, Peace, and Leadership Symposium at IPI focused on these challenges, given the upcoming 20th anniversary of Resolution 1325 (2000), the UN Security Council’s original resolution on women, peace, and security. Speakers drew upon the experience of their countries and institutions to lay out an ambitious agenda for this anniversary, including how to build long-term institutional support for women’s rights and roles in all efforts to build peace.

Welcoming Remarks:
Mr. Terje Rød-Larsen, President, International Peace Institute

Speakers:
H.E. Ms. Ann Linde, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
H.E. Dr. Grace Naledi Pandor, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, South Africa
H.E. Mrs. Asmaa Abdalla, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of the Sudan
H.E. Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, United Nations
Ms. Kaavya Asoka, Executive Director, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security

Moderator:
Dr. Adam Lupel, Vice President, International Peace Institute

How technical approaches fail to deliver

Zusammenfassung:

Studie auf Basis von Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS) zeigt Zusammenhang von Persönlichkeitseigenschaften und Studienentscheidungen – Zielgenauere Informationsangebote könnten Abiturientinnen und Abiturienten Entscheidung über weiteren Bildungsweg erleichtern

Ob sich Abiturientinnen und Abiturienten für ein Studium entscheiden und wenn ja, welches Fach sie dann studieren, hängt nicht nur mit Merkmalen wie dem familiären Hintergrund zusammen, sondern auch mit Persönlichkeitseigenschaften. Das zeigt eine Studie des Deutschen Instituts für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin) auf Basis von Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS). Demnach beeinflussen die Gewissenhaftigkeit und Offenheit einer Person deren Studienabsicht sowie Studienaufnahme und sind darüber hinaus auch bedeutend für die Studienfachwahl. Je offener eine Abiturientin oder ein Abiturient beispielsweise ist, desto wahrscheinlicher studiert sie oder er eine geisteswissenschaftliche Fachrichtung. Sind sie eher kommunikativ, entscheiden sie sich häufiger für Rechts-, Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften und seltener für MINT-Fächer, also Mathematik, Informatik, Naturwissenschaften und Technik.

For two decades, the women, peace, and security agenda has been the subject of policy development internationally, regionally, and nationally. But by many indicators, the global status of these commitments to gender equality is under threat. In the multilateral system, a growing number of states are questioning established standards of women’s rights, while international policy and programming struggle to adapt to the gendered implications of the changing nature of conflict.

This issue brief takes stock of the state of the women, peace, and security agenda in the current geopolitical context, with a view to supporting strategic advances at the upcoming twentieth anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000). It looks at characteristics of the current geopolitical context that are of concern to the defense of women’s rights, what these changes have meant for how the international community seeks to build peace and improve security, and how we can evaluate approaches to implementing WPS commitments in relation to these pressures on the multilateral system.

The paper concludes that in order for the women, peace, and security agenda to be an effective tool, it must move beyond rhetoric and be woven into actionable policy. It must become a driving force behind the development and implementation of peace and security policy and programming rather than being buffeted by political considerations that elide the status and rights of women. This depends on a sustainable increase in resources and improved accountability within the multilateral system.

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Wie unterscheiden sich Geflüchtete in Bezug auf ihre Gesundheit? Und in welchem Zusammenhang stehen die Ungleichheiten in der Gesundheit mit ihren Lebensbedingungen und dem Gesundheitssystem? Diesen Fragen geht ab diesem Herbst für zunächst drei Jahre die Forschungsgruppe „Fluchtmigration nach Deutschland: ein „Vergrößerungsglas“ für umfassendere Herausforderungen im Bereich Public Health“ (PH-LENS) nach, zu der auch Jürgen Schupp, Vize-Direktor des SOEP, sowie Hannes Kröger, Post-Doc im SOEP, gehören. Im Teilprojekt „Longitudinal aspects of the interaction between health and integration of refugees in Germany (LARGE)“ entwickeln sie auf Grundlage der IAB-BAMF-SOEP-Stichprobe Geflüchteter ein Indikatorenset zur physischen und mentalen Gesundheit. Darüber hinaus untersuchen sie, welche Rolle diese Indikatoren im Laufe der Zeit für die Integration der Geflüchteten in die deutsche Gesellschaft spielen. Die beiden Sozialwissenschaftler nutzen dafür neben längsschnittlichen auch quasi-experimentelle Analysemethoden.

Die Einrichtung der Forschungsgruppe hat der Hauptausschuss der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) auf Empfehlung des Senats im Juli 2019 bewilligt. Das Teilprojekt wird ab 1. Oktober mit insgesamt 425.436 Euro gefördert.

Pressemitteilung der DFG zu den neu bewilligten DFG-Forschungsgruppen

PH-LENS mit allen Teilprojekten in der Projektedatenbank der DFG

On September 23rd, IPI, together with the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, cohosted a policy forum entitled “Picking up the Pieces in a Fractured World: Rebuilding Trust in Multilateralism for Peace and Security.”

Multilateral legal instruments and institutions have long been the hallmark of the international community’s approach to global issues. This has been true for issues such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, climate change, and countless others. In the field of nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty embodies the ideal of multilateral, science-based verification in the interest of global peace and security. Yet the treaty’s fate remains uncertain because it still needs to be ratified by a number of nuclear-capable countries. The nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime also continues to face significant challenges more broadly. How can the international community come together to rebuild trust and strengthen faith in multilateralism to confront these and other global challenges, thereby securing a more peaceful and prosperous world for the next generation?

Speakers:
H.E. Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly
Dr. Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)

Moderator:
The Honorable Kevin Rudd, 26th Prime Minister of Australia; President, Asia Society Policy Institute; and Chairman, IPI Board of Directors