Diplomacy & Defense Think Tank News

The UN Security Council is expected to renew the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA) by November 15, 2023. The upcoming council negotiations will unfold against the backdrop of several political developments, including a constitutional referendum and the further delay of local elections. While security dynamics in the Central African Republic (CAR) have improved, human rights violations and threats to the safety of civilians persist alongside underlying challenges of limited service provision, poor socioeconomic development, and significant humanitarian needs, all of which are exacerbated by regional conflict dynamics.

In this context, the International Peace Institute (IPI), Stimson Center, and Security Council Report cohosted a roundtable discussion on October 12, 2023, to discuss MINUSCA’s mandate renewal. This roundtable offered a platform for member states, UN officials, civil society stakeholders, and independent experts to share their assessments of the situation in CAR in a frank and collaborative manner. The discussion was intended to help the Security Council make more informed decisions on prioritizing and sequencing MINUSCA’s mandate, as well as the mission’s strategic orientation and actions on the ground. This year’s workshop also introduced a section to critically reflect on the bigger picture the mission fits into, triggering discussions about the assumptions that underpin the current approach to the situation in CAR.

Participants largely agreed that MINUSCA’s mandated priorities remain relevant to the political and security context in CAR. Some called for a greater focus on supporting the CAR government by extending state authority, while others cautioned that all stabilization efforts should be clearly aligned with political solutions, emphasizing MINUSCA’s role in supporting political processes. In renewing MINUSCA’s mandate, the Security Council will likely need to consider the following issues:

• Continuing support to the government’s implementation of the Political Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation (APPR) and the Luanda Joint Roadmap, including by maintaining momentum on disarming and demobilizing armed groups;
• Deepening cooperation and dialogue with national authorities and host populations to facilitate the mission’s operations, avoid misunderstandings, and communicate the mission’s achievements;
• Fostering engagement between national authorities and civil society actors, as well as local peace committees, to facilitate an inclusive political process, particularly in the upcoming local elections; and
• Addressing misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech in collaboration with the host state and civil society.

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Entwicklungspolitik ist nicht das einzige Feld, auf dem Deutschland und Europa seine Beziehungen zum Nachbarkontinent Afrika neu ausgestalten kann. Dennoch sollten sich die Europäer hier mehr bemühen, meint Entwicklungsforscher Stephan Klingebiel. Schließlich gehe es dabei auch um internationale Glaubwürdigkeit.

Entwicklungspolitik ist nicht das einzige Feld, auf dem Deutschland und Europa seine Beziehungen zum Nachbarkontinent Afrika neu ausgestalten kann. Dennoch sollten sich die Europäer hier mehr bemühen, meint Entwicklungsforscher Stephan Klingebiel. Schließlich gehe es dabei auch um internationale Glaubwürdigkeit.

Entwicklungspolitik ist nicht das einzige Feld, auf dem Deutschland und Europa seine Beziehungen zum Nachbarkontinent Afrika neu ausgestalten kann. Dennoch sollten sich die Europäer hier mehr bemühen, meint Entwicklungsforscher Stephan Klingebiel. Schließlich gehe es dabei auch um internationale Glaubwürdigkeit.

This study analyzed research on East Africa, multiple risks and Climate Change using bibliometric analysis. The main findings are that for many countries in East Africa, studies are absent, even on single risk assessments. Overall, multi-risk assessments that analyze hazard and impact chains are missing. Only a few cities have received scientific attention at the city level. The findings can help scientists as well as policymakers identify research blind spots as well as research-rich samples for further studies. This will be important for comparing regions, countries, or cities in East Africa in global assessments or science policy reports.

This study analyzed research on East Africa, multiple risks and Climate Change using bibliometric analysis. The main findings are that for many countries in East Africa, studies are absent, even on single risk assessments. Overall, multi-risk assessments that analyze hazard and impact chains are missing. Only a few cities have received scientific attention at the city level. The findings can help scientists as well as policymakers identify research blind spots as well as research-rich samples for further studies. This will be important for comparing regions, countries, or cities in East Africa in global assessments or science policy reports.

This study analyzed research on East Africa, multiple risks and Climate Change using bibliometric analysis. The main findings are that for many countries in East Africa, studies are absent, even on single risk assessments. Overall, multi-risk assessments that analyze hazard and impact chains are missing. Only a few cities have received scientific attention at the city level. The findings can help scientists as well as policymakers identify research blind spots as well as research-rich samples for further studies. This will be important for comparing regions, countries, or cities in East Africa in global assessments or science policy reports.

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On October 30th, IPI President Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein delivered the keynote address at the Opening Ceremony of the 10th annual Geneva Peace Week at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s theme was “Building Trust, Building Peace: An Agenda for the Future.”

Speaking to the assembled delegates, President Al Hussein said, “If we are to build trust and peace, we need to be as morally consistent as we can…Building trust and building peace can only be achieved if states hold themselves — and expect others do the same — to one set of rules applicable to all. It is that basic and elemental. And peacemaking must become a core part of what a new UN will look like, it has been lost and must now be recovered.”

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Technology Assessment (TA) as a scientific discipline is rather well established in the industrialized regions of the world. Here it can be seen as an integral part of national innovation systems. Usually TA has the goal of informing policy making to better help raising the potentials of emerging or new technologies for sustainable development and avert related riks. In the face of the grand challenges of our time (e.g. food security, climate change, ocean comtamination) the role of TA is increasingly important. New technologies (e.g. CRISPR-CAS 9 to make food systems more resilient to global warming) can be seen as important new pathways, while others stress potential risks. Grand challenges are mostly global, but TA is still carried out on the national level. This is a great disadvantage for developing countries, as they may weigh the opportunities and risks of technologies differently than industrialised nations. On the other hand, they lack scientific-technological competences and capacities to carry out TA in new and complex technologies themselves. And in a globalised world, they might be affected by new technologies, without having weighed up the opportunities and risks beforehand. For instance, this is the case when international investors introduce a technology on their land in developing countries. The book chapter analyses the situation and develops a model for TA at a global level.

Technology Assessment (TA) as a scientific discipline is rather well established in the industrialized regions of the world. Here it can be seen as an integral part of national innovation systems. Usually TA has the goal of informing policy making to better help raising the potentials of emerging or new technologies for sustainable development and avert related riks. In the face of the grand challenges of our time (e.g. food security, climate change, ocean comtamination) the role of TA is increasingly important. New technologies (e.g. CRISPR-CAS 9 to make food systems more resilient to global warming) can be seen as important new pathways, while others stress potential risks. Grand challenges are mostly global, but TA is still carried out on the national level. This is a great disadvantage for developing countries, as they may weigh the opportunities and risks of technologies differently than industrialised nations. On the other hand, they lack scientific-technological competences and capacities to carry out TA in new and complex technologies themselves. And in a globalised world, they might be affected by new technologies, without having weighed up the opportunities and risks beforehand. For instance, this is the case when international investors introduce a technology on their land in developing countries. The book chapter analyses the situation and develops a model for TA at a global level.

Technology Assessment (TA) as a scientific discipline is rather well established in the industrialized regions of the world. Here it can be seen as an integral part of national innovation systems. Usually TA has the goal of informing policy making to better help raising the potentials of emerging or new technologies for sustainable development and avert related riks. In the face of the grand challenges of our time (e.g. food security, climate change, ocean comtamination) the role of TA is increasingly important. New technologies (e.g. CRISPR-CAS 9 to make food systems more resilient to global warming) can be seen as important new pathways, while others stress potential risks. Grand challenges are mostly global, but TA is still carried out on the national level. This is a great disadvantage for developing countries, as they may weigh the opportunities and risks of technologies differently than industrialised nations. On the other hand, they lack scientific-technological competences and capacities to carry out TA in new and complex technologies themselves. And in a globalised world, they might be affected by new technologies, without having weighed up the opportunities and risks beforehand. For instance, this is the case when international investors introduce a technology on their land in developing countries. The book chapter analyses the situation and develops a model for TA at a global level.

Einer ersten Schätzung des Statistischen Bundesamtes zufolge ist die deutsche Wirtschaft im dritten Quartal 2023 leicht geschrumpft. Dazu eine Einschätzung von Timm Bönke, Co-Leiter des Bereichs Prognose und Konjunkturpolitik im Deutschen Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung (DIW Berlin):

Die deutsche Wirtschaft ist im dritten Quartal im Vergleich zum Vorquartal wohl leicht um 0,1 Prozent geschrumpft. Da das Statistische Bundesamt die Wirtschaftsleistung für die ersten beide Quartale erneut leicht nach oben korrigiert hat, tritt die deutsche Wirtschaft in diesem Jahr bisher weitgehend auf der Stelle. Vom Einbruch infolge der Energiekrise konnte sie sich noch nicht wirklich erholen.

Insbesondere der private Konsum ist nach wie vor eine Achillesferse: Die Inflation sinkt zwar, zeigt sich aber weiterhin hartnäckig. Entsprechend eingetrübt ist die Kauflaune vieler Haushalte. Das dämpft den Konsum stärker und länger als früher im Jahr prognostiziert. Für das vierte Quartal deuten wichtige Indikatoren aber auf eine vorsichtige Erholung des privaten Konsums sowie eine Stabilisierung im Verarbeitenden Gewerbe hin. Das DIW Berlin erwartet daher für das Schlussquartal einen leichten Anstieg des Bruttoinlandsprodukts um 0,2 Prozent. Somit dürfte das Wirtschaftswachstum, wie in der jüngsten DIW-Konjunkturprognose von Anfang September erwartet, insgesamt im Jahr 2023 nur leicht zurückgehen und damit etwas besser ausfallen als zuletzt vielfach erwartet.

The ever-increasing protracted refugee situations globally have put local integration of refugees into hosting societies high on the international agenda. While recent international frameworks have called for a deeper integration of refugees through the mainstreaming of refugee service provision into national service provision systems, little attention has been paid to the structures and arrangements— the so-called opportunity structures—specifically to how these can either promote or impede integration into host countries. We focus on the mode of social service provision to refugees and how this shapes the context of refugee integration in Ghana and Ethiopia taking into account the implications for structural and relational integration of refugees. We hold the view that mainstreaming service provision to refugees in camps into national systems does not necessarily lead to better refugee integration outcomes. Differences in the quality-of-service provision between humanitarian actors and hosting countries have the potential to determine integration outcomes.

The ever-increasing protracted refugee situations globally have put local integration of refugees into hosting societies high on the international agenda. While recent international frameworks have called for a deeper integration of refugees through the mainstreaming of refugee service provision into national service provision systems, little attention has been paid to the structures and arrangements— the so-called opportunity structures—specifically to how these can either promote or impede integration into host countries. We focus on the mode of social service provision to refugees and how this shapes the context of refugee integration in Ghana and Ethiopia taking into account the implications for structural and relational integration of refugees. We hold the view that mainstreaming service provision to refugees in camps into national systems does not necessarily lead to better refugee integration outcomes. Differences in the quality-of-service provision between humanitarian actors and hosting countries have the potential to determine integration outcomes.

The ever-increasing protracted refugee situations globally have put local integration of refugees into hosting societies high on the international agenda. While recent international frameworks have called for a deeper integration of refugees through the mainstreaming of refugee service provision into national service provision systems, little attention has been paid to the structures and arrangements— the so-called opportunity structures—specifically to how these can either promote or impede integration into host countries. We focus on the mode of social service provision to refugees and how this shapes the context of refugee integration in Ghana and Ethiopia taking into account the implications for structural and relational integration of refugees. We hold the view that mainstreaming service provision to refugees in camps into national systems does not necessarily lead to better refugee integration outcomes. Differences in the quality-of-service provision between humanitarian actors and hosting countries have the potential to determine integration outcomes.