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*Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2010 will be released March 1, 2010*
 Advanced praise for the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations 2010 :
“Few bestselling books read as well as this annual gem; few text books have even half as much useful and well-presented information on a crucial subject; few publications hold a candle to the Annual Review of Global Peace Operations.
—MICHAEL O’HANLON
Director of Research and Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
“The Annual Review represents a critical tool for practitioners and academics in understanding the myriad operational and financial challenges confronting peacekeeping operations today. As we work toward ensuring that peacekeeping is prepared to meet current and future demands, the analysis and data presented in this volume provide the foundations for addressing these issues with a realistic and deeply informed approach.”
—AMBASSADOR DR. PETER WITTIG
Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations
“Peacekeeping has grown enormously in terms of both size and complexity in the last decade. Our goal is to strike a balance between delivering support to our missions in a timely and efficient manner and meeting the high standards and complying with procedures set by the UN. The Annual Review is a crucial resource that clearly presents the contours ofthese challenges as we begin updating the way that wemanage our operations to ensure that they deliver on their stated goals.”
—SUSANA MALCORRA
UN Under Secretary-General for the Department of Field Support
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Practical Mechanisms to Combat the Militarization of Natural Resources in the DR Congo
Winter 2009
On December 3rd & 4th, the Cent er on International Cooperation convened a group of leading non-governmentalexperts in a two-day discussion entitled: “Practical Mechanisms to Combat the Militarization of Natural Resources in the DR Congo.”The event was hosted and supported by the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations and the Open Society Institute.
CIC sought to facilitate constructive dialogue on the issue of natural resources and conflict in the DRC, in an effort to identify common ground and consensus regarding prioritization, sequencing, and complementarity of potential or existing measures to combat the militarization of mining in the short to medium term. On Friday December 4th, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, CIC Senior Fellow and former Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, moderated a panel of technical workshop participants and formal respondents from multilateral and industry initiatives, including the current coordinator of the UN Group of Experts.
  Video: Practical Mechanisms to Combat the Militarization of Natural Resources in the DR Congo
 Highlights of the Technical Workshop - English - Français
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The Center on International Cooperation and the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations are convening a series of panel discussions to explore critical issues confronting the future of UN peace operations.
 Read the background paper - English - Français
 Visit Thematic Series Project Page
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| Recent Publications and Press |
| The State of the Humanitarian System
Winter 2010
This report, commissioned under ALNAP’s Humanitarian Performance Project, is the most comprehensive effort to date to assess the performance and the progress of the International Humanitarian System. The Humanitarian Outcomes research team including CIC non-resident fellow Abby Stoddard and Victoria DiDomenico synthesised the findings of roughly 500 global survey responses, 100 recent evaluations, 89 interviews, staffing and budget information of over 200 aid organisations and a financial analysis of global humanitarian aid flows. The report defines key criteria for assessing system performance and progress and analyzes these criteria over the past two years. The report provides previously unavailable statistics on the system and highlights new initiatives in policy and practice.
 The State of the Humanitarian System
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| President Obama's New Multilateralism and Europe: The First Year and Beyond
Winter 2010
On 22 January Richard Gowan led a seminar at the Finnish Institute of Foreign Affairs on the Obama administration’s “return to multilateralism” and its policy implications for the European Union in the UN, G20, and other international fora.
Summary of Event and Roundtable Discussion
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Confronting the Long Crisis of Globalization
Winter 2010
The past twelve months have increased pressure on the international system. The arrival of a new U.S. administration, the more assertive multilateral stance taken by China, India, Russia and Brazil, and above all the credit crunch and subsequent global downturn, have increased demand for more effective management of global challenges – while at the same time creating fresh obstacles to achieving this goal.
In this think piece, we explore how current opportunities can be used to catalyze the transformation we need to create a more effective international system. Our aim is to provoke and stimulate discussion.
Confronting the Long Crisis of Globalization: Risk, Resilience and International Order
 Featured Press: The Economist |
Independent Oversight for Mining in the Eastern Congo?
Winter 2010
The concept note by Jason Stearns and Steve Hege develops a proposal for a third-party monitoring and enforcement mechanism to address the militarization of mining in the Eastern DR Congo. Inspired by the broad support that this idea received during a two-part event organized by CIC in December 2009, the document lays out how this mechanism would be structured, its operational capacities, collaboration with Congolese authorities, along with the unique contributions it would make to the dynamic and complex reality of the Kivu provinces.
Independent Oversight for Mining in the Eastern Congo? |
Obama and the World: Africa
Winter 2010
On 19, January 2010, CIC Senior Fellow, Dr. Sarjoh Bah, joined Martin Savidge, anchor of the WorldFocus program on PBS, and Emira Woods, co-director of the Foreign Policy in Focus program at the Institute of Policy Studies to discuss the Obama administration's Africa Foreign Policy to mark the President's first anniversary in the White House. The interview is part of WorldFocus's series: "Obama and the World" which focuses on the first year of Obama’s foreign policy globally. |
Negotiations and Strategy
Winter 2010
Negotiations and Strategy: Understanding Sanctions Effectiveness by Michael Chaitkin is the Center on International Cooperation's new report on sanctions. The report argues, contrary to the conventional wisdom, that sanctions are more likely to succeed when they yield conditions conducive to bargaining between the parties of the dispute. The author offers two policy recommendations to enable more effective application of sanctions.
Negotiations and Strategy: Understanding Sanctions Effectiveness |
| Hitting Reboot - Where next for climate after Copenhagen?
Winter 2009
Hitting Reboot is a new report on the Copenhagen Climate Conference published by the Managing Global Insecurity Project (MGI) in partnership with CIC, and the Brooking's Institution. The report, co-authored by CIC Non-Resident Fellows Alex Evans and David Steven, offers twelve recommendations on how to manage climate risk.
Hitting Reboot - Where next for climate after Copenhagen? |
| Robust Peacekeeping
Winter 2009
Robust Peacekeeping: The Politics of Force presents new and past research and essays on robust peacekeeping operations by CIC staff, as well as by guest contributors including Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Lakhdar Brahimi and Salman Ahmed, William Durch, and Ian Johnstone.
Robust Peacekeeping: The Politics of Force |
Climate Change and Hunger: Responding to the Challenge
Winter 2009
Climate Change and Hunger is a new report on the effects of climate change on hunger and food security, published by the World Food Programme in partnership with CIC, the International Food Policy Research Institute, the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London, the Walker Institute and the University of Reading. The report, co-authored by CIC Non-Resident Fellow Alex Evans and published during the Copenhagen climate change summit, provides a comprehensive review of the state of knowledge of the effects of climate change on hunger and sets out an overview of actions that can address the challenge.
Climate Change and Hunger: Responding to the Challenge |
International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations
Autumn 2009
In November Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Jake Sherman and Benjamin Tortolani presented their recent work on peacekeeping to the 2009 International Forum for the Challenges of Peace Operations held from 11-13 November in New York. Mr Guehenno presented on issues of peace operations command and control, Mr. Sherman participated on a panel regarding mandate making and implementation and Mr. Tortolani presented on current challenges and trends in peace operations.
Command and Control Arrangements in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations
Implications of Peacebuilding and Statebuilding in United Nations Mandates |
| Military Rule, Human Rights Abuses & Elections: Guinea's Quest for a Peaceful Transition
Autumn 2009
On 20 November, Dr. Sarjoh Bah, Senior Fellow discussed the ongoing political and security situation in Guinea at the Africa Diplomatic Forum organized on behalf of the Institute of African Studies and the School of International and Public Affairs Pan-African Network (SPAN), Columbia University. Among other things, Dr. Bah called on ECOWAS to deploy a medium-sized unarmed military observer force at least three months before the elections. The force, which should be part of ECOWAS’s election monitoring team, should be mandated to monitor the activities of the country’s security forces before, during and after the elections. Furthermore, he called for a residual military presence to be kept on the ground to assist the new civilian authorities start the process of bringing the country’s security forces, especially the military under civilian control. In his view, subjecting the military and other statutory security institutions to civilian control should be a high priority as it is a crucial first step in consolidating civilian rule in Guinea. The residual force, he argues, should assist the Guinean authorities in disarming and returning foreign militias to their countries of origin; a process that should specifically target mercenaries from neighbouring states and beyond.
 African Diplomatic Forum Presentation
 On 17 January 2010, Dr. Sarjoh Bah spoke with Radio France International on recent developments in Guinea, and its impact on the transition to civlian rule in that country.
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Long-Term Peacebuilding in Africa: Challenges for the United Nations
Autumn 2009
From 11-13 November, Dr. Sarjoh Bah, Senior Fellow attended a Symposium on “Sustainable Peacebuilding: Regional Approaches and Pivotal States,” in Colorado. The Symposium was convened by the Josef Korbel School of International Studies and Center for Sustainable Development and International Peace, University of Denver, Colorado. Dr. Bah discussed the "Long-term Peacebuilding in Africa: Challenges for the United Nations." Among other things, he indentified six core challenges facing the UN and other actors as they confront the monumental peacebuilding challenge in Africa. These are: lack of coordination and coherence; the inability of the UN and others to revamp the economies of post conflict countries; the emergence of new security threats such as drug trafficking and other transnational criminal networks; dealing with transitional justice in an era of internationalized justice; dealing with broader governance issues including security sector reform, public administration and public finance management; and sustaining international commitment in the face of the current global financial and economic crisis. Dr. Bah emphasized that peacebuilding is a political process that should not be approached from a pure technical standpoint, as is the case right now, adding that, nations are built from within not from outside, therefore the principle of ownership should be at the core of peace-building efforts.
Peacebuilding Symposium |
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| Afghanistan Project News |
The Public Cost of Private Security in Afghanistan
Autumn 2009
The report by Jake Sherman and Victoria DiDomenico emphasizes that over-dependence on private security – above all on local militia groups – by international military forces is harming stabilization efforts. With a surge in US forces on the horizon the demand for private security will increase. This report lays out the consequences of heavy reliance on groups operating outside the legal framework, including shorting Afghan public security forces, increasing the costs of reconstruction, and strengthening criminal groups.
The Public Cost of Private Security in Afghanistan
Featured Press:
Guardian
RadioFree Europe
Inter Press Service
Associated Press
The Globe and Mail
Washington Times
Mother Jones
Foreign Policy
Back from the Brink? A Strategy for Stabilizing Afghanistan-Pakistan
An Asia Society Task Force Report
An Asia Society Task Force report outlines a comprehensive strategy for the new U.S. administration to pursue a dramatically different course in Afghanistan-Pakistan. Both countries are now struggling to limit the spread of violent insurgencies, curb losses in public confidence, and address major weaknesses in governance while being faced with a growing economic crisis. Barnett Rubin is the principle author of this report.
Read Executive Summary
A Strategy for Stabilizing Afghanistan-Pakistan
A Tribe Apart
The Boston Review has published an essay by Barnett Rubin entitled A Tribe Apart. The essay, filled with anecdotes of Mr. Rubin’s many visits to Afghanistan, presents a country devastated by war, chaos and pervasive class disunity.
 Read A Tribe Apart
Pakistan in Decline
On the anniversary of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto many Pakistanis also lament their country's decline into political and economic chaos. An article published in The Times suggests that diplomatic strategies presented in a paper by Barnett Rubin and Ahmed Rashid may help prevent Pakistan’s descent.
The Times article
Listen to Interview
From Great Game to Grand Bargain
Barnett Rubin co-authored an essay with Ahmed Rashid entitled From Great Game to Grand Bargain in Foreign Affairs.
Read Listen
The U.S. and Iran in Afghanistan: Policy Gone Awry
This essay for MIT’s Center for International Studies, by Barnett Rubin with Sara Batmanglich, discusses how the U.S. and Iran’s preoccupation with their grievances has prevented them from cooperating in Afghanistan. The reluctance to acknowledge this key area of mutual interest has not only been detrimental to the goals of the US, Iran and Afghanistan alike, but has also benefited the Pakistan military, the Taliban and al-Qaida.
The U.S. and Iran in Afghanistan: Policy Gone Awry
More Afghanistan Project News |
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