The Syrian crisis has become a major test for international cooperation in crisis management. The Security Council has become a focus for extended diplomatic conflict between the West and the BRICS. The Arab League has been directly involved in monitoring the crisis, while the EU has imposed heavy sanctions on Damascus. CIC Associate Director Richard Gowan has written extensively on the multilateral dimensions of the crisis over the last two months, and been cited by in the following articles: Syria: Moscow Rules for The Economist Syria is Russia's Latest against the West by Colum Lynch for the Washington Post Russia Faces Onslaught at UN to Back Ouster of Assad in Syria for Bloomberg News by Flavia Krause-Jackson Syria U.N. Deliberations Haunted By Ghost Of Libya Mission for the Huffington Post by Joshua Herst
Developments and Implications of Missile Defence December 2011
On 9 December 2011 CIC Senior Fellow, W. P. S. Sidhu presented at an international seminar on "Developments and Implications of Missile Defence" held at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). The main aims of this event were to:
Identify recent developments in missile defence initiatives;
Assess the potential consequences of missile defence on regional and global security trends;
Evaluate the possible impact of missile defence developments on existing and future disarmament activities, including unintended consequences; and,
Identify key issues that policymakers should be aware of as missile defence evolves.
Development Cooperation and Emerging Economies November 2011
As witnessed by the inclusive outcome of the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held this week in Busan, the need for a new development paradigm is already in the making; yet challenges remain in defining this new paradigm. In the lead-up to Busan, CIC, together with Indian think-tank RISDC, held a seminar in New Delhi to discuss current challenges and future possibilities for development.
Arms Control in a Changing Middle East November 2011
On 13 November 2011, CIC Senior Fellow W.PS. Sidhu, participated in a seminar entitled "Arms Control in a Changing Middle East". The meeting, held at Tel Aviv University, contributed to the discussion towards ratcheting down the calls for immediate military action against Iran, and provided an opportunity to assess the Israeli attitude towards the Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone (MEWMDFZ) conference.
At a time of growing popular demand for representative politics, the protection of rights, and access to justice, this report by CIC's Camino Kavanagh and Dr. Bruce Jones examines the ability of the United Nations to provide 'rule of law' support to member-states and national reformers.
Read the full report Shaky Foundations: An Assessment of the UN's Rule of Law Support Agendahere.
Review of Political Missions 2011
CIC's second Review of Political Missions tracks strategic trends, mission deployments, and deployment data for more than sixty political missions authorized by the UN and regional organizations, including the EU, OSCE, OAS, and the AU. The volume also provides analysis on the extant and potential role of political missions in responding to transnational threats and unconstitutional changes of government.
The full volume is featured here and you may also download the full volume here.
If you would like to know more about the project or order a copy, please contact Alischa Kugel at alischa.kugel @ nyu.edu
Interactive map(click the layers icon in top-left corner of the Acrobat window to view missions by type and origin)
All maps in the publication are provided by the United Nations Cartographic Section. For further information, please visit : United Nations Cartographic Section
Participants gathered on October 20 to celebrate the launch of David Malone'sDoes the Elephant Dance? Contemporary Indian Foreign Policy. Malone, a NYU adjunct professor of Law, is also the head of the International Development Research Center, and was formerly the high commissioner of Canada in India. Speaking briefly at the event, which was hosted by the Hauser Global Law School Program and CIC, Malone argued for the importance of understanding India's history, geography, and capability in order to understand its foreign policy.
Bruce Jones, CIC Director, praised Malone's work as a masterful piece of statecraft: "It is a very sophisticated and very sensitive treatment, not just of Indian foreign policy, but also of India."
Alex Evans is one of Britain's Top "40 Under 40" International Development Leaders
Alex Evans, Non-Resident Fellow and Head of CIC's Resource Scarcity, Climate Change, and Multilateralism program, has just been named by international development social enterprise Devex as one of Britain's Top "40 Under 40" International Development Leaders. Titled "The Agenda Setter" by Devex, Evans has been a driving force behind international development cooperation on climate change issues in UK aid policy, at the United Nations, and through his work with CIC. Honored among a group of 'trailblazers in international development', Evans has developed CIC's Resource Scarcity, Climate Change, and Multilateralism program into one that has come to play a central role in informing and strengthening the international climate change and development global agenda.
"This award underlines the outstanding work that Alex Evans has been doing on improving development's response to the challenges of sustainability and resilience. I'm proud to have Alex as an essential part of the CIC team." Bruce Jones, CIC Director
In a new CIC paper, The Libyan War: A Diplomatic History, Emily O'Brien and Andrew Sinclair track multilateral efforts to manage the crisis from the first international responses to the uprising in Libya in February to the eve of the rebel assault on Tripoli in the second half of August. The report summarizes diplomatic negotiations across international and regional organizations ranging from the United Nations, NATO and the European Union to the African Union, League of Arab States and Organization of the Islamic Conference. A preface by Richard Gowan puts the crisis diplomacy in context, and offers observations about the state of multilateral cooperation post-Libya.
The Arab Uprisings and International Order : Reports by the Center on International Cooperation
The uprisings across northern Africa and the Gulf touch upon many of the issues that CIC's work and research address. The Libya, the Arab Uprisings, and International Order page is a central forum to read the opinions and analysis of the current situation by our staff and fellows. The material will include links to stories written by CIC scholars from news sources around the globe including Foreign Policy,World Politics Review and LiveMint, a leading business newspaper in India, as well as commentary written exclusively for CIC's website.
Rising Democracies and the Arab Awakening: Implications for Global Democracy and Human Rights
January 2012
As the emerging global order takes shape, debate is growing more intense around the trajectory of the rising powers and what their ascendency to positions of regional and international influence means for the United States, its traditional allies, and global governance more broadly.
More than 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by violent conflict. The World Development Report 2011: Conflict, Security and Development examines the changing nature of violence in the 21st century, and underlines the negative impact of repeated cycles of violence on a country or region's development prospects. The risk of major violence is greatest when high levels of stress, political, security or economic, combine with weak and illegitimate institutions. Preventing violence and building peaceful states that respond to the aspirations of their citizens requires strong leadership and concerted national and international efforts. The Report is based on new research, case studies and extensive consultations with leaders and development practitioners throughout the world.
The World Development Report 2011 on Conflict, Security and Development is co-directed by Sarah Cliffe and Nigel Roberts, under the guidance of Justin Lin, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, Joachim von Amsberg, Vice President and Head of Network, and a high-level Advisory Council. CIC Director, Bruce Jones, is a member of the core team and served as WDR 2011 Senior External Advisor.
On Thursday, April 14, 2011 a live webcast of two panel discussions related to the WDR 2011 was presented here. Bruce Jones, delivered the closing remarks along with WDR 2011 co-Director, Nigel Roberts.
State-building and political change: Options for Palestine 2011
Joe Raedle | Getty Images - People cheer during a celebratory rally after the United Nations approved a no fly zone over the country on March 18, 2011 in Tobruk, Libya. Libya declared an immediate cease-fire after the UN vote but reports indicate that Muammar Gadhafi's forces were still shelling two cities.
Largest Minority Shareholder in Global Order LLC: The Changing Balance of Influence and U.S. Strategy
On March 15, the Brookings Institution and Foreign Policy magazine hosted the launch of Bruce Jones's paper "Largest Minority Shareholder in Global Order LLC: The Changing Balance of Influence and U.S. Strategy." Panelists explored the prospects for cooperation on global finance and transnational threats; the need for new investments in global economic and energy diplomacy; and the case for new crisis management tools to help de-escalate inevitable tensions with emerging powers.
Separating the Taliban from al-Qaeda : The Core of Success in Afghanistan
A CIC Study
February 2011
Alex Strick van Linschoten and Felix Kuehn are researchers and writers based in Kandahar. They have worked in Afghanistan since 2006, focusing on the Taliban insurgency and the history of southern Afghanistan over the past four decades. This paper published by CIC, expands on the following key findings:
The Taliban and al-Qaeda remain distinct groups with different goals, ideologies, and sources of recruits; there was considerable friction between them before September 11, 2001, and today that friction persists.
Elements of current U.S. policy in Afghanistan, especially night raids and attempts to fragment the Taliban, are changing the insurgency, inadvertently creating opportunities for al-Qaeda to achieve its objectives and preventing the achievement of core goals of the United States and the international community.
There is room to engage the Taliban on the issues of renouncing al-Qaeda and providing guarantees against the use of Afghanistan by international terrorists in a way that will achieve core U.S. goals.
Alex Strick van Linschoten, one of the authors of CIC's report: Separating the Taliban from al-Qaeda: The Core of Success in Afghanistan, comments on what Bin Laden's death means to the Taliban in a new article for The National.
On the Road Back to Rio,
Green Direction Has Been Lost February 2012
Twenty years ago, an historic environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro produced groundbreaking treaties and high hopes that pressing issues would be addressed. But as organizers prepare for the Rio+20 conference in June, there is little on the agenda to suggest any substantive action will be taken. Non-Resident Fellow, Alex Evans, contributed to this op-ed by Fred Pearce.
International Order in the Arab World February 2012
One year after the fall of Mubarak, the Arab awakening is still in flux. In his latest Up Front Blog, published by Brookings, CIC Director Bruce Jones examines the array of tensions, values, and institutions that make up the changing global order.
European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2012 February 2012
Richard Gowan contributed to the European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2012, a new publication from the European Council on Foreign Relations. Gowan drafted the section on multilateral affairs.
Read his overview of the EU's performance on multilateral affairs here and visit the interactive site here.
An aid system struggling to be ready, stay relevant January 2012
Abby Stoddard, CIC Non-Resident Fellow and co-author of the ongoing State of the Humanitarian System study reflects on the findings of AlertNet's survey on the future of humanitarian aid.
Sustainable Development Goals – a useful outcome from Rio+20? January 2012
Recent months have seen increasing interest in the idea that Rio+20 could be the launch pad for a new set of 'Sustainable Development Goals' (SDGs). But what would SDGs cover, what would a process to define and then implement them look like, and what would some of the key political challenges be? This short briefing Alex Evans and David Steven sets out a short summary of current thinking the issue, followed by thoughts about the way forward.
The Libyan crisis demonstrated the divisions over interventionism that surfaced around the 2003 Iraq invasion remain unresolved.
The dividing lines over Libya differed from those over Iraq, with France now advocating interventionism. Yet it was clear that there was still no EU consensus on the criteria for the use of force. This breakdown -- highlighted by Germany's refusal to vote military action at the UN -- raises questions about what the European powers learned from Iraq.
United Nations peacekeeping has evolved significantly as a tool of International Crisis response since first introduced in 1948. CIC Associate Director and lead author of Building on Brahimi, Richard Gowan, talks in an exclusive interview to signal about the New Horizon Initiative and the future Direction of UN Peacekeeping.
Rising Democracies and the Arab Awakening: Implications for Global Democracy and Human Rights January 2012
As the emerging global order takes shape, debate is growing more intense around the trajectory of the rising powers and what their ascendency to positions of regional and international influence means for the United States, its traditional allies, and global governance more broadly.
Global Dashboard was started in 2007 by CIC Fellows Alex Evans and David Steven. The website explores global risks and international affairs, bringing together authors who work on foreign policy in think tanks, government, academia and the media.
Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals:
Strengthen American democracy;
Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and
Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.
Humanitarian Outcomes is a team of specialist consultants providing research and policy advice for humanitarian aid agencies and donor governments. The organization was started by CIC non-resident fellow Abby Stoddard and former CIC staff member Adele Harmer along with their three other partners.
James Traub is a fellow at the Center on International Cooperation and a contributing writer for the New York Times Magazine and author of, most recently, The Freedom Agenda.
"Terms of Engagement," his column for ForeignPolicy.com, runs weekly.
The endgame in Afghanistan isn't 2013 or 2014; it's already happened. The only thing now is to make sure that the retreat is not a total disaster for those we leave behind.
W.P.S. Sidhu is a Senior Fellow at the Center on International Cooperation. He writes a regular column for LiveMint.com, a leading business newspaper in India.
The Rafale or any other manned aircraft, however capable they might be, will remain a product of a bygone era of air warfare, and will struggle to adopt to the new scenario, which will be increasingly dominated by unmanned drones
This assertion is based on the apparent similarity of the Indian centrifuges to the ones that Khan first stole from the Netherlands and then reproduced in Pakistan as well as the role of some key personnel associated with the Khan network.
View a Webcast of the event 
in top-left corner of the Acrobat window to view missions by type and origin)
Alex Evans is one of Britain's Top "40 Under 40" International Development Leaders
In a new CIC paper, 
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