At present the cold war between Russia and Europe is at its most intense since the Cold War of 1950 to 1980. Russia is rapidly rearming and placing new intermediate range missiles aimed at Europe along its borders. It is developing new – supposedly undetectable – nuclear weapons. It is promoting risky confrontations in aerospace and underwater. It is actively meddling in elections, supporting ultra right-wing movements. It is using chemical weapons to murder dissidents in other countries. In ret...
The Russian navy captured three Ukrainian military vessels and detained about 20 soldiers in the Kerch Strait in November 2018. Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the Russians have controlled this unique passage — shared by both countries — between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. The incident sparked a new escalation of tensions between the two countries. Analysing the crisis, Dr. Michal Natorski spoke with Radio France International. … What is the background to the late...
When most political leaders talk about migration and security, they usually refer to threats rather than opportunities. Prof. Khalid Koser, the executive director of the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), a Geneva-based public-private fund supporting local prevention of radicalization around the world, believes that’s back-to-front. Migration is not only beneficial to societies and economies, Koser says, but can also help prevent violent extremism....
Set amid a rapidly changing backdrop, our roundtable discussed the many systemic challenges to UN peacekeeping. The session was part of the ‘Future Force‘ conference held in The Hague, 9-10 February 2017, co-organised by Ortrun Merkle, Diego Salama and Pui-hang Wong of UNU-MERIT. Speakers from the worlds of academia, diplomacy and the military, including the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) livestreaming from the field, discussed a range of iss...
“I was born in Uganda, I am Rwandan, but I grew up in South Africa.” This is my standard response to the question “Where are you from?” – because I genuinely feel like I am from all three countries....
On 17 June 2016, UNU Rector David M. Malone and UNU Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) Director Sebastian von Einsiedel received the ‘2016 Book Award for Best New Book on the United Nations and UN System’ for their co-edited volume (with Bruno Stagno Ugarte) The UN Security Council in the 21st Century. The annual book award is presented by the Academic Council on the United Nations System — a global professional association of educational and research institutions, individual schol...
“To make UNSCR 1325 a reality we need to get out of our comfort zone” – the frank assessment of Marriët Schuurman, NATO Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security (WPS) at the start of a UNU conference on inclusive peace and the future of WPS. Her words reflected a shared sense of urgency: of the need to make bold demands and drastic reforms in the struggle for inclusive peace....
After the Paris massacre, is the warmongering of certain European leaders justified? Is it right to seek revenge or will this fan the flames of radicalism? The reality is that many young Muslims have already turned their backs on Western values and are now actively terrorising that lifestyle — often successfully! In contrast to 9/11 in the US, Western European governments have cancelled many large-scale festivities and occasions. Fear is in the hearts of Parisians, Londoners, Bruxellois, a...
Tomorrow marks the 15th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), adopted 31 October 2000. For the first time it recognised the unique impact of wars on women, and their role in peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Yet a renewed focus on ‘hard security’ now threatens to exclude more women from peace processes worldwide. Fifteen years on, how much has the resolution achieved? PhD fellows Ortrun Merkle and Tamara Kool investigate. Above all, UN Security Coun...
Dr. Khalid Koser was appointed Extraordinary Professor in Conflict, Peace and Security at the Faculty of Humanities and Sciences of Maastricht University on 18 September 2014. “When is Migration a Security Issue?” was the title of his inaugural lecture. About the speaker Beside his position at Maastricht University, Khalid Koser is the Deputy Director and Academic Dean at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy. He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Ins...