After the recent failure of UN-sponsored talks, a vigorous debate has taken place about the way to advance discussions over the rules governing state behaviour in cyberspace. What are the merits and pitfalls of alternative approaches? And how can different tracks be strategically intertwined?
The recent decisions by Burundi, the Gambia and South Africa to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have prompted worries that more countries may leave the Hague-based tribunal which investigates war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. But while it is clear that the ICC is facing important challenges to its credibility and legitimacy, the recent exits might not trigger a domino effect.
The international community continues to put pressure on Pyongyang with the aim of quickly restarting the negotiations over the DPRK's nuclear agenda. Whether or not sanctions will succeed, however, depends on how well the restrictions are implemented.
China’s global activism is reaching new heights under President Xi Jinping’s leadership. Beijing is hoping to exert itself as a new multilateral leader by venturing into previously unchartered realms such as cybersecurity. The question is, how will China pursue its new ambitions?
This Alert makes the point that sanctions regimes are not static: the relative importance of crises for a foreign policy actor can evolve over time, as domestic, regional or global politics change. As a responsive sanctioner, the EU, too, has displayed its ability to hit moving targets in this regard.
The EU stands out as a responsive sanctioning actor. This Alert argues that by signalling its commitment to reward compliance through a phased exit strategy, the Union lends credence to the reversibility of sanctions.
This Alert analyses the ‘track record’ of sanctions as a foreign policy tool. It gives a brief historical overview of the practice of sanctions, showing how in recent years international sanctions have tended to shift from being comprehensive to targeted, and examines the ‘lessons learned’.
Following a series of high-level seminars on EU-UN cooperation, this Alert seeks to underline how the EU-UN partnership could help develop other types of inter-institutional relations and shape security governance over the coming decade.
Le Conseil de sécurité a tenu en juin dernier un débat sur le maintien de la paix ; le Secrétaire général y a demandé une nouvelle revue de ce qu’il considère comme l’ « activité phare » de l’ONU. Cet Alert replace ces développements dans le contexte élargi de l’après-Srebrenica.
Le déploiement prochain d’une mission EUFOR en RCA aura comme objectif la protection des populations civiles. Ce mandat est-il réaliste, et quelles leçons peut-on tirer d’opérations dans le passé ayant eu des mandats similaires ?