May 2018 Review

May 2018 Review

TransConflict is pleased to present a selection of articles published during May, plus updates from the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation. 

 Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT

1) Shape the deal, take the deal, manage the deal

David B. Kanin – The latest Western proposal on Kosovo could work, but only if the EU this time is willing to do the work required to support an agreement. Read on…

2) Decertifying the Iran deal is dangerously reckless

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – Revisiting the Iran deal would have provided a golden opportunity to change the regional dynamic, as long as Iran is ready and willing to play a constructive role to stabilize the region. This should have been the larger goal behind the search for a comprehensive and permanent new deal. Read on…

3) A special arrangement for Northern Ireland?

Colin Harvey and Nikos Skoutaris – Formal recognition of the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland is vital to securing the objectives being sought as the UK negotiates its orderly withdrawal from the EU. A special arrangement/status is in keeping with a more pluralistic understanding of the UK’s constitution, would be respectful of the Good Friday Agreement and the peace process, and is possible within the contours of the EU’s own legal/political order. Read on…

4) Albania must choose between the EU and Turkey

Alon Ben-Meir and Arbana Xharra – The EU must make it clear that since full adherence to its charter, especially regarding human rights, freedom, and a democratic form of government, are prerequisites to EU membership, Albania must not cozy up to Erdogan, who has flagrantly abandoned the EU’s founding principles. Read on…

5) Sri Lanka – perpetrators cannot be protectors

Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice – Growing timidity around the issue of impunity from among members of the international community, including those countries who played a pivotal role in putting it on the agenda in Geneva, is deeply concerning. Unchecked, it is a trend which could fatally undermine the already slender prospects for meaningful action on the issue over the next 12 months – the timeframe for implementation currently envisaged by Resolution 30/1. Read on…

6) The dying in Syria rests on the conscience of the West

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – President Obama and now Trump have put America to shame for failing to live up to its moral responsibility as the global leader, by abandoning the Syrian people to a despot and his brutal allies, Russia and Iran. Read on…

7) Fewer refugees, more refugeeism – why is it so?

UMAM Documentation and Research – As Lebanon prepares to commemorate 100 years of “statehood” two years from now, it apparently neglected during that century to develop the legal tools it needs to deal with the broad issue of asylum. As if to exacerbate this already problematic situation, Lebanon is not a signatory to any international agreement focused on asylum. Read on…

8) Israel at seventy – time to celebrate and time to lament

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – No military might, fences, or walls will provide Israel the safety and security it seeks. Only peace forged from a position of strength would guarantee Israel’s survival and make future Independence Days a day to celebrate with joy and pride. Read on…

9) Building resilience to genocide – ten practical measures

Dr. Deborah Mayersen – TransConflict is pleased to present a policy brief from the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation, entitled ‘Building Resilience to Genocide’, which introduces readers to a series of practical measures that policymakers and others working at the national and international levels can use to prevent genocide and other mass atrocities. Read on…

10) Europe and Turkey – the end of illusion

Gilles Pargneaux, Alon Ben-Meir, and Arbana Xharra – Erdogan’s ambition to reconstitute elements of the Ottoman era should have a chilling effect on any country with which Erdogan seeks active bilateral relations. There are always sinister intentions behind his overtures, especially now that most of the countries in the Balkans are in the process of negotiating entry into the European Union. Read on…

11) UN peacekeeping – are there other avenues for armed conflict resolution?

Rene Wadlow – There is currently within the UN an active discussion of UN peacekeeping efforts, their usefulness and their weaknesses. More attention to non-governmental peace teams may be worthwhile. Read on…

12) Youth, peace and security – the new kid on the block

UNOY Peacebuilders – UN Security Council Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace and Security, adopted in December 2015, requested the UN Secretary-General “to carry out a Progress Study on the youth’s positive contribution to peace processes and conflict resolution.” The Progress Study was conducted as an independent, evidence-based and participatory research process, giving 4,230 young people across the world the opportunity to contribute to the discussions on the main peace and security issues facing their communities. Read on…


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