#MENA

Aug 26, 2018

La Primavera de Praga, medio siglo después

Foto del periódico ruso Kommersant en el quincuagésimo aniversario de la invasión a Checoslovaquia por el Pacto de Varsovia. (este blog fue publicado en la Página Web: https://cdainstitute.ca el 23 de agosto de 2018.) Durante cuatro meses en 1968, fui un pasante en Praga, la capital de la antigua Checoslovaquia, una ciudad de increíble belleza y gracia, a pesar del peso insoportable de veinte años de gobierno comunista. En teoría, cada día tenía que ir a mi lugar de trabajo –

Nov 4, 2017

The Halloween Attack on the Hudson River Bike Path – and its broader implications

Details are gradually emerging about the terrorist attack carried out on theHudson River Bike Path on 31 October. The perpetrator, Sayfullo Saipov, is a 29-year old of Uzbek origin, who has been residing legally in the United States since 2010. Taken down by police gunfire, he has claimed from his hospital bed that the attack was carried out in the name of the Islamic State (IS), the main actor that has been opposed to the American anti-terrorist campaign in Syria and Iraq. S

Nov 11, 2016

The Malian Crisis: thinking more broadly about the security sector agenda

For the UN, the Mali deployment has been politically one of its most important to date, one of its largest in terms of numbers of deployed personnel, and one of its most deadly in terms of personnel losses. At the time of writing, MINUSMA also appears to have been one of the least successful. Overall, implementation of the peace agreement has been slow, uneven and flawed. The ongoing violence has made it difficult for armed groups to withdraw from certain areas, let alone dis

Nov 11, 2016

The Malian Crisis: chaos in the making

Background In the 1990s, Mali was often put forward as a model of African democracy. It is not hard to understand why. Following an extended period of authoritarian rule after becoming independent in 1960, Mali held three elections as of 1992 in which power passed to the winner. An anomaly among the Sahelian states during that decade, it remains so in several other corners of the African continent two decades on. But in fact, Mali has more in common with its fellow Sahelian s

Nov 11, 2016

The Malian Crisis: a security sector perspective

This is a three-part blog contribution providing a security sector perspective on the ongoing crisis in Mali and focusing on stabilization and security sector reform challenges that need to be addressed in this context. Introduction In late 2011, Mali was plunged into a severe political and security crisis when the situation in the country, already seriously unstable, was rendered that much more so by the impact of the Arab Spring, and in particular the events in Libya. Five

Aug 2, 2016

Coup, Counter-coup, Consequences – Part 3: The turn towards authoritarianism

The third blog in this series looks at the transition of Erdogan and his AKP party to an overtly Islamist stance It is hard to pinpoint with any exactitude when, let alone why, Recip Erdogan transformed from being a figure seeking to modernize Turkey and its institutions to one pursuing a backward-looking Islamist agenda. Some analysts hold that Erdogan may have been a closet Islamist from the early stages of his career. It is a fact, however, that in 1998, after spending ten

Jul 29, 2016

Coup, Counter-coup, Consequences – Part 2: The Erdogan-Gulen Connection

This, the second in a four-part series on the coup in Turkey, looks at the relationship between the erstwhile allies, President Erdogan and Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish clerical leader living in Pennsylvania, who has been accused of instigating the coup. In his remarkable rise to power, Erdogan has been allied with the Gulen Movement and its leader Fethullah Gulen, a leader of a vast organization that has promoted education in Turkey and in many other countries around the world

Jan 12, 2016

In Defence of Sunnistan: Part 3

This third blog on the situation in the Middle East discusses the proposition to create a Sunni state in parts of Syria and Iraq. On 25 November 2015, John Bolton, US representative to the UN from 2005–2006, neo-con par excellence, published a piece in the New York Times that advocated the creation of a Sunni state in those areas presently occupied by the Islamic State. There is very little that Mr. Bolton and I share politically but on the issue of the future of this region,

Jan 7, 2016

Towards a Grand Anti-terrorist Coalition: Part 2

This second blog in a series of three looks at the ongoing efforts to put together a grand anti-terrorist coalition. January 2016 will see a major new phase in the efforts of the international community to reach a settlement in Syria. On 25 January, the 17-member International Syria Support Group (ISSG) will gather in Geneva armed with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, agreed just before the holiday break. This calls for Syrian unity and independence, a cease-fire, a negot

Nov 13, 2015

An Attack on France, an Attack on Europe, an Attack on the West

To say it is too soon to attempt to understand what has happened in Paris – and what may still be happening as I write these lines from Montreal in the early evening of 13 November – is to state the obvious. But amidst these horrific events, here is an attempt to set out some of the parameters. A first question is who the perpetrators are. According to early reports, the gunmen that have perpetuated the atrocities in Paris cried out Allah Akbar as they went about their evil.

Sep 30, 2015

R2P and the Responsibility to Receive

In 2005, a UN World Summit that brought together governmental leaders from around the world agreed on a statement that broke new ground in the obligations of states and inter-state relations. As theretofore, states were to have the primary responsibility for protecting their populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. The statement also recognized that the international community had a responsibility to assist a conflicted state in m

Aug 25, 2015

Knocking on the Door of World War IV

Introduction[1] The world is on a precipice. The international community faces a growing array of situations that could precipitate major regional and cross-continental conflict. The norms, patterns of cooperation and the institutions that the West has relied on for over three generations to ensure its protection and rising prosperity – and to spread its benefits to an ever larger part of the world – are under serious fire. The Western track record is anything but pristine:

Jul 21, 2015

Challenges facing the West – Part 5 of the World War IV Series

In this five-part series, I explore the development and scope of what I have termed World War IV. This series is based on my presentation at the CDA Institute Roundtable “Knocking on the Door of World War IV,” held in Ottawa on 10 June 2015. Part 4 of this series looked at the West’s strong points. This concluding post examines the other side of the coin. The situation, while anything but hopeless, is rather less than encouraging. Five issues stand out. First, the credibility

Jul 20, 2015

Strong Points of the West – Part 4 of the World War IV Series

In this five-part series, I explore the development and scope of what I term World War IV. This series is based on my presentation at the CDA Institute Roundtable “Knocking on the Door of World War IV,” held in Ottawa on 10 June 2015. In dealing with the current challenges to international peace and stability, the West currently enjoys several strong suits. Here are what I think to be the most important ones. First, and most obviously, all the members of NATO and the Europea

Jul 18, 2015

Knocking on the door of World War IV – Part 3 of the World War IV Series

In this five-part series, I explore the development and scope of what I have termed World War IV. This series is based on my presentation at the CDA Institute Roundtable “Knocking on the Door of World War IV,” held in Ottawa on 10 June 2015. Prominent German columnist Theo Sommer, writing in Die Zeit, recently argued that the West had nothing to fear from Russia and should stop “rattling its swords.” With the Soviet Union’s end, he observed, Russia lost one-quarter of its t

Jul 16, 2015

The Three Rings of Conflict – Part 2 of the World War IV Series

In this five-part series, I explore the development and scope of what I have termed World War IV. This series is based on my presentation at the CDA Institute Roundtable “Knocking on the Door of World War IV,” held in Ottawa on 10 June 2015. Three major areas of conflict – or what might be called rings of conflict – dominate contemporary political and strategic developments. On how they develop and interact hinge the prospects for world peace in the face of a possible World

Feb 4, 2015

In the Aftermath of the Paris Killings

More than new security measures will be necessary if Western countries are going to have any prospect of reducing the threat of terrorism of the kind on display in Paris. The mass murders in Paris on 7 January, plus a flood of other similarly inspired actions by jihadists in France and in several other western countries in their aftermath, have been followed by calls for further-reaching measures to monitor potential terrorists and neutralise them before they go into action.

Jul 28, 2014

A War Too Far: Israel’s Military Campaign in Gaza

This blog originally appeared on the website of the Centre for Security Governance on 28 July 2014. Since its establishment in 1948, Israel has fought seven regional wars, has had to deal with two intifadas – and now possibly a third – as well as three localised conflicts in and around Gaza after abandoning the territory in 2005. There is not another country in the world that has had to contend with anything even remotely similar. Commentary on the latest conflict between Isr

David M Law

The Way I See it

David M Law

The Way I See it