#NationalRegionalGovernanceandSecurity

Aug 3, 2017

President Trump in Europe: how to discredit and dismantle an Alliance

At the G20 Summit that took place in Hamburg on 7-8 July, Presidents Putin and Trump met on at least three occasions. Two of them were rather typical for this kind of event, the third not at all. The first was not really a meeting, just a handshake at the opening session. The second saw the Russian and American Presidents holding a bilateral. As is typical of this kind of event, the two leaders were seconded by their respective foreign ministers and supported by their interpr

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

Oct 28, 2016

Canada in Africa: integrating SSR into peace and stabilization strategies

The Government of Canada recently unveiled its approach for supporting peace operations in Africa under the name Peace and Stabilization Operations Program (PSOPs) There is plenty that is good about this initiative. First, it has the potential to carry forward the excellent work that was carried out by the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force (START), a similar programme that was initiated by a Liberal Government in 2005 and subsequently maintained by successive Conser

Oct 8, 2016

Canada in CAR ?

This blog originally appeared under the title of “Towards a Canadian Return to Peacekeeping: Part 3 – Exploring Canada’s options for a peace and stabilization mission in the Central African Republic (CAR)." The Central African Republic is one of the four countries that are presently being considered for a Canadian peacekeeping mission. The others are Mali, whereas in the case of CAR there is currently no Canadian presence, as well as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and S

Aug 25, 2016

Putin and Erdogan Do a Deal (sort of)

On 15 August, the Russian and Turkish Presidents met in St Petersburg. This was their first encounter since their two countries’ bilateral relations went very seriously south after Turkey shot down a Russian jet in November 2015. The two leaders made all sorts of nice noises about their commitment to repairing their relations after the fall-out of recent months. But it was clear that Putin, interested in wresting Turkey from its western moorings of now well over half a centur

Aug 3, 2016

Coup, Counter-coup, Consequences – Part 4: Where do Turkey’s relations with the West go from here?

In the wake of the coup, Erdogan has thrown down gauntlets to the US and the EU that they will have difficulty picking up. First, Erdogan has demanded the extradition of Fethullah Gulen arguing that he instigated the coup of 15 July. The US is demanding proof. A Minister in the Turkish government has accused Washington of complicity in the coup. Another cabinet member has likened Gulen to Bin Laden. He did not evoke Islamic State (IS) but he could have. At the same time, ther

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 28, 2016

Coup, Counter-coup, Consequences – Part 1: The Remarkable Rise of Recip Erdogan

Against the backdrop of the coup in Turkey, this blog looks at the impressive ascendency of the Turkish President. It is the first in a four-part series. Turkish President Recip Erdogan has had nothing less than a scintillating political career. From very humble beginnings, this erstwhile semi-professional football player was Mayor of Istanbul (a city of some fifteen million people) from 1994 to 1998, then Prime Minister of Turkey (a country of almost eighty million) for more

Jun 14, 2016

The Future of the European Union: A Brexit wrecks it?

Some thoughts on the impact of a Brexit victory for the future of the European Union. The UK referendum on whether Great Britain stays in the European Union (EU) would be an exacting test for the Union under any strategic circumstances. Coming as it does at a time when EU members are engaged in a number of regional wars, overwhelmed by refugee flows, and only gingerly recovering from a colossal financial crisis, Brexit could be the straw that breaks the Union’s back. Great B

Jun 13, 2016

Ukraine and the Sino-Russian Relationship

How will the relationship between Russia and China affect the future trajectory of Ukraine? This article will appear in a book on the militarization of Russian foreign policy, to be published by the McGill University Press in the fall of 2016. Introduction A young state, founded only in 1991 as the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine has since gone from one crisis to another. Its growth pains assumed a new quality in 2014, however, with Russia’s seizure of Crimea and the incurs

Sep 2, 2015

Trumping the Donald

Think what you may of Donald Trump – buffoon, demagogue, or political neophyte – he has touched some important nerves in the American body politic. As a billionaire, he is independent of big interests’ big money that seeks to capture the agenda of the Republican candidates on their way to the nomination and in the process hijack the political debate as it moves beyond the primaries to the presidential contest. He can therefore attack without a second thought one of the most i

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

Jul 15, 2015

What’s in a World War? From World War I to the new Cold War – Part 1 of the World War IV Series

In this five-part series, Centre for Security Governance Senior Fellow David Law – who is a CDA Instiute Security & Defence Blogger – explores the development and scope of what he terms World War IV. This series is based on David Law’s presentation at the CDA Institute Roundtable “Knocking on the Door of World War IV,” held in Ottawa on 10 June 2015. The Ukraine crisis has given rise to the view that we may be entering a new Cold War. The use of this term raises all sorts of

Apr 23, 2015

The End of the Sanctions Regime against Russia?

Does a statement by the head of French Military Intelligence before the Assemblée nationale presage a change in Paris’s support for the sanctions regime against Russia? On 25 March, the head of France’s Directorate of Military Intelligence (DRM), General Christophe Gomart, made a statement before France’s L’Assemblée Nationale that may spell the end of the sanctions regime against Russia. This statement has just recently been made public. General Gomart stated the following (

Feb 18, 2015

Getting Ready for President Putin’s Successor

Picture from the website www.funnyordie.com This blog was carried on the website of the Security Governance Group on 17 February 2015. Russian President Putin is a crafty operator but he has several albatrosses around his neck. Western politicians need to take this into account when developing their policy responses. They also need to be thinking about how to best shape the post-Putin era. President Putin’s current mandate runs out in 2018. It has long been expected that he w

David M Law

The Way I See it

David M Law

The Way I See it