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This Week at the ISN

Our Weekly Content Roundup

21 - 25 March

JUMP TO Editorial Plan | Security Watch | Blog | Video

// Security Watch

This week, our first Security Watch (SW) series features the articles included in the 2016 edition of the CSS Strategic
Trends series. The articles focus on the renationalization of European defense cooperation; the EUs outsourcing of its
border controls; the power politics China and the US are playing in Asia; a nuclear world thats out of (arms) control; and a
global energy order that is in unprecedented flux. Then, in our second SW series, we look at the roles of warlords and
militias in the Central African Republic; cross-strait stability after the 2016 Taiwanese elections; the splintering of Middle
Eastern states; the relationship between EU intelligence capabilities and European security; and the pressing need to
stabilize Libya.

The Renationalization of European Defense Cooperation

21 March 2016

Its commonly assumed that when it comes to cooperating on defense matters, European governments should be directed
by NATO and the EU. Daniel Keohane doesnt agree. As he sees it, national governments continue to drive European
defense cooperation and will ultimately determine its success. More

The Motivations of Warlords and the Role of Militias in the Central African Republic (CAR)
21 March 2016

Characterizing the 2013-2015 violence in the CAR as a Muslim-Christian confrontation is simplistic, erroneous and nave,
argues Wendy Isaacs-Martin. What really happened is that self-aggrandizing militias formed and abandoned temporary
coalitions in order to gain political authority, visibility and wealth. More

Borderline Practices Irregular Migration and EU External Relations

22 March 2016

What are the dangers of trying to blunt the current mass migration toward Europe? The CSS Lisa Watanabe worries that
by enlisting the help of third countries, the EU may have to make policy concessions that are not only at odds with its
values and normative agenda, but also place the rights of migrants at risk. More

Time to Start Worrying Again? Cross-Strait Stability after the 2016 Taiwanese Elections
22 March 2016

Under the leadership of Ma Ying-jeou, Taiwans relations with China experienced eight years of stability. Indeed, the two
countries signed 23 non-political accords, established hotlines and extended other commercial and semi-official ties.
According to Sheryn Lee and Ben Schreer, such comity may now come to an end. More

Power Politics in (Eur)Asia

23 March 2016

As Prem Mahadevan sees it, when it comes to Chinas maritime disputes in Southeast Asia, Beijing feels confident
enough to pursue its own version of hybrid warfare. Thats because it believes Western security establishments are more
preoccupied with Russia than its own ambitions. Ah, but does this assumption apply to the United States? More

The End is Nigh

23 March 2016

According to Yossef Bodansky, the mega-trends in the Middle East namely, the rise of a Fertile Crescent of Minorities,
the collapse of modern Arab states, and the ascent of tribe-and clan-based local entities in their stead have reached the
point of irreversibility. As a result, he believes Russia will be the big geopolitical winner in the region. More

A Nuclear World Out of (Arms) Control

24 March 2016

For EU Eyes Only? Intelligence and European Security

24 March 2016

Every time a new threat to European security emerges, there are calls for more intelligence cooperation. Too often,
however, these calls underestimate the obstacles involved, overestimate the expected benefits, and overlook the
structures already in place. Thats why Bjrn Fgersten believes there are three ways in which the EU might respond.
More

An Energy World Order in Flux

25 March 2016

Volatile commodity prices, new technologies, changing market patterns and greater flexibility in energy relations have
transformed the role of energy in our world. According to Severin Fischer, the transformation has also undermined our
traditional expectations of how energy shapes our foreign and security policies. More

A Stable Libya Would Close the Door to Daesh

25 March 2016

Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, everything has seemed to conspire against Libyas democratic transition,
including the unwillingness of European countries to intervene militarily in the troubled country. Thats a mistake, argues
Giovanni Faleg, especially given the instability thats being spread by local jihadists. More

// Blog

Plans to Retake Mosul from ISIS Reveal Theres More at Stake than a City
21 March 2016

According to Andre Colling, Mosul lies in close proximity to several states and territories, including Iraq, Iran, Turkey,
Syria, and the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government. Whoever eventually controls the city will have a leg up on all
the other players, especially when you consider the border security and foreign policy problems they now face. More

Making Russia Think Twice about Nuclear Threats

22 March 2016

Is it time for Russia to reconsider its policy of using the language and practice of nuclear force to coerce and
intimidate others? Paul Bernstein believes so. The saber-rattling is obviously heightening Moscows strategic competition
with the West, intensifying its own risks, and damaging its own interests.
More

Enver Hoxha: The Lunatic Who Took Over the Asylum

23 March 2016

Between 1944 and 1985, the small Balkan nation of Albania was ruled by an Iron-fisted, sociopathic and, frankly,
completely mad dictator named Enver Hoxha. Today, Alex Sakalis reviews the first proper biography of the dictator who
was a bigger Stalinist than Stalin. More

Sanctioning the DPRK? This Time Its All about Implementation Not Design
24 March 2016

Its doubtful that extended sanctions will produce the outcomes key stakeholders want to achieve against North Korea,
argues Catherine Jones. Shes also not convinced that the measures reached between China and the US represent a
landmark agreement between the two countries. More

Increase, Dont Decrease, Marine Lethality

25 March 2016

Bing and Owen West are not fond of US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. They believe he is a hopeless ideologue that
is hell-bent on fully integrating women into the US Marine Corps infantry units. Such ideological overreach, the Wests
opine, cant help but do grave harm to Americas battlefield ferocity. More

// Video

Europe, the EU and Security

In this video, Nathalie Tocci focuses on the EUs pending Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy, which is
scheduled to be completed by June 2016. Among other things, Tocci discusses the politics behind the new strategy and
the policy issues that are currently being debated.
More

Kristin Lund on Gender, Peace and Conflict

In todays video, Major General Kristin Lund, the Force Commander of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus,
discusses the impact of gender issues on peacekeeping and peacemaking, and the role of the state in recruiting and
deploying women in peacekeeping roles.
More

Will there be Water Wars?

In todays video, Georgetown University's Paul Giordano argues that the probability of water wars occurring between
states is much lower than people think. That's because water cooperation is actually the norm.
More

// Multimedia Content
Here is a selection of this week's additions to the ISN Digital
Library:

Publications More
// Survive and Advance: The Economics of Smuggling Refugees and Migrants into Europe More
// A Sisyphean Task? Resuming Turkey-PKK Peace Talks
More
// China's Hidden Obstacles to Socioeconomic Rebalancing More
// The Future of the WTO after the Nairobi Ministerial Conference More
// New Kids on the CFSP Block: The JHA Agencies
More
// A Strategic Strangulation Campaign for North Korea: Is the International Community Ready for What May Come Next?
More

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