ISN and Partners October 2012

This newsletter offers you information on the latest developments at the International Relations and Security Network (ISN) and its partner institutions. Learn more about our newest services and discover the latest reports published on the ISN website. ISN News Area of Focus at the ISN: A World of Security Concerns News from ISN Partners CSS International Peacekeeping in Africa: Actors and Missions IGES Recruitment of Research Staff for the Sixth Phase Strategic Research Programme Swisspeace Annual Conference 2012 ORG Completes its Two-Year Study into Casualty Recording Practice Worldwide DIE Conference - Managing Economic Rents for the Green Transformation EWI 9th Annual Worldwide Security Conference UNRISD Call for Papers and Symposium: Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy Latest ISN Dossiers Safeguarding Cyber-Security, Fighting in Cyberspace Water Security in a Changing World Understanding the 'Energy Weapon' The Challenge of Global Food Insecurity A Selection of the Latest Publications in the ISN Digital Library The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest The Senaku Islands - Between a Rock and a Hard Place Creating a Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation

ISN News
Area of Focus at the ISN: 'A World of Security Concerns' We are currently coming towards the end of Part 3 of the Editorial Plan, where we continue to tackle the question that, given the structural changes and shifting power dynamics that are occurring throughout the globe, how should we perceive the security-related issues that are most familiar to us? In the upcoming final two weeks we will address intelligence issues and commerce, sanctions and security issues.

News from ISN Partners

CSS International Peacekeeping in Africa: Actors and Missions The Center for Security Studies (CSS) will hold a conference from 23-24 November 2012 on International Peacekeeping in Africa, with a particular focus on current actors and missions. Over the last decades, the African continent has witnessed a marked increase in peacekeeping missions and the number of actors involved in them. In turn, these increases have led to new and diverse types of peacekeeping operations. This conference seeks to analyze these developments, both in their entirety and comparatively, in order to identify the most significant challenges and trends that international peacekeepers face in Africa today. For further information, please visit the conference website. IGES Recruitment of Research Staff for the Sixth Phase Strategic Research Programme The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) conducts interdisciplinary policy research to support sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region. From April 2013, IGES will begin its Sixth Phase Strategic Research Programme and seeks a number of dynamic individuals with extensive knowledge and experience to carry out several activities highlighted on the IGES website. Swisspeace Annual Conference 2012 The swisspeace Annual Conference 2012 on 20 Novermber 2012 brings together local representatives and

international actors from government agencies, international organizations and NGOs to discuss the interplay between external interventions and locally led initiatives in peacebuilding and development. The annual conference explores what local ownership means from local and international perspectives. It focuses on linkages between these different levels and promotes critical reflection on the roles of local and international actors. Rendering discussion more concrete, these topical debates are contextualized in a case study on the peace processes in Myanmar. For further information, please visit the swisspeace website. ORG Completes its Two-Year Study into Casualty Recording Practice Worldwide The Oxford Research Group (ORG) has completed its two-year study into casualty recording practice worldwide. Violent deaths in conflict should and can be recorded, the new study has found - the largest ever research project into casualty recording practice. The study, authored by Elizabeth Minor, Research Officer on the Documenting Existing Casualty Recording Practice Worldwide project, investigates the work of 40 casualty recorder groups and individuals, based in different conflict and post-conflict environments. It shows that, despite widespread neglect, recording casualties is entirely practicable. DIE Conference Managing Economic Rents for the Green Transformation The German Development Institute (DIE) hosts the conference Managing Economic Rents for the Green Transformation which aims to explore the challenge of mobilizing 'green' long-term investments under conditions of uncertainty about future technologies and markets. The conference takes place on 6-7 November in Bonn and will focus on how governments can manage the process of incentivizing green investments in such a way that minimizes political capture and information asymmetries. The conference brings together academics, policy makers and practitioners to share insights into and evidence of effective and efficient policies. For further information, please visit the DIE website. EWI 9th Annual Worldwide Security Conference The EastWest Institute's (EWI) 9th Worldwide Security Conference will bring together some 400 high-level policy makers, business and investment executives and public opinion leaders from all over the world to brainstorm on the theme of economic security with a particular focus on energy-water-food, and deliberate on practical breakthroughs. The choice of this year's theme of the conference reflects the critical importance both of economic security in the 21st century and of the broad region of Southwest Asia and the Middle East - in light of the withdrawal of NATO troops from Afghanistan by 2014 and the changes in the region this will trigger. For further information please visit the EWI website. UNRISD Call for Papers and Symposium: Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) invites researchers to submit proposals for papers that critically examine the scope for expanding social and solidarity economy (SSE), and its potential and limits as a distinctive approach to development. For more information, please visit the UNRISD website.

Latest ISN Dossiers

Dossiers provide a compilation of original articles, podcasts and multimedia features on topics from the ISN Editorial Plan. Presenting additional readings and related resources, dossiers also serve as an entry point to the ISN's vast digital content holdings. Safeguarding Cyber-Security, Fighting in Cyberspace Linking cyber-security with national security is a relatively new phenomenon. In this dossier we analyze the increasing securitization of cyberspace and ask a fundamental question has the era of cyber-warfare finally arrived or does the concept remain more fantasy than reality? Water Security in a Changing World Water is becoming an increasingly precious commodity in a world affected by climate change, environmental degradation and other border-defying problems. In this dossier we focus on international efforts to safeguard water security. Understanding the 'Energy Weapon' In this dossier we consider how states use their energy resources to gain a degree of geopolitical leverage in an oil and gas-hungry world.

The Challenge of Global Food Insecurity Safeguarding access to food is now generally perceived to be a major security issue. In this dossier we analyze the causes of food insecurity, how its growth impacts regional political dynamics, and what steps we might take to alleviate its side effects.

A Selection of the Latest Publications in the ISN Digital Library

German Development Institute (DIE) The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest More DIE Discussion Papers

Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA) The Senaku Islands Between a Rock and a Hard Place More from FIIA (UPI) Comments

Center for Global Development (CGD) Creating a Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation More CGD Essays

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International Relations and Security Network (ISN) - Managing information, sharing knowledge. www.isn.ethz.ch The ISN is a service of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich). If you would like to change your subscription profile, please do so at: http://www.isn.ethz.ch/Services/Newsletters. If you are an ISN partner and would like to republish your news with us, please send us an email. Contacts: List moderator ISN Main Office