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World Investment Report 2010 – UNCTAD

Global foreign direct investment (FDI) witnessed a modest, but uneven recovery in the first half of 2010. This sparks some cautious optimism for FDI prospects in the short run and for a full recovery further on. UNCTAD expects global inflows to reach more than $1.2 trillion in 2010, rise further to $1.3–1.5 trillion in 2011,… »

Economic and Social Survey of Asia and the Pacific 2010 – UNESCAP

Even at the height of this crisis, Asia and the Pacific displayed a new-found resilience. Its developing economies achieved an annual growth rate of 4.0%, making it the fastest-growing region in the world, thanks to growth in China and India at 8.7% and 7.2%, respectively. However, the rest of Asia-Pacific’s developing economies contracted in 2009… »

Tracking Chinese Investment: Western Hemisphere Now Top Target – Heritage Foundation

China has at least $2.5 trillion in foreign exchange and must, due to its own balance of payments rules, invest it all overseas. Most unavoidably goes into American bonds, the only market big enough to absorb it. However, since the beginning of 2005, the PRC has invested almost $200 billion in foreign assets outside bonds…. »

Mexico-U.S. Relations: Issues for Congress – CRS

(PDF) – In recent years, U.S.-Mexican relations have grown stronger as the two countries have worked together to combat drug trafficking and secure their shared border. The 111th Congress has maintained an active interest in Mexico with counternarcotics, border, and trade issues dominating the agenda. To date, Congress has appropriated some $1.3 billion in assistance… »

Pandemic Preemption. A U.S. Strategy for Infectious Disease Control – USIP

The spread of old and new infectious diseases constitutes both a threat to U.S. and global security and peace and an opportunity for the United States to burnish its international image through strengthening foreign capacity in infectious disease surveillance and response. Despite an increase in overall U.S. expenditures on global public health, U.S. policy is… »

Mekong Tipping Point: Hydropower Dams, Human Security and Regional Stability – Stimson Center

The October 1991 Paris Peace Accords on Cambodia closed the book on four decades of bitter conflict in the Mekong region of Southeast Asia. The Accords created new opportunities for broad-based economic and social development based on reconstruction, renewal and regional economic development in the 795,000 square kilometer Mekong River Basin, sometimes called the… »

The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China’s Military – SSI

The chapters presented in this volume have demonstrated first, Chinese and PLA leaders have a strong sense of mission and concern for China’s security and well-being. Second, the PLA is committed to the transformation in military affairs with Chinese characteristics. Third, the PLA is eager to learn from the U.S. military to expand and improve… »

The Role of Pipelines in Regional Cooperation – Brookings Institution

Natural resources, such as oil and gas, are commonly viewed as catalysts of conflict. Because individuals, ethnic groups, and governments often see control of scarce resources through the lens of a zero-sum game, they compete with each other over ownership. Competition can easily spill into conflict. For this reason, it may seem odd to ask… »

International Statistics on Crime and Justice – HEUNI/UNODC

HEUNI Report series contains a number of studies, seminar reports, and other material on developments in crime and criminal justice in Europe and North… »

The Newly Emerging Arctic Security Environment – Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute (CDFAI)

(PDF) – The Arctic is changing and, as a result, is garnering unprecedented international interest.
With warming temperatures, melting ice and greater accessibility to resources in the region, concerns for security in the region are at the forefront of the Arctic states’ attempts to maintain their foothold in the Arctic. All of the Arctic states –… »

Why Palestinians Will Not Hold Elections, at Least for Now – CEIP

Only seven hours remained until the deadline to submit electoral lists to the Central Elections Commission on June 10 when the Palestinian Authority (PA) called off the local council elections scheduled to take place in July. The PA justified its abrupt decision by claiming that such elections could derail a possible reconciliation with the Islamic… »

The EEAS and the EU-India Strategic Partnership – IDSA

In early July the European Parliament approved the formation of a European External Action Service (EEAS) with an overwhelming majority. The nascent but ambitious EEAS primarily aims to achieve coherence and coordination in the bloc’s foreign policy. It would host an expert’s pool by bringing in desk officers working at the European Commission, area experts… »

Russian Analytical Digest No. 82: The Russian Far East

(PDF) – in this issue:
*Putin Is Turning Vladivostok into Russia’s Pacific Capital

*Population Statistics of the Russian Far East

*Russian Opinions on Vigilante Killings of Members of the Militia in… »

Cocaine and Instability in Africa: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean – Africa Center for Strategic Studies

(PDF) – The dollar value of cocaine trafficked through West Africa has risen rapidly and surpassed all other illicit commodities smuggled in the subregion. Experience from Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrates that cocaine traffic contributes to dramatically higher levels of violence and instability. Co-opting key government officials is the preferred modus operandi of Latin… »

The Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization: Origin, Development and Outlook – ADB Institute

This paper discusses the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM); its origin, development and future outlook. It puts forward a number of proposals to make the liquidity support role of the CMIM more effective. It is further argued that the CMIM can bring about major changes to the policy institutional infrastructure of the East Asia region,… »

Lack of Transparency in Russian Energy Trade – CSIS

A major challenge to the new democracies of Central Europe is the corruption and lack of transparency in the importing of oil and natural gas from Russia and other energy producing states once part of the Soviet Union. This situation also undermines good governance and ethical business practices in the large and wealthier countries of… »

Ugandans Edgy Over US Move Against LRA – IWPR

As Washington prepares to unveil a strategy aimed at neutralising the Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA, many in northern Uganda are mindful of how past attempts to deal a knock-out blow to the rebel movement have succeeded only in increasing instability in the region. While welcoming greater support in apprehending Joseph Kony,the leader of… »

Cyber ShockWave: Simulation Report and Findings – Bipartisan Policy Center

(PDF) On February 16, 2010, a bipartisan group of former senior administration and national security officials participated in a simulated cyber attack on the United States—Cyber ShockWave. The simulation, which was moderated by Wolf Blitzer and broadcast as a special on CNN, provided an unprecedented look at how the government would respond to a large-scale… »

A transatlantic defence market, forever elusive? – CER

(PDF) – EU member-states and the US would benefit from more open defence markets across the Atlantic. Military forces would find it easier to co-operate in the field, governments could pay less for defence goods, and the transatlantic relationship would be strengthened. But markets remain fragmented. States are often more concerned with creating jobs than… »

U.S. Drone Activities in Pakistan – CFR

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often referred to as drones, have become increasingly important in U.S. efforts to strike militants in Pakistani regions bordering Afghanistan. In its first eighteen months, the Obama administration authorized more drone attacks in Pakistan than its predecessor did over two terms. Although targeting terror suspects with UAVs in official combat areas… »

Squeezing Iran: Oil and sanctions – Bbc

Sanctions were imposed by the US after the seizure of American hostages in the aftermath of the revolution, and the 1980 Iran-Iraq war. In recent years a fresh wave of UN sanctions has attempted to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But what effect have these measures actually had on the country and its… »

The Development Fund for Iraq / July 27, 2010 – SIGIR

(PDF) – Weaknesses in DoD’s financial and management controls left it unable to properly account for $8.7 billion of the $9.1 billion in DFI funds it received for reconstruction activities in Iraq. This situation occurred because most DoD organizations receiving DFI funds did not establish the required Department of the Treasury accounts and no DoD… »

Israel is impeding Palestinian forces’ training, says US – the Independent

Israeli-caused delays to the transfer of weapons, radios, vehicles, helmets and other equipment are hampering American efforts to train Palestinian security forces in the West Bank, according to an official report by Washington’s Government Accountability Office (GAO). Despite Israel’s own public praise of the enhanced effectiveness of security forces deployed by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority,… »

China Building Africa’s Economic Infrastructure: SEZs and Railroads – China Brief

Chinese policymakers see in Africa possible solutions to some of China’s most pressing problems, for instance, Beijing’s need to secure access to energy resources and other vital minerals to sustain the country’s rapid economic growth. Yet Chinese interests in Africa extend beyond energy resources and minerals and clearly include markets, infrastructure development and agriculture. China’s… »

Caucasian Review of International Affairs (CRIA) VOL. 4 (2) – SPRING 2010

in this issue:
Russian Energy Politics and the EU: How to Change the Paradigm

*Authoritarianism and Foreign Policy: The Twin Pillars of Resurgent Russia

*The Georgia Crisis: A New Cold War on the Horizon?

*Enforceability of a Common Energy Supply Security Policy in the EU: Intergovernmentalist Assesement

*“Assembling” a Civic Nation in Kazakhstan: The Nation-Building Role of… »

Interactive Map: Leaders of Pakistan’s Militant Groups – Center for American Progress

Pakistan faces a formidable array of militant groups concentrated in the semi-governed Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA, and Northwest Frontier Province, or NWFP, along the country’s Afghan border. This map, based on a survey of available, open-source reporting, displays major leaders of different militant groups and coalitions attacking into Afghanistan and… »

Kyrgyzstan receives donor pledges of $1.1bn to rebuild – Bbc

International donors have pledged $1.1bn (£643m) in aid to Kyrgyzstan at a conference in Bishkek.
The money will be used to fund reconstruction in the Central Asian state following deadly ethnic violence in the south last… »

Venezuelan ambassador presents letter on Colombia to U.N. – CNN

The Venezuelan ambassador to the United Nations brought his country’s complaints about neighbor Colombia to the U.N. secretary-general Monday in the form of a letter explaining his government’s decisions. Venezuela has cut diplomatic relations with Colombia and accused its government of letting decades-long internal strife spill over its… »

US involvement only complicates South China Sea issue – China Daily

The United States has played up the South China Sea issue again in the international arena. At the ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Hanoi last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked at length about US “national interests” in the South China Sea. Hintting there is what she called “coercion” in the… »

Iran nuclear sanctions by EU unacceptable, says Russia – Bbc

Russia has branded EU sanctions against Iran as “unacceptable”, saying they undermine international efforts to rein in Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The European Union on Monday adopted new sanctions targeting Iran’s foreign trade, banking and energy… »

After Revealing Afghan War Secrets, Wikileaks Prepares Document Dumps on Iraq and Diplomacy – Newsweek

Two sources familiar with material currently in the hands of Wikileaks, who asked for anonymity when discussing sensitive information, said on Monday that the next subject to be featured in media revelations based on documents leaked to Wikileaks was likely to be U.S. conduct of the Iraq War. The sources indicated the type of material… »

Turkey Steps Up Support for Strategic Azerbaijani Exclave of Nakhchivan – EurasiaNet

Longtime Azerbaijani ally Turkey appears to be taking on a larger role in supporting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an Azerbaijani exclave sandwiched between Armenia and Iran. The first steps in this intensified cooperation are taking shape just months after plans for rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia went into cold storage. Turkey, which shares an 11-kilometer… »

“Free Trade in Natural Resources Bad for Development” – IPS

While some believe that restrictions on natural resource exports should be done away with, this could cause an increase in such exports that would be detrimental to the environment and bad for development. Many African countries follow the strategy of exporting as much as they can and, since they are uncompetitive in manufactures and services,… »

Despite rift, Israel-Turkey contacts march on – Washington Post

Trade between Israel and Turkey surged in the first half of this year, Israel just lifted a warning on travel to Turkey and an Israeli volleyball team trained in the Turkish capital on Friday ahead of a regional tournament. Do these positive signals suggest the softening of a dispute that deepened after Israel’s deadly raid… »

India’s Nuclear Push: The Conflicts Within – Asia Sentinel

After years of years of negotiations and sustained backing from the US government to find acceptance as a global nuclear power, India’s plans to go nuclear for a major share of its energy production are in limbo, stalled by the refusal of the Lok Sabha, the country’s lower house of parliament, to pass legislation limiting… »

Could Egypt and Sudan’s 55-year feud be over? – the Nation

Egypt and Sudan are weighing plans to create a co-operative economic zone in Egypt’s southern Halaib Triangle, an underdeveloped and impoverished region that both governments have quietly feuded over for years. The long-simmering dispute over the triangle, a 20,580-sq-km region wedged between Sudan and the Red Sea, came to the fore again on June… »

Iran’s Mini-Empire At The U.N. – Forbes

Iran, despite being under four sets of binding sanctions resolutions by the U.N. Security Council, has learned to manipulate the institution in ways that make a mockery not only of the U.N. itself, but also of U.S. claims of diplomatic competence. Rarely remarked upon, but even more appalling than Iran’s beachhead on the women’s rights… »

France upgrades diplomatic ties with Palestinians – Washington Post

France is upgrading its diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Territories to try to spur international efforts toward creating a Palestinian state, the French foreign minister said. Bernard Kouchner said the Palestinian diplomatic representation in France – which was called a “delegation” and headed by a “general delegate” – will henceforth be considered a “mission” headed… »

Push for Serbia EU accession speed-up in wake of Kosovo court ruling – EU Observer

A number of EU states are in favour of speeding up Serbia’s EU accession process in the wake of Belgrade’s loss at the International Court of Justice over Kosovo’s declaration of independence. The foreign ministers of Italy, Slovakia and Austria pushed for such a move heading into Monday’s meeting of EU foreign ministers, the… »

Hamas leader says group considering Gaza draft – Ap

The top security official in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Tuesday he is considering setting up a bigger military force, first with volunteers and eventually with conscripts as well. Such a step could further tighten Hamas’ control of Gaza and deepen the rift with the group’s Western-backed rivals in the West Bank. Hamas seized Gaza by force… »

The Russian-Iranian road map – the Hindu

The mixed signals on Iran that Russia has been sending in recent days have puzzled many western analysts. A little over a month after it went along with the United States in supporting tougher sanctions on Iran, Moscow signed a framework pact on wide-ranging cooperation with Tehran in hydrocarbons and announced a similar plan for… »

Afghanistan’s Other War: Army vs. Police – Mother Jones

Reading through the trove of documents released by WikiLeaks Sunday, one could come away with the impression that members of Afghanistan’s discipline-challenged security forces spend more time fighting each other than they do the Taliban. Among the 92,000 documents released by the group are dozens of reports detailing so-called “green-on-green” incidents, the military’s term for… »

Gaza is a prison camp, says David Cameron – Telegraph

David Cameron has described Gaza as a ”prison camp” and appealed to the Israeli Government to allow the free flow of humanitarian goods and people in and out of the Palestinian territory. Mr Cameron’s comments came during a visit to Turkey. Speaking in Ankara, the Prime Minister denounced the attack on the flotilla as… »

Why India needs Myanmar on its side – Rediff

Senior General Than Shwe, Myanmar’s head of State, is currently on his second visit to India in six years. He comes at a time the international community has initiated the first steps to gradually open up to Myanmar and elections are due in that country later this year. India’s relations with Myanmar, a devoutly Buddhist… »

Let’s hope that China and the United States won’t miscalculate – the Daily Star

For several years, the United States has pressed China to revalue its currency. They complain that the undervalued renminbi represents unfair competition, destroying American jobs, and contributing to the United States’ trade deficit. How, then, should US officials respond? Just before the recent G-20 meeting in Toronto, China announced a formula that would allow modest… »

The Seditious Ahmadinejad? – the Diplomat

Between 2005 and the presidential elections of 2009, this battle was fought mainly between ultra conservatives (who supported President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad) and reformists, ultra conservatives and moderate conservatives, and then again between ultra conservatives and reformists. Yet because the main issue revolves around the Supreme Leader himself, such debates have generally been held behind closed… »

Mitt Romney’s dangerous game – the Week

The new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) signed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev faces stiff resistance in the Senate and from leading figures in the Republican Party. Despite overwhelming support from the military and past Republican national security advisers, secretaries of defense and arms control experts, conservative hawks have targeted the treaty for defeat -… »

U.S. reasserts its presence in Asia – the Globe and Mail

While Washington is working with its Asian partners to deter North Korea, it’s also using the current situation to reassert its presence in Asia, despite a rising China and a widespread perception of American decline. Not only is the U.S. taking part in military drills off eastern China, it’s also asserting its interests in the… »

Kabul War Diary – Wikileaks

WikiLeaks today released over 75,000 secret US military reports covering the war in Afghanistan.
The Afghan War Diary an extraordinary secret compendium of over 91,000 reports covering the war in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2010. The reports describe the majority of lethal military actions involving the United States military. They include the number of persons… »

The United States Announces Phase II of the Signature Energy Program for Pakistan – US Department of State

After the bilateral Strategic Dialogue meeting in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced Phase II of the U.S. Signature Energy Program for Pakistan that will provide an additional $60 million for seven projects to be implemented by USAID, the U.S. Trade & Development Agency (USTDA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and… »