This Week at ISN

4 - 8 Feb 2013 Intrastate conflicts and civil wars have replaced inter-state wars as the dominant forms of organized violence that shape our world. What factors explain the upsurge in intrastate violence and how have actors attempted to resolve them?

Managing Civil Wars and Intrastate Conflict

Intrastate Conflict: Data, Trends and Drivers
04 Feb 2013

Over the decades, inter-state warfare has been overtaken by intrastate conflicts and civil wars as the most common forms of political violence worldwide. But just what are these forms of violence? In this piece, we look at different ways to define them and consider some of the underlying reasons they occur. More When Passion Dries Out, Reason Takes Control
05 Feb 2013

What can motivational psychology teach us about the role of passion and reason in civil or intrastate wars? In this Special Feature, Thomas Tranekaer tries to connect the dots and explain the very human impulses that animate these types of conflict. More The Role of Religion in Civil Wars
06 Feb 2013

Religion often plays an important role in civil wars but is it ever the precipitating cause behind them? As he explains in this Questions and Answers, the CSS's Owen Frazer doesn't think so. He sees (and describes) an interplay of factors that drive civil conflicts. More The Role of Ethnicity in Civil Conflicts
07 Feb 2013

While ethnicity is often cited as an important precipitating factor in many civil wars, it doesn't necessarily explain the persistence of violence between ethnic groups. In this Special Feature, we explore the roles economic inequality and political power struggles play in fanning civil strife. More Ending Civil War
08 Feb 2013

What's the best way to end civil wars and intrastate conflict? While Stefan Wolff argues that effective leadership, diplomacy and institutional design offer the best chances for peace, Monica Duffy Toft disagrees. She believes that military victories lead to better long-term results More

Security Watch
NATO Demise Redux?
04 Feb 2013

Many commentators continue to worry that the US pivot towards Asia will make NATO more irrelevant. Stephen M. Saideman is not one of them. He sees the partnership continuing to thrive for three reasons its accumulated knowledge, its unique level of interoperability, and its coalition building capacities. More

The Life of the Party: The UN's Plan for Ivory Coast
05 Feb 2013

It's been two years since the Cte d'Ivoire plunged into a brief but bloody civil war. IPI's Jordan Katz reports on some of the follow-on problems the UN continues to face within the country, particularly when it comes to implementing security sector reforms and other confidence building measures. More Decision Time for Central Asia: Russia or China?
06 Feb 2013

Vladimir Putin's vision of an expanded Eurasian Customs Union poses a dilemma for Central Asia's former Soviet republics do they privilege their relations with Russia or deepen their ties with China? Li Lifan and Raffaello Pantucci consider the problems this dilemma specifically poses for Kyrgyzstan. More North Korea's Armed Forces: All Dressed Up, with Places to Go?
07 Feb 2013

Despite its poverty, North Korea maintains one of the world's largest armed forces. Axel Berkofsky looks at Pyongyang's recent efforts to improve its conventional and asymmetric military capabilities and what they might mean for the security of the Korean Peninsula. More Balancing Austerity with Ambitions: The (Close) Future of French Defense Policy
08 Feb 2013

France has long regarded itself as a leading provider and guarantor of global security. However, the country's uncertain economic future may force Paris to adopt defense policies that are more pragmatic and partnershiporiented, or so argue Pinar Elman and Marcin Terlikowski. More

ISN Blog
The Imperial Dream of the Muslim Brotherhood
04 Feb 2013

The Muslim Brotherhood continues to tighten its grip on Egypt's politics and society. OilPrice.com's Felix Imonti explains why the recent changes to the country's constitution are indeed aligned with the organization's long term strategies and ambitions. More Smart Defense: A Eurosubmarine
05 Feb 2013

Balazs Martonffy believes that France and the United Kingdom should further align their defense strategies together by co-producing a new nuclear submarine. However, formidable domestic political and militaryindustrial forces stand in the way of developing such a joint nuclear deterrent. More The Stakes are Higher for the US in the Transatlantic Trade Deal
06 Feb 2013

Trade negotiations between the US and EU could provide a welcome boost to the fragile economies on both sides of the Atlantic. However, the absence of coherent economic policies in Barack Obamas first term means that it is the US that has most to lose if the talks falter, or so argues Pawe wieboda. More China's Challenge in Northern Myanmar
07 Feb 2013

China has vested economic and political interests in a peaceful and secure Northern Myanmar. According to our partners at STRATFOR, the challenge for Beijing now is to ensure that it maintains its influence over this volatile region in the face of Naypyidaw's growing engagement with the West. More Kenyan Tensions Spark Food Shortage Fears
08 Feb 2013

The political unrest after Kenya's controversial 2007 presidential election had a devastating impact on the country's food production. With a new round of elections scheduled for March 4th, Barnabas Bii reports that many Kenyan farmers are not planting crops out of fear that political violence may return. More

Video
China's Neighbors React to Its Expanding Influence In this video, STRATFORs Rodger Baker analyzes the potential for conflict between China and Japan as well as the growing influence of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. More When the Enemy of My Enemy Is Not My Friend In this video, Kristin Bakke argues that if we are truly to understand the nature of violence in civil wars, we need to focus on how organizations often find themselves battling not only against the state, but also the other supposedly kindred organizations they represent. More How to Raise a Private Army: Mercenaries and International Law In this video, Chaloka Beyani considers the growing importance of private security companies; whether they are de facto "mercenary armies"; and if they are, how they fit (or not) within the regulatory frameworks provided by international law. More

Would you like to link to the ISN? Copy the ISN logo to your website and create a link to (http://www.isn.ethz.ch).

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. Contacts: List moderator ISN Secretariat