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United Nations

Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
Time for a U.N. Peace Enforcement Operation in Northern Ukraine?
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein, Douglas C. Ligor @DougLigor
Apr 27, 2022
Lawfare
Now that the Russian military in Ukraine has retreated north, a de facto cease-fire is in place in Kyiv and central Ukraine. This could present an opportunity for the United Nations to call for a formal cease-fire in reclaimed territory and issue a recommendation to willing states to move into Ukraine with a peacekeeping force.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
Without Reform and Cooperation with China, the International System Cannot Hold
Timothy R. Heath, Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr
Jun 25, 2018
The National Interest
No rule-based international order can survive without Chinese support. Reforms are needed to address Beijing's concerns and provide it with a continued stake in the order. The trick is to decide where compromise is acceptable for U.S. interests and to draw clear lines around principles where it is not.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
A Norm in Crisis: Implications of Persistent Chemical Weapons Use
Natasha Lander
Apr 18, 2018
RealClearDefense
The international community should consider serious options to hold perpetrators of chemical attacks accountable and stop further attacks. These are not easy choices. But the alternative is accepting that long-held norms are crumbling, and the world is sliding back to a time when inhumane tools of war were common.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
The Multilateral Order Makes America Stronger
Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr
Sep 26, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
Skeptics have suggested that U.S. interests and support for the international community are somehow mutually exclusive. In fact, international institutions, rules, and norms have mostly worked in the U.S. interest, not against it. The Trump administration has an opportunity to build on that record with a strong agenda of reform and support.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Sahel Governments Need More Security Assistance
Michael Shurkin
Sep 14, 2017
The Cipher Brief
Developments in the Sahel are cause for alarm. Despite the presence of an active French counterterrorism force and a UN peacekeeping mission, al Qaeda groups are thriving. The region would benefit from approaches that combine police and military operations with economic development and improved governance.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
Regional Action Needed to Prevent Syrian Chemical Attacks
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
May 8, 2017
The Arab Weekly
Action must be taken to deter future use of chemical weapons. Regional leaders could call for the International Criminal Court to indict Assad for war crimes. Also, borders with Syria could be sealed to prevent any of the remaining stocks from leaving the country.
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Peacekeeping and Stability Operations
commentary
U.N. Peacekeeping Is a Good Deal for the U.S.
Heather Peterson
Apr 2, 2017
U.S. News & World Report
Why should America spend taxpayer dollars on foreign peacekeepers when it could use the money to increase the capabilities of its own military? It turns out that U.N. peacekeepers are an incredibly good deal when compared to U.S. forces.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
Holding Bashar al-Assad Accountable for Chemical Weapons Use in Syria
Natasha Lander
Mar 22, 2017
The National Interest
With two no votes from China and Russia, the UN Security Council failed to pass a resolution punishing Syrian officials for their roles in chlorine attacks in 2014 and 2015. Leadership from the United States on this issue could show allies that despite a change in government, the U.S. remains committed to holding those who use chemical weapons accountable.
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Counterterrorism
commentary
Mali's Persistent Jihadist Problem
Christopher S. Chivvis
Jan 12, 2017
The Cipher Brief
The 2013 French intervention in Mali averted an al Qaeda-backed thrust toward the capital of Bamako and reduced the threat from other jihadist groups. To ensure that a new threat does not materialize, France will need staying power and support from its allies.
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Arms Proliferation and Control
commentary
Tracing Firearms and Ammunition
Giacomo Persi Paoli
Sep 9, 2016
Defence Management Review
The marking of firearms and ammunition supports effective tracing by enabling identification and efficient record keeping. But currently there are no mandatory, globally accepted standards that regulate firearms marking.
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Global Security
commentary
Will the New President Risk the Stability of the World?
Michael J. Mazarr @MMazarr
Jun 1, 2016
Newsweek
America's next leader will confront one of the most profound tasks of any post-war U.S. president: reimagining a threatened international order. Mishandled, the challenge could throw world politics into a tailspin. Done right, it could help keep the peace for another half-century.
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Refugees
commentary
A Different Kind of Refugee Crisis
Shelly Culbertson @SC_Culbertson
May 16, 2016
U.S. News & World Report
In Jordan and Lebanon, middle-income countries with robust public sectors where a significant Syrian population may be present for years to come, solutions should be more about supporting the expansion of existing national public services, rather than creating new, internationally run parallel services.
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Data Science
commentary
Tracking Refugees with Biometrics: More Questions Than Answers
Sarah Lovell
Mar 9, 2016
War on the Rocks
Using biometrics in refugee crises is compelling because it gives individuals who have nothing proof of identity even without a government-issued credential like an ID card or passport. But who has rights to the U.N. biometrics database and what is its future?
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Biological Weapons and Warfare
commentary
Russia on the Horns of a Nuclear Dilemma
Daniel M. Gerstein @Daniel_Gerstein
Feb 19, 2016
Foreign Policy Concepts
While the murder of Alexander Litvinenko is a human tragedy, broader concerns about the lowering of WMD norms and violations of international law should be addressed. The use of radioactive matter to kill him represents a serious breach of international agreements.
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Africa
commentary
Africa Succeeds in Meeting Many Long-Term U.N. Development Goals
Mahlet Atakilt Woldetsadik
Dec 7, 2015
The RAND Blog
Over the past decade and half, Africa has made great strides toward meeting the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, eight objectives that included halving extreme poverty rates, providing universal primary education, and ending the spread of HIV/AIDS by 2015.
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commentary
Flirting with Genocide in Burundi: Paying Attention Could Save Lives
Michael Shurkin
Nov 18, 2015
Newsweek
Burundi has been afflicted by political violence since April. President Pierre Nkurunziza, who helped bring peace to the country in the last decade, is risking everything for the sake of staying in power. He is dragging the country backwards after 10 years of progress.
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Libya
commentary
Somalia on the Mediterranean
Christopher S. Chivvis
Feb 19, 2015
Foreign Policy
Libya is as vulnerable to further inroads by ISIS now as Syria was a year ago. What can the United States and its allies do to stop the hemorrhaging? Many options have been debated, but none look very promising.
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Afghanistan
commentary
Victory, Afghan Style
Jonah Blank
Jun 23, 2014
Foreign Affairs
A good outcome in Afghanistan seems less likely now than it did a few weeks ago, but there is still cause for guarded optimism: before this electoral season began, few observers would have guessed that the final showdown would be between a pair of level-headed pro-Western moderates rather than two foul, bloodstained warlords.
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International Diplomacy
commentary
A First Step in Geneva
Alireza Nader
Nov 25, 2013
Foreign Policy
The Geneva agreement is only a first step toward a comprehensive deal but it is an important achievement. Iran's ability to move toward a nuclear weapons breakout capability has been halted in return for limited sanctions relief.
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Libya
commentary
Libya Needs Outside Help to Avoid Perpetual War
Christopher S. Chivvis
Oct 11, 2013
Christian Science Monitor
If steps are not taken to get control of security, there is little hope for Libya's future. Qaddafi's fateful warning that Libya would become a “Somalia on the Mediterranean” without him could come true. The investment that NATO and its partners made in toppling Qaddafi would then be almost entirely wasted.
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Security Cooperation
commentary
Could Norway Be Key to a Future Syria Strike?
Christopher S. Chivvis
Sep 26, 2013
CNN
If Syrian acceptance of the Russia-backed plan that is supposed to see it give up its chemical weapons turns out to be a stalling tactic — as many believe it is — support for strikes from allies like Norway will be all the more important to the White House, writes Christopher S. Chivvis.
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Chemical Weapons and Warfare
commentary
The Hidden Conclusions in the U.N.'s Syria Gas Report
James T. Quinlivan
Sep 25, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
The lethality of the munitions used in Syria point directly to an actor with significant capacities and long experience using chemical weaponry and artillery, writes James T. Quinlivan. And that fingers the notoriously abusive Assad regime, not the outmatched, outgunned and frantically improvising rebels.
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Military Tactics
commentary
Unlearning the Lessons of Iraq
Christopher S. Chivvis
Mar 14, 2013
U.S. News & World Report
Trepidation about boots-on-the-ground engagement has unnecessarily forestalled even small-scale efforts to repair Libya's fractured security environment....Meanwhile, in Syria, the over-learned lessons of Iraq are taking an even more serious toll, writes Christopher Chivvis.
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Iraq
commentary
U.S. Role in Kirkuk Could Promote Peace, Prevent Conflict in Northern Iraq
Larry Hanauer
Nov 5, 2012
The RAND Blog and GlobalSecurity.org
No matter which presidential candidate occupies the White House in January, he should make a concerted effort to address Iraq's most combustible hotspot: the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, writes Larry Hanauer.
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United Nations
commentary
Odd Man Out at Sea
Thad W. Allen, Richard L. Armitage, John J. Hamre
Apr 25, 2011
New York Times
The United States has yet to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. As a result, the U.S., the world's leading maritime power, is at a military and economic disadvantage, write Thad W. Allen, Richard L. Armitage, and John J. Hamre.
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United Nations
commentary
Industry Insights: What's So Hard About Stopping Piracy?
Laurence Smallman
Apr 11, 2011
Earth Imaging Journal
Containing persistent maritime disorder might be more fruitful and could lay the foundations for a successful transition to better use of the sea once the societal factors—an even longer term problem—have been resolved, writes Laurence Smallman.
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United Nations
commentary
The Allies in Libya: A New Paradigm for Intervention?
Robert E. Hunter
Apr 10, 2011
European Affairs
What has been happening in North Africa this year, in what seems to be the leading edge of a great wind of change sweeping the Arab world, will require the Europeans (along with the U.S. and others) to be deeply and durably engaged there — economically, politically and in humanitarian terms, writes Robert E. Hunter.
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China
commentary
China's Responsibility to Protect
David C. Gompert
Jun 17, 2008
Washington Post
Of all countries remiss in their responsibility to protect human rights, China bears special scrutiny because of its influence with the Myanmar and Sudanese regimes, writes David C. Gompert.
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Russia
commentary
An Independent Kosovo Was a Part of the U.N.'s Plan
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Feb 25, 2008
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Diplomatic wrangling over Kosovo's declaration of independence this week has created a good deal of misunderstanding about the U.N. Security Council Resolution that defines that society's current status and future evolution, writes James Dobbins.
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commentary
What's to Stop Kim Now?
Bruce W. Bennett @bwbennett
Oct 17, 2006
International Herald Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff: What's to Stop Kim Now?, in International Herald Tribune.
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commentary
NATO's Role in Nation-building
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Dec 8, 2005
NATO Review
Published commentary by RAND staff: NATO's Role in Nation-building in NATO Review.
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commentary
'Oil for Food' Worked
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Dec 10, 2004
Washington Post
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
The U.N.'s Strengths and Weaknesses in Iraq
Seth G. Jones
Feb 18, 2004
San Diego Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
UN Man for Baghdad: Bringing the Afghan Experience to Iraq
James Dobbins @Jim_Dobbins
Jan 20, 2004
International Herald Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Postwar Rebuilding: Pick the UN's Best for a Wider Iraq Role
Charles Wolf, Jr.
Nov 13, 2003
International Herald Tribune
Depending on whom you talk to, the United Nations is either an obstacle to more effective security and reconstruction efforts in Iraq, or an opportunity to advance precisely these goals.
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commentary
The Real Worry
Daniel Benjamin, Steven Simon
Aug 25, 2003
Time Magazine
Among the four so-called "economic miracles" of the past half century—Germany after the second world war, Japan in the 1970s and 1980s, South Korea in the 1970s through to the mid-1990s, and China between 1980 and the present day—that of China has been the most remarkable.
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commentary
Azores Summit a Wise Move for Bush
Robert E. Hunter
Mar 16, 2003
San Diego Union-Tribune
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Bush, Blair Can Get the Second OK They Want -- And Need
Robert E. Hunter
Mar 2, 2003
San Diego Union Tribune
Seeking a second UN resolution may seem like overkill, but it is needed and doable, writes Robert Hunter in an commentary.
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commentary
War or Peace? Why, for Now, There Will Be No War with Iraq
Gregory F. Treverton
Jan 19, 2003
San Francisco Chronicle
commentaries by RAND Staff: Why, for now, there will be no war with Iraq.
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commentary
Iraq's Had Time to Really Hide Its Weapons Sites
John V. Parachini @JohnParachini
Sep 19, 2002
Newsday
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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