ISN and Partners July 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 Jazz Weeks and Beginning of the Third Part of the ISN Editorial Plan News from ISN Partners Crisis Group's Flagship Annual Event: The Global Briefing USIP is Looking for a Director for the Asia-Pacific Program PISM and Real Instituto Elcano Among Initiators of the European Global Strategy GPPi is Looking for two Research Associates East-West Center is Accepting Applications for its Asia Pacific Leadership Program Chatham House has an Opening for a Junior Fellow with the Africa Program ISPSW and KAS Organize two Events on Maritime Security, and EU-NATO-China Transnational Security Partnerships Latest ISN Dossiers Southeast Asia: Big Brother or Third Way? A Selection of the Latest ISN Content Power and NGOs Small States: What Is Their Place in a Shrinking World? NATO after Chicago Cruising or Stumbling Along? Defining IR: Is it Asia's Turn? A Selection of the Latest Publications in the ISN Digital Library Yemen: Enduring Conflicts, Threatened Transition Romania's Democracy in Reverse Gear en garde, EU! Staging the War on Drugs: Media and Organised Crime in Mexico

ISN News
Jazz Weeks and Beginning of the Third Part of the ISN Editorial Plan At the beginning of July we concluded the second part of our Editorial Plan. Over the course of 14 weeks we considered how the profound changes occurring in the international system have impacted the way we understand and exercise power within a variety of regional contexts. Currently, we are finalizing storylines and topics for the third and last part of our plan. Indeed, starting on 6 August we will finally consider what impact changing power dynamics have had on a variety of topical issues that are familiar to us all. Until then, we have been "playing jazz" again i.e., during July, we looked at four areas of immediate interest to us. First, we flew an epilogue-like pass on how different international actors perceive and exert power in the contemporary international system. Second, we focused on the role of small states in today's world. During our third "jazz" week we took a long, hard look at the future of NATO, particularly in the wake of the recent Chicago summit, a backdrop of general economic hardship, and the United States' strategic shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region. Finally, we have dedicated a week to serious navel watching i.e. the study of international relations as a discipline, as a concept and as educational endeavor in an internet-saturated and social mediadominated age.

News from ISN Partners

Crisis Group's Flagship Annual Event: The Global Briefing The International Crisis Group is pleased to announce its flagship annual event, The Global Briefing. This exclusive two-day, high-level gathering examines urgent issues and solutions concerning major conflict flashpoints across the globe. The briefing offers invited participants an opportunity to go beyond the headlines, and hear from and hold discussions with over thirty of Crisis Group's field-based and senior staff and board members. For further information, please visit the Crisis Group website. USIP is Looking for a Director for the Asia-Pacific Program The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is looking for a Director for the Asia-Pacific Program. The Director will manage the day-to-day implementation of USIP's Asia-Pacific Program, under the overall guidance and direction of the Senior Vice President of the Center for Conflict Management. The Director will design and implement projects aimed at addressing emerging and evolving security, political, economic and social issues in the Asia-Pacific region. This senior position is based at USIP's Washington DC headquarters. To apply, please visit the USIP website. PISM, Real Instituto Elcano and IAI Among Initiators of the European Global Strategy The Polish Institute of International Affairs (PISM), the Real Instituto Elcano and the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), together with one other European think tank, will prepare the new global strategy of the European Union. The initiative comes from the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the whole group was called the 'dream team' by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. The idea of the 'European Global Strategy' was presented on 23 July in Brussels by the Foreign Ministers of Italy, Poland, Spain and Sweden. The final report on elements of a European Global Strategy will be prepared by PISM (Poland), Real Instituto Elcano (Spain), Istituto Affari Internazionali (Italy) and Swedish Institute of International Affairs. For more information, please read the PISM announcement. GPPi is Looking for two Research Associates The Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) seeks to fill two research associate positions (part-time or full-time) based at the institute's Berlin office. The successful candidates will help advance GPPi's research and dialogue activities at the intersection of global security and the role of rising powers in global governance. They will be expected to contribute to a new, two-and-a-half-year research project called "Global Norm Evolution and the Responsibility Protect." For further details, please visit the GPPi website. East-West Center is Accepting Applications for its Asia Pacific Leadership Program The East-West Center is pleased to invite applications for the Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellowship (APLP) for the 2013-2014 year. The APLP is the center of excellence for leadership education in the Asia Pacific region and a signature program of the East-West Center. Currently celebrating its 12th anniversary, the APLP has created a network of 432 dynamic leaders in 53 countries who are helping to build a peaceful, prosperous and just Asia Pacific community. Upon acceptance, all participants receive a fellowship valued at approximately $15,000 USD to cover the majority of the program costs. For more information, please visit the East-West Center website. Chatham House has an Opening for a Junior Fellow with the Africa Program The ERANDA Junior Fellowship of Chatham House is for recent graduates of politics, international relations, development studies, law or a similar discipline. The Fellowship is aimed specifically at supporting West African expertise, and applicants should have a proven interest in foreign policy and African politics, with a particular focus on Nigeria. The Fellowship provides an opportunity for individuals early in their careers to advance their knowledge of Nigerian and African politics, develop their research and analytical skills, contribute to the work of the Africa Program, and build links with policy and academic communities in the UK and Nigeria. For more information, please visit the Chatham House website. ISPSW and KAS Organize two Events on Maritime Security, and EU-NATO-China Transnational Security Partnerships The Institut fr Strategie- Politik- Sicherheits- und Wirtschaftsberatung (ISPSW) is assisting the Shanghai office of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) and the Shanghai Maritime Strategy Research Center (SMSRC) in conducting an international conference on "Maritime Forum Maritime Security and Cooperation in 2012", which will take place on 9-10 September 2012 in Shanghai. The conference will provide an in-depth analysis and debate on issues such as: 1) Maritime Security: New Challenges for Asia and Europe Opportunities for Cooperation, 2) Problems and Opportunities for Cooperation in the South China Sea, and 3) Global Climate Change: Security and Cooperation. ISPSW, KAS, the Institute for German Studies and the Institute for EU Studies at Tongji University are also conducting a workshop on "EU - NATO - CHINA: Partners for Transnational Securities in 2012", which focuses on: 1) Becoming a Global Actor? A Review of EU Foreign and Security Policy after the Treaty of Lisbon, and 2) NATO-China Cooperation: Opportunities and Challenges at the Example of Africa and Afghanistan. For more information, please visit the KAS 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. Southeast Asia: Big Brother or Third Way? In our final week of Regional Perspectives on Power, we ask whether Southeast Asia will increasingly look to either China or the US to safeguard regional security. We also consider whether a regionally-led 'third way' is a viable alternative to balance of power dynamics.

A Selection of the Latest ISN Content

ISN Content provides you with daily in-depth analysis of emerging and underreported international trends and events. Our products include original ISN articles, podcasts, infographics and publications from our extensive Digital Library. Power and NGOs In this article Teha Kehar assesses the impact of NGOs -- with a focus on South Asia. While progress has been made, issues of accountability and transparency still lead some to question the value of NGOs.

Small States: What Is Their Place in a Shrinking World? This article examines how so-called 'small states' survive in a world dominated by great and growing powers? We not only describe how small states protected their security interests in the past but how they can also do it in the future.

NATO after Chicago Cruising or Stumbling Along? NATO declared its Chicago Summit a success but analysts remain divided over its future utility. This article asks whether an Alliance that has been supposedly dying for so long still have plenty of life in it?

Defining IR: Is it Asia's Turn? As a discipline, international relations has traditionally been dominated by the West. However, with the continued shift of economic and political power to the East, Robert Kelly argues, the time for a non-Euro-Atlantic tilt in IR studies has finally arrived.

A Selection of the Latest Publications in the ISN Digital Library

International Crisis Group, Brussels, Belgium Yemen: Enduring Conflicts, Threatened Transition More Crisis Group Middle East Reports

European Policy Centre (EPC), Brussels, Belgium Romania's Democracy in Reverse Gear en garde, EU! More EPC Commentaries

Elcano Royal Institute of International and Strategic Studies, Madrid, Spain Staging the War on Drugs: Media and Organised Crime in Mexico More Elcano Royal Institute Working Papers

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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