Exploring the Nuclear Posture Implications of Extended Deterrence and Assurance
CSIS, December 01, 2009
“The purpose of the report is to identify the characteristics of the U.S. nuclear force posture that support extended deterrence and analyze how changes in the force posture affect the credibility of its assurance, paying particular attention to the competing needs and interests of U.S. allies in Europe, Northeast Asia and the Middle East.”
http://csis.org/files/publication/091218_nuclear_posture.pdf
Jonglei’s Tribal Conflicts: Countering Insecurity in South Sudan
Crisis Group, December 23, 2009
“Jonglei is the largest of South Sudan’s ten states, comprising some 120,000 square kilometres. Home to 1.3 million inhabitants, it is also among the most underdeveloped regions in the world. Multiple ethnic communities migrate seasonally to sustain cattle and preserve their pastoralist way of life. Access to water and grazing areas, as well as cattle rustling, are thus primary triggers of conflict. Tensions between communities are aggravated by pervasive tribalism and perceptions of state bias, the virtual absence of roads and infrastructure, widespread food insecurity, land disputes and limited access to justice. The escalating conflict cycles witnessed in and around Jonglei in 2009 have sown deep mistrust, and movement during the dry season could reignite large-scale conflict early in 2010.”
http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/africa/horn_of_africa/4_jongleis_tribal_conflicts___countering_insecurity_in_south_sudan.pdf
Trends in Connectivity Technologies and Their Socioeconomic Impacts: Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society
RAND Corp., December 17, 2009
“This report contains a review of technology trends underlying the future Internet Society. It assesses the possible future socio-economic impacts; as well as the changing business models that are likely to emerge in the next 5 to 10 years. The ultimate objective of the study is to make future policy recommendations for the successor programme to the current EU’s ICT strategy: the i2010 programme. The project involved trend analysis, econometric modelling [sic], desk research, interviews, a survey, scenario development and gaming.”
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR776.pdf
The Aryan Circle: Crime in the Name of Hate
Anti-Defamation League (ADL), December 16, 2009
“The Aryan Circle is a large, growing and dangerous white supremacist gang based primarily in Texas. Active in prisons and on the streets, it has a long track record of murder, including the deaths of two police officers in Bastrop, Louisiana, in 2007.” This report goes on to report how this hate group has spread its influence and membership across the state of Texas to over 1400 members. In addition, the ADL delves into all the inner-workings of the Aryan Circle – including recruitment techniques and the role of women in their group.
http://www.adl.org/extremism/Aryan-Circle-Report.pdf
Natural Gas and Israel’s Energy Future: A Strategic Analysis Under Conditions of Deep Uncertainty (Technical Report)
RAND Corp, December 2009
“Ensuring a sufficient supply of energy, particularly electricity, to meet the ever-greater demands of a booming Israeli economy is a national concern. Israel began to introduce natural gas into its energy mix only in 2004. This report examines strategic alternatives available to Israel to make greater use of domestic and imported sources of natural gas. It explores both natural gas-utilization and supply-infrastructure strategies in an environment characterized by extreme uncertainty and potentially large consequences. It provides a detailed understanding of what are favorable future environments for Israel and, perhaps more importantly, what factors would lead to futures that are undesirable in light of Israel's goals and interests.”
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR747.pdf
Natural Gas and Israel’s Energy Future: Near Term Decisions from a Strategic Perspective
RAND Corp., December, 2009
“Israel's electric-power system needs new capacity to meet the demands of its growing economy. Israel must make major decisions on investing in new base-load generating capacity in the near future. Planners and policymakers need to consider likely future levels of demand, the costs and availability of sources of supply, security of supply, reliability, environmental effects, and land use. Decisions have to be made under conditions of deep uncertainty about what the future may have in store. This monograph discusses the opportunities and risks the government of Israel faces in shifting to a greater reliance on domestic and imported natural gas. The analysis seeks to help the Israeli government engage in managed change by choosing robust strategies that minimize potential consequences of relying more heavily on natural gas.”
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2009/RAND_MG927.english.pdf
Roadmap to Low Carbon Energy by 2030
WorldWatch Institute, December 2009
“Tackling climate change and a host of other global challenges will require systematic transformation of the global energy system over the next several decades, according to Renewable Revolution: Low-Carbon Energy by 2030, by Janet Sawin and William Moomaw. The report, released by the Worldwatch Institute and the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), highlights four key synergies between energy efficiency and renewable energy and argues that these two strategies, used in concert, can play a key role in meeting rising global demand for energy services while averting catastrophic climate change.”
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Renewable%20Revolution.pdf
Seizing Opportunities for Turkey’s rowing Influence
ISN Publication, December 09, 2009
“This memo argues that Turkey is becoming an increasingly important regional player as well as an indispensible ally to the US and the EU. It provides suggestions for the EU and US to follow to ensure Turkey will continue to be a constructive ally.”
http://kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/110526/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/36259482-4823-4DC6-A632-AF24295B7C15/en/Memo+21+Turkey.pdf
The Cambodia-Thailand Conflict: A Test for ASEAN
ISN Publications, December 10, 2009
“This publication analyzes the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the political crisis between Cambodia and Thailand. The author argues that this crisis presents a test case for ASEAN to act as a key player in resolving disputes among its members. They contend that a failure to do so would reduce ASEAN's credibility and impede the realization by 2015 of an ASEAN community.”
http://kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/110515/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/B2AFB852-EC4E-46BF-AD27-C0A1FBDF9D2E/en/apb044.pdf
No 70: The North Caucuses Crisis
ISN Publications, December 21, 2009
“This paper addresses the situation in Russia's Northern Caucasus 10 years after the beginning of the second Chechen War and Vladimir Putin's subsequent rise to power. It explores the situation in Chechnya after the official end of the counterterrorist operations, discusses social-political instability in Ingushetia and looks at the relations between Dagestan and the Russian state. One of the authors argues that after the lift of the counterterrorist operations regime in Chechnya in spring 2009, the situation in the Caucasus deteriorated dramatically.”
http://kms1.isn.ethz.ch/serviceengine/Files/ISN/110674/ipublicationdocument_singledocument/48838009-56F5-4113-882B-C2B286736AA9/en/Russian_Analytical_Digest_70.pdf
Recasting NATO’s Strategic Concept: Possible Directions for the United States
RAND Corp., December 2009
“To address its security challenges, the United States needs the active support of its allies. This means, in particular, ensuring that the states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) remain able and willing to make a contribution to resolving their common security problems wherever possible. The revision of NATO's strategic concept offers an excellent opportunity to further this aim. It is a chance to build consensus about the future and thereby steer the alliance in a direction that will help keep it relevant. This paper examines five possible directions — refocus on Europe, new focus on the greater Middle East, focus on fragile states, focus on nonstate threats, and a global alliance of liberal democracies — the alliance might adopt, assessing them against certain key political and military criteria. It offers those involved in the rewrite both a range of potential options and a preliminary assessment of the feasibility and potential implications of each. The purpose is to encourage debate around the major, concrete problems that member states face.”
http://www.rand.org/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP280.pdf
The Philippines: After the Maguindanao Massacre
Crisis Group, December 21, 2009
“The international outrage generated by last month’s massacre in Maguindanao, southern Philippines, of 57 men and women, half of them journalists, may offer opportunities to make progress in the areas of justice, security and peace. The latest update briefing from the International Crisis Group shows how the 23 November killings were not the result of a clan feud, as widely reported, but of Manila’s deliberate nurturing of a ruthless warlord in exchange for votes.”
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/getfile.cfm?id=4229&tid=6451&l=1
Target America Series, No. 23
NEFA Foundation, December 17, 2009
“The NEFA Foundation has released the 23rd report in the “Target: America” series, a PowerPoint presentation examining the September 23rd, 2009, attempt by Michael C. Finton (a.k.a. Talib Islam) to trigger a bomb packed in a van that he had parked outside of the Paul Findley Federal Building in Springfield, Illinois.”
http://www.nefafoundation.org/miscellaneous/FeaturedDocs/nefa_fintontargetamerica.pdf
Iran as a Nuclear Weapons Power
CSIS, December 16, 2009
“The latest discoveries regarding Iran’s nuclear program are simply the next development in a process that has been going on since the Iran-Iraq War, and Khomeini’s decision to resume nuclear research once Iran came under chemical weapons attack from Iraq.”
http://csis.org/files/publication/091216_IrannuclearRpt.pdf
Uribe’s Possible Third Term and Conflict Resolution in Colombia
Crisis Group, December 18, 2009
“The decision on whether to change the constitution to enable President Álvaro Uribe to seek a third consecutive term in 2010 will have important consequences for Colombia’s efforts to resolve its armed conflict and tensions with its neighbours. The International Crisis Group examines the process of enabling a third presidential term and why the decision on this fundamental issue needs to be accompanied by a recognition that pressing questions of national security, strengthening of democratic institutions and conflict resolution will not wait and should not depend on who may sit in the presidential office after August 2010.”
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/getfile.cfm?id=4226&tid=6449&type=pdf&l=1
The Northern Distribution Network and the Modern Silk Road
CSIS, December 17, 2009
“As the U.S. presence in Afghanistan increases, so too will its demand for nonmilitary supplies. To accommodate this growth and address ongoing concerns with Pakistani supply lines, U.S. planners have opened the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a commercially-based logistical corridor connecting Baltic and Black Sea ports with Afghanistan via Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.”
http://csis.org/files/publication/091217_Kuchins_NorthernDistNet_Web.pdf
DOD Information Assurance Policy Chart
ITAC via IntelFusion Blog, November 10, 2009
“This chart has been prepared by the IATAC and made available for public release. They ask that if you know of any policy updates that may not be properly reflected on the IA Policy Chart or any suggestions to improve the chart, to send suggestions, comments or questions about the chart to IATAC@dtic.mil. If you have questions about the content of any particular policy, please contact the POC for that policy directly.” (IntelFusion Blog)
http://iac.dtic.mil/iatac/download/ia_policychart.pdf
Any updates to this chart will be posted at: http://iac.dtic.mil/iatac/ia_policychart.html
The Rise of China’s Auto Industry and its Impact on the US Motor Vehicle Industry
Congressional Research Service via Federation of American Scientists/Secrecy News, November 16, 2009
“The automobile industry, a key sector in China’s industrialization and modernization efforts, has been developing rapidly since the 1990s. In recent years, China has become the world’s fastest growing automotive producer. Annual vehicle output has increased from less than 2 million vehicles in the late 1990s to 9.5 million in 2008. In terms of production volume in 2008, China has surpassed Korea, France, Germany, and the United States, trailing only Japan. A disproportionate share of China’s output was heavy vehicles in the 1990s. However, since 2000 China’s growth has been led by an increase in passenger cars, which now account for more than 65% of its vehicle production. China’s automobile industry has continued to expand despite the global economic downturn. From January to October 2009, more than 10 million vehicles were sold in China. If such growth continues, China is on its way to becoming world’s largest auto market.”
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R40924.pdf
A historical reflection on research evaluation studies, their recurrent themes and challenges
RAND Corp, December 2009
“This report presents a historical reflection on research evaluation studies, their recurrent themes and challenges, and their implications. It critically examines studies of how scientific research drives innovation and socioeconomic benefits.”
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2009/RAND_TR789.pdf
Freeman Report, Vol 7 No 11-12
CSIS, December 17, 2009
“Cross-Strait relations have improved dramatically since President Ma took office in May 2008. The key to this development was Ma’s “no independence, no unification and no use of force” declaration that essentially relieved the PRC of its worst nightmare, i.e., Taiwan’s formal declaration of independence. In return, Beijing has implicitly accepted a diplomatic truce and allowed Taiwan to attain observer status in the WHO. More broadly, the PRC has moved forward expeditiously on the economic front opening up to direct links (now totaling 270 weekly flights), promoting Chinese tourism to Taiwan (now up to one million per year) and imports from Taiwan. While the Ma administration and the PRC are not scheduled to include discussion of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) in the formal SEF-ARATS talks in December, the two are expected to conclude an “early harvest” agreement by 2010 with Beijing agreeing to lower or eliminate tariffs on a significant list of Taiwan imports to compete with those from ASEAN countries.”
http://csis.org/files/publication/fr09n11-12.pdf
From Comrades to Classmates: Social Networks on the Russian Internet
Digitalicons.org, December, 2009
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