Policy Papers - September 07, 2010
The United Nations Security Council and Civil War: First Insights from a New Dataset
Chris Perry, Christoph Mikulaschek, James Cockayne
This new IPI report examines trends in how the Security Council has engaged with civil wars since 1989 and the gradual evolution of the Council’s civil-war response strategies, including where and when it chose to engage. The study reveals a comprehensive change in the way the Council has applied its mandate under the United Nations Charter to situations of internal conflict.
The report represents the most comprehensive analysis to date of the Security Council’s approaches to resolving civil wars during the past two decades. It is the first publication produced by IPI’s multiyear research project on Compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions in Civil Wars.
Future analysis by this project will seek to provide answers to two questions: To what extent do civil-war parties comply with demands issued by the Security Council? And what factor or combination of factors best explains the variance in the level of compliance — e.g., conflict settings, conflict management strategies, or political dynamics within the Security Council?
In the future, the project will produce a book combining rigorous quantitative analyses and detailed case studies on this very important topic.
IPI will also publish a searchable online database of all Security Council resolutions adopted in the context of civil wars between 1989 and 2006. The IPI Security Council Compliance Database will document the Security Council’s conflict-management efforts and the civil-war parties’ responses to each individual demand addressed to them during the first fifteen years after the Cold War, from 1989 to 2003.
For more information about this ongoing research project, please go to http://www.ipinst.org/securitycouncilcompliance.
The Global Observatory
Interview with Patricia Flor, European Union Special Representative for Central Asia
Ambassador Flor said the European Union is engaging with Central Asian governments that have a long-term view of transformation and thus have a slower pace of reform.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
Top 10 Issues to Watch in 2013: The Multilateral Arena
Ten key issues that are likely to impact global affairs in international peace, security, and development.
The Global Observatory, produced by IPI, provides timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 14, 2013
2013 Vienna Seminar: The Dangerous Nexus of Crime, Conflict, and Terrorism
On May 14-15, the IPI Vienna Seminar took place, focusing on the dangerous nexus between crime, conflict and terrorism, particularly in failing states. This 43rd session of the Vienna Seminar–which was held in the historic Marble Hall of the Austrian Ministry for European and International Affairs–was attended by over one hundred participants from around the world,
May 10, 2013
SRSG Ramos-Horta Optimistic for Stability in Guinea-Bissau
In his briefing to the Security Council the day before appearing at IPI on May 10th, José Ramos-Horta, Special Representative to the Secretary-General on Guinea-Bissau, told the Council that the beleaguered country “exists in name only.”
May 08, 2013
Holmes on the Reality of Relief Aid
“People fail to understand that what we’re saying is something intensely practical and down-to-earth and not something rather theoretical and ivory tower,” said John Holmes, author of the book, The Politics of Humanity: the Reality of Relief Aid, at an IPI Beyond the Headlines event on May 8th.