NAPSNet 1 September 2011
- AUSTRAL SECURITY: Taliban will be defeated, insist Australian generals
- DPRK: North Korea steps up aid to Iran on nuclear program
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Climate change adaptation through land use planning and disaster management
- ENERGY SECURITY: Avoiding a train wreck: Replacing old coal plants with energy efficiency
- DETERRENCE: Democratic civilian control of nuclear weapons
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Defeated Seoul mayor resigns over failed free lunch vote
AUSTRAL SECURITY: Taliban will be defeated, insist Australian generals, Australian (27 August 2011)
As the coalition troop withdrawal in Afghanistan draws nearer, Australian Generals are confident that they can defeat the Taliban insurgency before control of security is handed over to local forces. The articles and reports below explore the progress toward achieving security and sustainability in Afghanistan after the transition.
- Beaten Taliban can be crushed, Australian (27 August 2011)
- Paper presented by the Minister for Defence Stephen Smith MP on Afghanistan tabled in conjunction with a ministerial statement on 7 July 2011, Department of Defence (7 July 2011)
- Report on progress toward security and sustainability in Afghanistan and United States plan for sustaining the Afghanistan national security forces, Department of Defense (April 2011) [PDF, 3.7MB]
DPRK: North Korea steps up aid to Iran on nuclear program, Süddeutsche Zeitung (25 August 2011)
According to the Suddeutsche Zeitung, North Korea has transferred nuclear technology to Iran. The transfer included software that could be used for the development of nuclear reactors or weapons and data from North Korean nuclear experiments. Even with sanctions and maritime interdiction, it is very difficult to restrict the transfer of information related to North Korea’s nuclear program, such as nuclear testing data.
- North Korea-Iran nuclear cooperation, Council on Foreign Relations (14 December 2010)
- Interdiction: legality, effectiveness, and the way forward, Nautilus Institute (15 April 2010) [PDF, 140KB]
- N. Korea faces constant pressure over enrichment program: ministry, Yonhap News (29 August 2011)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Climate change adaptation through land use planning and disaster management: local government perspectives from Queensland, 17th Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference (16-19 January 2011) [PDF, 244KB]
The paper examines how local government perspectives on disaster management are linked to climate change and land use planning. It provides a useful context for discussion of local government perspectives on climate change, disaster management and land use planning and for the identification of key planning challenges facing them.
- Local government land use planning and risk mitigation: national research paper, SMEC Australia and IID (December 2006) [PDF, 2.74MB]
- Planning for climate change: leading practice principles and models for sea change communities in coastal Australia, University of Sydney (July 2008) [PDF, 827KB]
ENERGY SECURITY: Avoiding a train wreck: Replacing old coal plants with energy efficiency, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (22 August 2011) [PDF, 529KB]
This ACEEE White Paper investigates options to replace aging coal-fired power plants in the U.S. Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast, finding that increased use of customer-sited energy efficiency, including combined heat and power and waste energy recovery, can provide higher benefits at lower costs than other replacement options. Opportunities for large-volume customers, including manufacturers poised to make new plant investments, are key.
- Getting to zero: A pathway to a carbon neutral Seattle, Stockholm Environment Institute – U.S., Cascadia Consulting Group, ICF International (May 2011) [PDF, 2.44MB]
- Green homes bring energy savings, Korea.net (14 July 2011)
- Energy efficiency finance 101: Understanding the marketplace, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (August 2011) [PDF, 334KB]
DETERRENCE: Democratic civilian control of nuclear weapons, Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (April 2006) [PDF, 211KB]
Slocombe addresses how civilian control over nuclear weapons should be exercised by duly constituted democratic governments. He focuses on what institutions and authorities acting under what procedures and how the principles of democratic control of military power should be applied to nuclear weapons.
- Democratic civilian control of nuclear weapons, Introduction, Oxford University Press (2010) [PDF, 0.3MB]
- Who shapes the politics of the bomb: The role of epistemic communities in creating nuclear non-proliferation policies, London School of Economics (December 2010) [PDF, 0.4MB]
- Knowledge and the bomb: Nuclear secrecy in the United States, 1938-2008, Harvard University (2010) [PDF, 23.8MB] [library access or subscription required, for copy, contact author: wellerstein@gmail.com]
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Defeated Seoul mayor resigns over failed free lunch vote, Korea Times (26 August 2011)
Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon resigned in response to a failed free school lunch vote referendum, underscoring the significant role that welfare issues will play in the 2012 presidential election and dealing another setback to the GNP. Oh, a one-time leading contender for the presidential nomination, faced criticism from opposition parties that he placed more importance on city beautification projects than providing for Seoul’s children.
- Seoul mayor resigns after failed ballot in blow to ruling party, China Post (27 August 2011)
- Seoul mayor resigns after losing school lunch referendum, New York Times (25 August 2011)
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Editors
Contributors
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- Governance and Civil Society: Yi Kiho
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- DPRK: Scott Bruce
- Energy Security: David von Hippel
- Austral Security: Arabella Imhoff, Mihiri Weerasinghe