NAPSNet 3 November 2011

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"NAPSNet 3 November 2011", NAPSNet Weekly Report, November 03, 2011, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-weekly/napsnet-3-november-2011/

NAPSNet 3 November 2011

DETERRENCE: Legal cooperation to control non-state nuclear proliferation: extra-territorial jurisdiction and UN resolutions 1540 and 1373, Nautilus Workshop Report, April 2011, Washington DC (April 2011) [PDF 0.8MB]

Criminalizing and controlling nuclear materials by non-state actors depends on cross-country and cross-agency intelligence sharing and regional cooperation. Progress is being made via informal information sharing arrangements and extraterritorial prosecutions.

ENERGY SECURITY: Big risks, better alternatives an examination of two nuclear energy projects in the U.S., Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. (6 October 2011) [PDF, 1.26 MB]

Synapse’s investigation of nuclear projects proposed for the US states of Florida and Georgia found major risks, including “cost escalation, construction and regulatory delays, and lack of transparency… all of which could lead to much higher costs to ratepayers”.  Energy efficiency, biomass-fired and onshore wind power could supply electricity needs at lower cost than nuclear units, with offshore wind and solar PV costs comparable to nuclear. 

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Public risk perceptions, understandings, and responses to climate change in Australia and Great Britain: Interim report, Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Griffith University, and Australian National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF), Australia (2011) [PDF, 978KB]

Notwithstanding the seeming ever-fluctuating public concern levels with respect to the threat and impacts of ‘climate change’ around the world, there exists a more consistent and coherent evidence base suggesting that public concern about climate change remains quite high, both in Australia and overseas.

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Younger vote reflects quest for change, Chosun Ilbo (28 October 2011)

Last week’s Seoul Mayoral election was a rejection of politics as usual and marked a significant shift in the Korean publics’ politics. Current ruling parties are seen as insensitive to public needs and a survey found rising levels of support for third party candidates. This sentiment may provide momentum to the officially launched Green Party, which bases itself on a platform of participatory democracy from the grassroots level.

DPRK: North Korea on the cusp of digital transformation, The Nautilus Institute (20 October 2011)

Alexandre Mansourov analyzed the use of cell-phones, the Internet, and the intranet in North Korea and concluded that, rather than relying on a system of total control, the state must now concentrate is efforts on key people and groups. “The most the authorities can do now is probably to manage its rapid expansion in such a way that will ensure that the interests of the political regime and state security are taken care of,” he writes.

AUSTRAL SECURITY: South China Sea Conflict? No Way, Diplomat (23 October 2011)

The South China Sea issue – and China’s position on it – have been the subject of much deliberation, statements by Chinese officials reasserting China’s ‘indisputable sovereignty’ over the South China Sea are seen as signs of Chinese aggressiveness that could precipitate conflict. The following articles explore the recent developments in the South China Sea.

 

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