- DETERRENCE: Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Escalation in Regional Conflicts, Lessons from North Korea and Pakistan
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Strict new Japan secrets law to take effect amid protests
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: The Sustainable Development Goals – Will They Deliver Climate Compatible Development for Vulnerable Countries?
- AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: Pentagon in denial about civilian casualties of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria
DETERRENCE: Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Escalation in Regional Conflicts, Lessons from North Korea and Pakistan, CNA, Research Memorandum, November 20, 2014
Nuclear-armed small states may launch limited attacks believing that they would not face severe retaliation. They may also use nuclear weapons early to stop escalation. Calibrated conventional counter-attack may avoid such first use; and after first use, conventional retaliation may be more effective than nuclear retaliation. [PDF, 0.6MB]
- North Korea Threatens to Conduct Nuclear Test, Choe Sang-Hun, New York Times, November 20, 2014
- Deterrence and System Management: The Case of North Korea, Patrick Morgan, Conflict Management and Peace Science 2006; 23; 121-138. [PDF, 0.1MB, subscription]
- North Korean Nuclear Nationalism and the Threat of Nuclear War in Korea, P. Hayes, S. Bruce, Pacific Focus, 26, 2011, pp. 65–89
- Nuclear Compellence: The Political Use of the Bomb, J. Merrill, I. Pelig, Crossroads,11, 1984, pp. 19-39.
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Strict new Japan secrets law to take effect amid protests, Elaine Lies, Reuters (9 December 2014).
Japan is moving forward with implementing a state secrets law, mandating harsh punishments for anyone involved in leaking documents deemed secret, despite polls showing a majority of citizens opposed to the law and amid ongoing protests. Some fear that the law, among other actions taken by the Abe government, signal a shift away from greater democracy.
- Thousands gather to protest controversial secrecy law in Japan, Xinhua (6 December 2014)
- Critics fear Japan’s democracy is ‘regressing’ as government introduces laws to keep state secrets, Matthew Carney, Yahoo News (9 December 2014)
- Abe’s assault on media undermines reform efforts, William Pesek, Bloomberg News (5 December 2014)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: The Sustainable Development Goals – Will They Deliver Climate Compatible Development for Vulnerable Countries? Helen Picot and Nicholas Moss, Working Paper, Climate and Development Knowledge Network – CDKN (September 2014) [1.41 MB, PDF]
Climate change has deep repercussions for all aspects of the development agenda, from poverty eradication to health care, and from economic growth to disaster risk reduction. Without concerted global efforts to address climate change, climate impacts are likely to undermine the success of future global development. The poorest and most vulnerable people are likely to be most affected, unless significant efforts are made to create models of development that can mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
- Planning Climate Compatible Development: Lessons from Experience, Policy Brief, Climate and Development Knowledge Network – CDKN (December 2010) [521 KB, PDF]
- Policy Brief: Defining Climate Compatible Development, Climate and Development Knowledge Network – CDKN (2010)
AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: Pentagon in denial about civilian casualties of U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria, Chris Woods, Foreign Policy (1 December 2014)
AfPak and Syria-Iraq: two US-led coalition interventions in two cross-border wars, each with adversaries using indiscriminate weapons, neighbouring frenemies, increasingly restricted media access, and both escalating (again). Counting every casualty and noting all civilian harm tests coalition truth-telling about ‘precision bombing’, as well as ISR resources, but above all, local and global civil society reporting resources. But recognising harm done is a precondition for legitimation of war in contemporary law and democracy. That is, if the war is legal in the first place.
- Towards the recording of every casualty – Analysis and policy recommendations from a study of 40 casualty recorders, Oxford Research Group (October 2012)
- Backgrounder: Tracking civilian harm, Center for Civilians in Conflict (August 2013)
- Women and Explosive Weapons, Reaching Critical Will, 2014
The Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly Report captures multiple perspectives on six threats to global security. Our contributors select items that highlight the links among these themes.
Subscribe to NAPSNet to receive free weekly email reports.
Contributors:
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- DPRK: Roger Cavazos
- Governance and Civil Society: Dyana Mardon
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- Austral Peace and Security: Richard Tanter
- Climate Change and Security: Richard Tanter
NAPSNet Editor: Rebecca Pollack