Nautilus Peace and Security – 11 September

Recommended Citation

"Nautilus Peace and Security – 11 September", NAPSNet Weekly Report, September 11, 2014, https://nautilus.org/napsnet/napsnet-weekly/nautilus-peace-and-security-11-september/


20kt-San-Francisco-from-Berkeley-600x348DETERRENCE: Cultural Strategy Report, Moore and Associates, Ploughshares Fund, 2013

Mass and elite civil society opinion matters in the legitimacy of nuclear weapons strategies.  A Ploughshares report addresses falling public concern and suggests a focus on (implicitly) American youth and faith sectors. What Americans think matters and influences European and other societies’ public opinions in nuclear and non-nuclear weapons states—even in China. [PDF, 3.6MB]


kang-europeDPRK: DPRK Looks for New European Partners. Hong Van, Talk Vietnam. (9 September 2014).

North Korea’s opened a new round of diplomatic outreach by sending Kang Sok-ju through Mongolia and Europe.  Kang’s roles as Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers Party and Director of the Party’s International Relation Department means he can deliver or relay messages from the Party and the State. North Korea has an uneasy and uneven relationship with the outside world.  Even though North Korea allows more cellphones, it appears that the numbers of cellphones is moving toward saturation since the rate of new subscriptions is levelling off.  North Korea also discovered and closed a technological open door which might have allowed average North Koreans access the internet. Six Party negotiators from the United States and Korea met, but no one should expect sudden changes.


_77153723_photo2GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Protests Point to Macau Awakening, Juliana Liu, BBC (26 August 2014)

Workers in Macau have been demonstrating for better pay and conditions while other groups held an unofficial referendum regarding Macau’s political freedom and leadership. China is facing similar ongoing protests in Hong Kong, following Beijing’s decision not to allow Hong Kongers to select their next leader.


Pedestrians walk along the wall of a floCLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Experiences Building Resilience to Climate Change in Asian Cities, Urban Climate, vol. 7, pages 47-63 (March 2014) [Open Access]

Significant investment is being made by donor organisations to catalyse awareness about climate change impacts in urban environments and to initiate processes that enable cities to adapt and become more resilient. Whilst these types of programs are valuable, they are constrained by finite budgets and timescales (typically a few years), and the scale of funding involved is minor in relation to urban investment funds that are held by city, state and national governments.


WP_globalwarming_finalENERGY SECURITY: How Ignoring Climate Change Could Sink the U.S. Economy, Robert E. Rubin, Opinion, Washington Post (24 July 2014)

Comes Rubin – he of Goldman Sachs, Friend of Bill (also Secretary of Treasury) and Citicorp bailout fame, now co-chair of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Hamilton Project – touting  economic forecasts of doom and despair. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) of US Congress promises a “dividend” from auction revenues of carbon permits, a tax just not in name.

Economists can be shopped for opinions; all it takes is models. Even a physicist has one.


The Nautilus Peace and Security Weekly Report presents articles and full length reports each week in six categories: Austral security, nuclear deterrence, energy security, climate change and security, the DPRK, climate change adaptation and governance and civil society. Our team of contributors carefully select items that highlight the links between these themes and the three regions in which our offices are found—North America, Northeast Asia, and the Austral-Asia region.


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