- DETERRENCE: Don’t Worry, the Next World War Is Not Upon Us…Yet
- DPRK: Pres. Park Offers Surprisingly Positive Assessment of NK Officials’ Visit
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Study calls for surcharge to support residents near nuclear power plants
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Narrative Research in Climate Change Adaptation – Exploring a Complementary Paradigm for Research and Governance
- ENERGY SECURITY: Interests, Ideology and Climate
- CLIMATE CHANGE AND SECURITY: How Climate Change Helped ISIS
DETERRENCE: Don’t Worry, the Next World War Is Not Upon Us…Yet, Graham Allison. Defense One, July 31, 2014
Allison compares 1914 with today. Similarities: “Thucydides’s Trap,” inconceivability of “total” war, thick interdependence, rising nationalism and territorial disputes, powerful military establishments focused on a primary enemy, entangling alliances, temptation of a coup de main. Differences: clash of civilizations, financial foundations of hegemonic power, shared geography, nuclear weapons, military balance, technology and transparency, structure of world politics. US-China war is more likely than he imagined but still unlikely.
- Five Ways Nuclear Armageddon Was Almost Unleashed, Tom Nichols, The National Interest, August 9, 2014
- Too Close for Comfort: Cases of Near Nuclear Use and Options for Policy, Patricia Lewis et al, Chatham House Report, April 28, 2014 [PDF, 1.3MB]
DPRK: Pres. Park Offers Surprisingly Positive Assessment of NK Officials’ Visit. Park Byong-su, The Hankyoreh (7 October 2014).
What to make of recent events in North Korea? North Korea’s actions always stem from one headwater – to stay in power; North Korea is firmly under control. If there were palpable chaos in North Korea, they would not have sent emissaries to the United Nations, Europe and South Korea. North Korea sent arguably the highest level visitors to South Korea ever. South Korea positively received those who sojourned South and are scheduled to meet again. In the meantime, there are other signs of threats and opportunities. Ignoring North Korea only makes North Korea issues more intractable.
- You should still be scared of Pyongyang. Joel S. Wit and Jenny Town, Foreign Policy. (7 October 2014)
- U.N. forum to discuss DMZ biodiversity. Kim Yon-se. The Korea Herald. (7 October 2014)
- Yongbyon: centrifuge enrichment plant expands while 5 MWe reactor is possibly shut down. David Albright and Serena Kelleher-Vergantini, Institute for Science and International Security. (3 October 2014) [PDF, 1.79 MB]
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Study calls for surcharge to support residents near nuclear power plants, Kim Kwang-soo, Hankyoreh (1 October 2014)
As public opposition in the ROK to nuclear power continues to grow, the most recent demonstrations expanding to include city leaders and governors, a new study calls for charging residents in other cities a surcharge to support safety measures for residents living near nuclear power plants. While opposition to nuclear power continues in several Asian regions, nuclear power in developing countries is booming.
- Gangwon Province residents saying no to nuclear power in their scenic backyard, Park Soo-hyuk, Hankyoreh (1 October 2014)
- Asian forum warns of nuclear threats, Sean Lin, Taipei Times (30 September 2014)
- Nuclear plants across emerging world defy Japan concerns, Bloomberg (28 September 2014)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Narrative Research in Climate Change Adaptation – Exploring a Complementary Paradigm for Research and Governance, Jana-Axinja Paschen and Ray Ison, Research Policy, Article In-press, Elsevier B.V (2014) [499 KB, PDF]
Climate adaptation research increasingly focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of change. In this context, narrative research is often seen as a qualitative social science method used to frame adaptation communication. However, this perspective neglects an important insight provided by narrative theory as applied in the cognitive sciences and other practical fields: human cognition is organized around specific narrative structures.
- Exploring Local Narratives of Environmental Change and Adaptation, A report from the VCCCAR Project: ‘Framing multi-level and multi-actor adaptation responses in the Victorian context’, Jana-Axinja Paschen and Ray Ison, Final Report, VCCCAR, Victoria, Australia (September 2012) [1.38 MB, PDF]
- Constructing a Story to Live by: Ethics, Emotions and Academic Practice in the Context of Climate Change, Alette Willis, Emotion, Space and Society, vol. 5, issue 1, pp. 52-59 (February 2012) [subscription required]
ENERGY SECURITY: Interests, Ideology and Climate, Paul Krugman, New York Times (8 June 2014)
Krugman presumes that he has a monopoly on intellect and ideology is the exclusive terrain of those who disagree with him. This is setting up a scene in an ongoing Washington movie – a smart virgin versus dumb rapists of the planet. He blames dysfunctionality in Congress for Obama’s imperial action, as if a quarrel is an excuse for bypassing the legislature. Krugman has tenure, Obama doesn’t.
- Paul Krugman: Climate denialism is Ayn Rand’s fault, James Delingpole, Breitbart (10 June 2014)
- A delusional search for reasonable Republicans, Paul Krugman, Truthout (8 July 2014)
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SECURITY: How Climate Change Helped ISIS, Charles B. Strozier and Kelly A. Berkell, Huffington Post, (6 October 2014)
Climate had a role in the now forgotten Arab spring and the rise of ISIS, but where and how much? Acknowledging complexity requires sighting the underlying conditions, the role of catalysts, the triggering events, and capacities for state. Doing so predictively requires going beyond sentences with “could” and “may be”. At the same time, deep divergences in understanding the causes and solutions to climate change also shape thinking about “security”.
- Understanding instability: Lessons from the ‘Arab Spring’. Florence Gaub, Report for the ‘History of British Intelligence and Security’ Research Project, (December 2012)
- Climate change, resource scarcity & conflict, Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, September 2014
- Naomi Klein or Al Gore? Making sense of contrasting views on climate change, Matthew C. Nisbet, The Conversation, 6 October 2014
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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- Reports Editor: Frederica Kreitzer
Contributors:
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- DPRK: Roger Cavazos
- Governance and Civil Society: Dyana Mardon
- Energy Security: Nikhil Desai
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- Austral Peace and Security: Richard Tanter