Nautilus Peace and Security Network: 12 June 2015

• DETERRENCE: US finds peeling back the Iran sanctions onion no easy task
• DPRK: Adherence to and compliance with arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament agreements and commitments
• GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Seoul gay pride organizers vow to defy police ban
• CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015-2030
• AUSTRAL PEACE AND SECURITY: Iraq: an avoidable catastrophe?

DETERRENCE: US finds peeling back the Iran sanctions onion no easy task, Robert Burns, Washington Post (9 June 2015)

Whatever the comparison between past and future deals with the DPRK and Iran, sanctions are a common concern. Market-based sanctions are a blunt instrument. Because firms are highly risk averse, it may be impossible to lift some sanctions related to the nuclear issue but keep those on human rights or terrorism. If so, then the DPRK may conclude a deal with the US is impossible.

• North Korean nuclear diplomacy worked, Jeffrey Lewis, National Interest (27 May 2015)
• Why the Iran nuclear deal is not the North Korea deal, George Perkovich, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (28 April 2015)
• The Netanyahu speech and the open letter: Lessons on Iran from North Korea, Stephan Haggard (15 March 2015)
• Iran and a comprehensive settlement, Thomas Pickering, NAPSNet Policy Forum (10 February 2015)

DPRK: Adherence to and compliance with arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament agreements and commitments, U.S. Department of State (5 June 2015) [PDF, 522KB]

North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is often (mis)understood through various external prisms and Western international relations theories. North Korea’s primary desire for nuclear weapons springs from internal drivers which differ significantly from Iran’s case. Cyber and space capabilities are important enablers for a nuclear capability, but North Korea’s primary motivation for developing the complementary suite of capabilities is to ensure its unique governance structures remain independent of external influence.

• North Korea threatens the U.S. with cyberattacks, Martyn Williams, Computerworld (9 June 2015)
• G-7 leaders’ declaration, The White House (8 June 2015)
• Reviving the Iran-North Korea axis, John Feffer, Huffington Post (8 June 2015)

GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: Seoul gay pride organizers vow to defy police ban, Jung Ha-won, AFP (4 June 2015)

Organizers of an annual gay pride parade in Seoul are accusing the police department of denying their right to free speech by banning this year’s parade following pressure from groups opposed to the event. Authorities are also under pressure following guidelines issued directing educators not to talk about sexual minorities. Meanwhile, a Tokyo district has become the first place in East Asia to recognize same-sex partnerships.

• Supporters of sexual minorities hold event in Seoul, Yonhap (9 June 2015)
• New sex ed guidelines forbid teaching about homosexuality, Um Ji-won, Hankyoreh (30 March 2015)
• The first place in East Asia to welcome same-sex marriage, Elise Hu, NPR (11 May 2015)

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: Sendai framework for disaster risk reduction 2015-2030, World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (March 2015) [350 KB, PDF]

UN Member States have agreed a new framework for disaster risk reduction (DRR). The framework outlines seven global targets to be achieved over the next 15 years: a substantial reduction in global disaster mortality; a substantial reduction in numbers of affected people; a reduction in economic losses; substantial reduction in disaster damage to critical infrastructure; an increase in the number of countries with national and local disaster risk reduction strategies; enhanced international cooperation; and increased access to multi-hazard early warning systems.

• UN world conference on disaster risk reduction, Sendai, Japan (14-18 March 2015)
• Global assessment report on disaster risk reduction, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015)

Austral Peace and Security: Iraq: an avoidable catastrophe? Allan Behm, The Strategist (9 June 2015)

Three elder statesmen of Australian security question government enthusiasm for alliance war in Iraq and the South China Sea. Allan Behm: “The unfolding humanitarian and political disaster in Iraq and Syria is ultimately a consequence of confusion, impetuosity, a preoccupation with tactical issues at the expense of strategic ones, and an ignorance of the political, communal, religious and cultural dynamics of Mesopotamia that borders on culpability.”

• Julie Bishop exaggerates: Cold War puts Islamic State in shade, Paul Dibb, The Australian (30 April 2015)
• Australia and the freedoms of navigation, Sam Bateman, The Strategist (5 June 2015)
• South China Sea not the place to get all bolshie, Hugh White, The Age (9 June 9, 2015)