- DETERRENCE: Iran’s Nuclear Propensity: the Probability of Nuclear Use, Thanos Dokos
- DPRK: DPRK People Enraged at Park Guen Hye’s Behaviors
- GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: China Warns Local Governments on Land Misuse, Esther Fung
- CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: A Qualitative Examination of the Health Workforce Needs during Climate Change Disaster Response in Pacific Island Countries
- ENERGY SECURITY: Panel’s Warning on Climate Risk: Worst is Yet to Come
- CLIMATE CHANGE AND SECURITY: Call Climate Change What it is: Violence
DETERRENCE: Iran’s Nuclear Propensity: the Probability of Nuclear Use, Thanos Dokos, EU Non-Proliferation Consortium, Non-Proliferation Paper 38, March 2014
Although improbable, miscalculation, accidental detonation or launch, or desperation may lead to nuclear next-use in the Middle East and present a combined, cumulative risk. Iranian nuclear arms may intensify regional instability, multiply nuclear decision-makers, and complicate strategic calculations. [PDF, 0.9MB]
- We’re Winning the War on Nukes, Zachary Keck, The National Interest, March 25, 2014
- President Obama more worried about NYC nuke [than Russian nuclear threat],Lucy McCalmont, Politico, March 25, 2014
DPRK: DPRK People Enraged at Park Guen Hye’s Behaviors, North Korea, Rodong Sinmun, April 7, 2014
North Korean reactions to President Park Geun-hye’s “Dresden speech” have been negative and personal, but relatively mild – and mostly unofficial. North Korea is only comfortable with proposals tied to the 15 June 2000 agreement signed between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il. North Korea is preparing for its most important holiday, “The Day of the Sun” to celebrate Kim Il-sung’s birthday. In addition, the 13th Supreme People’s Assembly will meet for the first time on 9 April. They usually confirm previous appointments but can mend the constitution and laws as well as exercise other bureaucratic powers necessary to implement Kim Jong-un’s decisions. North Korea pushes the U.S. and Japan closer together. China issued a rare, pre-emptive demarche to put North Korea on notice not to test. China appears concerned that a test will have negative market implications.
- 13th SPA to convene on April 9th. Chris Green, DailyNK. (20 March 2014)
- U.S. to boost missile defenses in Japan against North Korean threat. Gopal Ratnam and Isabel Reynolds, Bloomberg (6 April 2014)
- Korean media: China recently summoned the North Korean Ambassador to China about the nuclear issue, Caijing (Finance) Overseas (China). (8 April 2014) [Chinese Language]
GOVERNANCE AND CIVIL SOCIETY: China Warns Local Governments on Land Misuse, Esther Fung, Wall Street Journal (9 April 2014)
China’s land ministry criticized 6 local governments for misuse of farmland, questionable land seizures and poor compensation, issues that have led to social unrest. Wukan village leaders who led protests against the local government in 2011 sparked by land seizures, however, now accuse authorities of intimidation and have yet to receive land back. Protesters in another provincial city want to stop plans for a large-scale industrial plant.
- China rebel village votes, but hopes fade for fair poll, Maxim Duncan, Reuters (31 March 2014)
- China petrochemical plant may be halted after protests, Jennifer Duggan, The Guardian (1 April 2014)
CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION: A Qualitative Examination of the Health Workforce Needs during Climate Change Disaster Response in Pacific Island Countries, Michele Rumsey et al., Human Resources for Health, vol. 12, no. 9, 12 February 2014, (153 KB, PDF)
For an adaptive policy environment and effective implementation of plans, the health sector requires a suite of governance-related functions, including clear mandates, effective decision-making and response to community-identified strengths. A greater understanding of governance in the health-care context can provide opportunities to strengthen health sector policy and response action to the effects of climate change.
- Roles of Pacific Regional Organizations in Disaster Risk Management: Questions and Answers, John Hay, The Brookings Institution (July 2013)
- Public Health Emergencies in the Asia-Pacific Region: Actors and Institutions; Coordination and Management, Lisa Thompson et al., Human Resources for Health Knowledge Hub, University of New South Wales, Sydney (2011) [106 KB, PDF]
ENERGY SECURITY: Panel’s Warning on Climate Risk: Worst is Yet to Come, Justin Gillis, New York Times (31 March 2014)
A scientist proclaims, “Now we are at the point where there is so much information, so much evidence, that we can no longer plead ignorance.” A film-maker cautions, from Pearl Harbor experience, “We see what we are prepared to see. The problem was not an absence of evidence… The problem was how to interpret it, how to see it.”
- IPCC global warming report: why air conditioning rises 30-fold by 2100 (+video), David J. Unger, The Christian Science Monitor (31 March 2014)
- The certainty of Donald Rumsfeld (Part 3) – A failure of imagination, Errol Morris, New York Times (27 March 2014)
- UN Climate report: Dissecting the key messages, from the dire to the less direct, James Samenow, Washington Post blog Capital Weather Gang (31 March 2014)
CLIMATE CHANGE AND SECURITY: Call Climate Change What it is: Violence, Rebecca Solnit, The Guardian, April 7 2014
“The message is that ordinary people will behave badly in an era of intensified climate change. All this makes sense, unless you go back to the premise and note that climate change is itself violence. Extreme, horrific, longterm, widespread violence…Climate change is global-scale violence, against places and species as well as against human beings. Once we call it by name, we can start having a real conversation about our priorities and values.”
Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (April 2014)
- Chapter 12. Human Security
- Chapter 24. Asia
- Chapter 29. Small Islands
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.
- Subscribe to NAPSNet to receive free weekly email Reports Editor:
Contributors:
- Deterrence: Peter Hayes
- Governance and Civil Society: Dyana Mardon
- Climate Change Adaptation: Saleem Janjua
- DPRK: Roger Cavazos
- Austral Peace and Security: Richard Tanter