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Latest Policy Briefs and Reports
Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament
Japan and the Nuclear Ban Treaty
Policy Brief No.110 - June, 2021 • By Yasuyoshi Komizo
This Policy Brief discusses Japan's policy in relation to a new movement gathering momentum in the international community to seek international security without nuclear weapons. The TPNW has been adopted in this context. Japan has made the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty the axis of its security policy, relying for much of its security on the extended deterrence of the United States. On the other hand, as the only nation to have suffered atomic bomb attacks in war, Japan has for many years taken the lead in proposing resolutions calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Given the considerable gap between reality and the ideal, Japan would be well advised to recognise this trend as an important aspect of international reality, and examine its policy on that basis.
Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament
Stop Muddying the Waters on the Appointment of the Executive Secretary of the CTBTO
Policy Brief No.109 - May, 2021 • By Tariq Rauf
This Policy Brief examines the controversy surrounding the election of the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO). For the better part of a year, diplomats from more than 180 countries have been feuding over this appointment. Together with the IAEA, the CTBTO contributes to preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons and furthering nuclear disarmament. It is too important an organisation to be left to the whims of feuding States or quarrelling diplomats.
Collaboration, Conflict and Mobility: Local Responses to Climate Change in Somaliland
Policy Brief No.108 - May, 2021 • By Mohamed Fadal and Louise Wiuff Moe
This Policy Brief shares insights generated from interviews with community members, experts and governance officials in Somaliland as part of a 2020-2021 qualitative baseline research study which looked at how local actors and institutions experience and respond to climate change impacts. Attention to these responses allows the analysis to include a focus on local strengths and point out the multifaceted nature of local responses to climate change impacts, involving conflict, collaboration and innovation. The Policy Brief concludes with a set of overall implications and suggestions for policy and further research.
Social Media, Technology and Peacebuilding
From Airtable to Zoom: An A-to-Z Guide to Digital Tech and Activism 2021
Policy Brief No.107 - April, 2021 • By Nadine Bloch
This policy brief maps how activists are using technology to pursue public interests in human rights, democracy and a livable environment. It looks at how cell phone tech has upped the outreach and mobilising game for campaigns, dives into digital storytelling and fundraising, explores key digital tools for collaboration and training, covers cybersecurity considerations and closes with a broad look at topical creative tech-based nonviolent activist success stories. Though digital tech is no silver bullet for successful campaigns, there are clear uses and recommendations to build power and win with digital technology.
Urban–Rural Re-Relocation as a Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of Tuvalu
Policy Brief No.106 - April, 2021 • By Carol Farbotko and Taukiei Kitara
This policy brief discusses customary arrangements in place in Tuvalu that provide extensive and innovative ways in which Tuvaluan people have moved to safer rural areas, both in the past and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Such peaceful urban-rural mobility is also relevant for adaptation to climate change impacts among Tuvaluan people. The authors argue that such customary practices could be prioritised in nurturing resilience in countries across the region, especially where customary links to rural areas are less strong than they are in Tuvalu.