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Policy Briefs

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Latest Policy Briefs and Reports

Cooperative Security, Arms Control and Disarmament Peace and Security in Northeast Asia

Rallying for a China Strategy

Policy Brief  No.112 - July, 2021 • By Herbert Wulf

This Policy Brief will assess how successful the new US administration was in convincing the G7, NATO and the EU to join hands in countering China. In several summit meetings in June, the US administration tried to convince European allies and other G7 members to rally for a containment strategy against China. While the three summits of the G7, NATO and US-EU demonstrated harmony, there remain reservations in Europe about subscribing to the confrontational course against China.  European leaders are balancing the different economic, technological, political and security interests. while the US government is pushing hard for a joint effort.

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.

Climate Change and Conflict

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.