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Summaries

Summaries SUMMARIES Editorial note: Below you will find summaries of the articles in this issue of Security and Human Rights. Conflict prevention and the issue of Higher Education in the mother tongue: The case of the Republic of Macedonia, Marcin Czapli ē ski After being largely neglected in the 20th century, today conflict prevention occupies an increasingly important role on the agenda of policy makers. At the same time, minorities have a significant impact on political stability and security in the world as at present most of the conflicts have an inter-ethnic character. Among various aspects of minority rights, the right to education in the mother tongue, including at the higher level, has led to many disputes. Besides the Macedonian case, which will be presented in this article, the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluc-Napoca (Romania) and the idea of the establishment of Hungarian language Universities in Slovakia and Vojvodina (Serbia) could be recalled as well. The case of Priština University in Kosovo demonstrates that the unresolved question of adequate education in minority languages could not only be a source of tension; it could also provide a fertile ground for the growth of nationalism and even separatism. The OSCE norms and activities related to the Security Sector Reform: An incomplete puzzle, Victor-Yves Ghebali The OSCE is actively engaged in current activities addressing the various facets of security sector reform ( SSR ). From the perspective of an institution which considers that the security of States and their citizens are mutually reinforcing, such an engagement appears completely natural. SSR represents a common concern for States in transition from war to peace and from authoritarian rule to democracy, as well as for any rule of law State. Democratic governance of the security sector is essential at all stages of the conflict management cycle: while having the potential for reducing the risk of armed violence in conflict-prone States, it happens to be an inescapable component of compromise packages conducive to a final peace settlement and constitutes a crucial element of peace- building strategies in post-conflict settings. A State with a dysfunctional security sector can disrupt political stability within its own region. As the security sector is linked to effective government authority, strong democratic institutions based on the rule of law also contribute to the prevention and combating of transnational threats, risks and challenges such as organized crime, terrorism and illicit Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 4 332 Summaries trafficking of all kinds. However, the OSCE involvement on the SSR turf is plagued with a regrettable conceptual deficit due to the absence of an integrated concept of SSR . This analysis offers a critical overview of OSCE achievements at both the normative (standard-setting) and operational level before assessing the consequence of the lack of overarching guiding principles governing the OSCE 's SSR related activities. Neither fox nor hedgehog: NATO ’s Comprehensive Approach and the OSCE ’s concept of security, Antonio Ortiz In the post-Cold War security environment of strategic confusion and deep uncertainty, multilateral security institutions are struggling to adjust and evolve from a single vision of reality to a more complex understanding of the strategic risks and challenges. Both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) have gone through in-depth transformation, with different degrees of success, to be able to address the new threats to the security of their members. The relevance and effectiveness of multilateral security institutions depends more and more on the ability and determination of their members to adapt to and to seize the opportunities of change. This difficult ongoing and continuous process requires innovative doctrines and new mechanisms for which some organizations are conceptually or institutionally better prepared than others. This article briefly explores the doctrinal sources of NATO ’s Comprehensive Approach and its possible links with the OSCE ’s comprehensive concept of security. It looks at the opportunities and the limits of this new approach in facilitating NATO ’s interaction and engagement with other international actors, in particular the OSCE , in conceptual, institutional and operational terms. And it briefly reflects on the paradoxical, parallel lives of the OSCE ’s and NATO ’s respective approaches to security cooperation. Addressing the needs of victims of terrorism in the OSCE Region, Rianne Letschert and Antony Pemberton Although terrorism has already featured on the international agenda for many years, attention to the plight of victims of terrorism has been conspicuous in its absence until fairly recently. The policy response to terrorism in most states was mainly restricted to adjusting police tactics and criminal procedural laws for organized crime to the new demands placed on law enforcement. The increased attention to terrorism in general due to recent worldwide large-scale terrorist acts has brought the victim of terrorism to the fore. The OSCE has paid attention to victims of terrorism on various occasions, as will be discussed further below. The latest activity in this field was the development of a questionnaire concerning the member states’ policies for victims of terrorism. The focus of the questionnaire Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 4 Summaries 333 was to identify best practices in this area. The questionnaire was completed by representatives of Participating states’ governments. Of the 56 OSCE states, 24 returned the questionnaire. This article will present the main results of the questionnaire. In the analysis and presentation of the findings the authors have relied on the answers given by the respondents. The OSCE and transnational security threats, Wolfgang Zellner At its 2003 Maastricht Ministerial Council meeting, the OSCE , for the first time, adopted a major programmatic document dealing with transnational threats, the ‘ OSCE Strategy to Address Threats to Security and Stability in the Twenty-First Century’. While the Strategy itself represents a major step ahead into a hitherto unknown working field, it has never been strategically implemented, a weakness it shares with, among others, the ‘ OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension’ adopted at the same Ministerial Council meeting. The article analysis the Maastricht Strategy and looks into the question to what degree this framework document has been translated into sectoral strategies and related working structures in the areas anti-terrorism, police matters and border management, anti-trafficking in human beings, and tolerance and non- discrimination. Finally, thematic missions are discussed as a potential key tool to address transnational threats and challenges. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Security and Human Rights Brill

Summaries

Security and Human Rights , Volume 19 (4): 331 – Jan 1, 2008
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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© 2008 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
1874-7337
eISSN
1875-0230
DOI
10.1163/187502308786691126
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

SUMMARIES Editorial note: Below you will find summaries of the articles in this issue of Security and Human Rights. Conflict prevention and the issue of Higher Education in the mother tongue: The case of the Republic of Macedonia, Marcin Czapli ē ski After being largely neglected in the 20th century, today conflict prevention occupies an increasingly important role on the agenda of policy makers. At the same time, minorities have a significant impact on political stability and security in the world as at present most of the conflicts have an inter-ethnic character. Among various aspects of minority rights, the right to education in the mother tongue, including at the higher level, has led to many disputes. Besides the Macedonian case, which will be presented in this article, the Babes-Bolyai University in Cluc-Napoca (Romania) and the idea of the establishment of Hungarian language Universities in Slovakia and Vojvodina (Serbia) could be recalled as well. The case of Priština University in Kosovo demonstrates that the unresolved question of adequate education in minority languages could not only be a source of tension; it could also provide a fertile ground for the growth of nationalism and even separatism. The OSCE norms and activities related to the Security Sector Reform: An incomplete puzzle, Victor-Yves Ghebali The OSCE is actively engaged in current activities addressing the various facets of security sector reform ( SSR ). From the perspective of an institution which considers that the security of States and their citizens are mutually reinforcing, such an engagement appears completely natural. SSR represents a common concern for States in transition from war to peace and from authoritarian rule to democracy, as well as for any rule of law State. Democratic governance of the security sector is essential at all stages of the conflict management cycle: while having the potential for reducing the risk of armed violence in conflict-prone States, it happens to be an inescapable component of compromise packages conducive to a final peace settlement and constitutes a crucial element of peace- building strategies in post-conflict settings. A State with a dysfunctional security sector can disrupt political stability within its own region. As the security sector is linked to effective government authority, strong democratic institutions based on the rule of law also contribute to the prevention and combating of transnational threats, risks and challenges such as organized crime, terrorism and illicit Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 4 332 Summaries trafficking of all kinds. However, the OSCE involvement on the SSR turf is plagued with a regrettable conceptual deficit due to the absence of an integrated concept of SSR . This analysis offers a critical overview of OSCE achievements at both the normative (standard-setting) and operational level before assessing the consequence of the lack of overarching guiding principles governing the OSCE 's SSR related activities. Neither fox nor hedgehog: NATO ’s Comprehensive Approach and the OSCE ’s concept of security, Antonio Ortiz In the post-Cold War security environment of strategic confusion and deep uncertainty, multilateral security institutions are struggling to adjust and evolve from a single vision of reality to a more complex understanding of the strategic risks and challenges. Both the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe ( OSCE ) have gone through in-depth transformation, with different degrees of success, to be able to address the new threats to the security of their members. The relevance and effectiveness of multilateral security institutions depends more and more on the ability and determination of their members to adapt to and to seize the opportunities of change. This difficult ongoing and continuous process requires innovative doctrines and new mechanisms for which some organizations are conceptually or institutionally better prepared than others. This article briefly explores the doctrinal sources of NATO ’s Comprehensive Approach and its possible links with the OSCE ’s comprehensive concept of security. It looks at the opportunities and the limits of this new approach in facilitating NATO ’s interaction and engagement with other international actors, in particular the OSCE , in conceptual, institutional and operational terms. And it briefly reflects on the paradoxical, parallel lives of the OSCE ’s and NATO ’s respective approaches to security cooperation. Addressing the needs of victims of terrorism in the OSCE Region, Rianne Letschert and Antony Pemberton Although terrorism has already featured on the international agenda for many years, attention to the plight of victims of terrorism has been conspicuous in its absence until fairly recently. The policy response to terrorism in most states was mainly restricted to adjusting police tactics and criminal procedural laws for organized crime to the new demands placed on law enforcement. The increased attention to terrorism in general due to recent worldwide large-scale terrorist acts has brought the victim of terrorism to the fore. The OSCE has paid attention to victims of terrorism on various occasions, as will be discussed further below. The latest activity in this field was the development of a questionnaire concerning the member states’ policies for victims of terrorism. The focus of the questionnaire Security and Human Rights 2008 no. 4 Summaries 333 was to identify best practices in this area. The questionnaire was completed by representatives of Participating states’ governments. Of the 56 OSCE states, 24 returned the questionnaire. This article will present the main results of the questionnaire. In the analysis and presentation of the findings the authors have relied on the answers given by the respondents. The OSCE and transnational security threats, Wolfgang Zellner At its 2003 Maastricht Ministerial Council meeting, the OSCE , for the first time, adopted a major programmatic document dealing with transnational threats, the ‘ OSCE Strategy to Address Threats to Security and Stability in the Twenty-First Century’. While the Strategy itself represents a major step ahead into a hitherto unknown working field, it has never been strategically implemented, a weakness it shares with, among others, the ‘ OSCE Strategy Document for the Economic and Environmental Dimension’ adopted at the same Ministerial Council meeting. The article analysis the Maastricht Strategy and looks into the question to what degree this framework document has been translated into sectoral strategies and related working structures in the areas anti-terrorism, police matters and border management, anti-trafficking in human beings, and tolerance and non- discrimination. Finally, thematic missions are discussed as a potential key tool to address transnational threats and challenges.

Journal

Security and Human Rights – Brill

Published: Jan 1, 2008

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