Security Sector Reform as a Tool for Development
In its 2017 report, the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) highlighted that security and justice institutions are often the main interface between states and the populations they are meant to serve. However, the states protracted ineffectiveness or poor governance can leave the door open for conflict to escalate. DCAF’s Dr. Hans Born spoke with VantagePoints to share his thoughts and experience on how an effective and robust security sector reform (SSR) process can be an important tool for peace and development.
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The Value of Peacekeeping
This year, the United Nations (UN) celebrates 70 years of peacekeeping. Since 1948, more than one million UN peacekeepers from over 100 countries have served to stabilize some of the world’s most volatile conflict zones. Studies have shown that peacekeeping makes a huge difference in terms of preventing the resurgence of conflict when sufficiently resourced and equipped. But with recent budget cuts to several UN Peacekeeping missions, there is a growing concern about the future of the institution. VantagePoints recently spoke with Chandrima Das on this issue. Ms. Das ...
Basic Lines of Operation: Governance, Development and Security
21st-century global environment demands that good governance and development must be incorporated in security strategies. How and when can the security sector shift from mere affording physical protection to the long-term benefits of human security and development needs? In this VantagePoints piece, James Creighton, a former commander of Combined Team Uruzgan and Chief of Plans for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan shares how the interconnected challenges of governance, development, and security require significant integration within and ...
The Future of Development is Agile
Innovation is very key. The rate of change is so fast, and innovation is very key. Now, with innovation comes a level of disruption. It’s almost creating some level of chaos. As practitioners of projects and project management, we’ve got to understand that things are going to be chaotic, and we need to adapt our structure to be able to deal with the chaos.
A Spirit of Service: Technologists Are Advancing UN SDGs
There are many wonderful, bold projects around the world, not just in the US, being developed in answer to the world’s most pressing problems, from giving identity to the most vulnerable to trafficking, giving banking to the unbanked, transparency in food supply chain, and tokenizing activities to give everyone financial inclusion in this data-driven economy.
Peace Tech is Good for Business
We like to say that, “We can spot stories before they become stories.” We’re projecting things like likelihood of protests—some of which are violent—down to the city and date. That’s what we’re actually doing in terms of our projections. We monitor data, and we can see some trends and say, “Hey, this might turn into some big story.”
THE ART OF EFFECTIVE HUMANITARIAN LOGISTICS
In the future, I think there’s going to be much more emphasis on local procurement than on the old model of shipping of containers from other countries. I don’t see the old model completely disappearing—there is a legitimate place for excess usable goods, especially new, to be utilized in the humanitarian sector rather than ending up in landfills—but it’s going to be much more thoughtfully and philosophically done going forward.
Life as a Displaced Person in Iraq
Over two million individuals have been hosted in Kurdish refugee camps over the last ten years. There are still over 1.3 million people living in 47 camps and local neighborhoods throughout Kurdistan. These camps were designed to provide temporary shelter.
Artificial Intelligence is Changing the Conversation
"The true end goal is to have an embodied agent moving around. You can think of AI as the brain, and robotics as the body. Right now, we have disembodied voices speaking to us–that’s not real. When we finally have these physically present robots, things will change. Robotics and virtual or augmented reality are two areas to focus on. Robotics is the tipping point. "
Justice is Key to Social Stability and Lasting Peace in Iraq
"There is an immediate need to bring to justice all those who have committed crimes and violated the rights of Iraqi civilians, not only members of terrorist organizations but all who have, in personal or official capacity, committed vicious crimes. A credible justice system should give no consideration to political affiliations, social status, or religious and ethnic identities."
