While there can be no doubt that the national and international legal regulation of the deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs, drones) for the purposes of surveillance, monitoring, intelligence gathering, and military strikes is of great importance, it is equally significant to take account of the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the deployment of drones, especially in relation to their use for targeted killing.
Middle East and North Africa
Managing Expectations in Yemen’s National Dialogue Conference
Managing expectations inside and outside of Yemen about what the National Dialogue can accomplish will enable broadly acceptable outcomes to be achieved by participants in the conference and their subsequent sustainable implementation by all stakeholders.
International Conflict Management after Libya: the glass (still) half-full?
The international community’s capacity for conflict management remains a potentially highly effective, albeit not flawless, instrument for managing a wide range of security challenges, which, however, will be applied, as it always has, selectively and in line with the national interests of the great powers.
The death of Osama Bin Laden-what implications for international security?
Osama Bin Laden’s death is a significant, if perhaps mostly symbolic, achievement in the fight against international terrorism. It does not spell the end of al-Qaeda, but it demonstrates that Western skill and determination can prevail.
Three reasons why we should not arm the Libyan rebels
Thus far, the enforcement of the no-fly zone has served its purpose and stopped Gaddafi’s forces from further advances. Perhaps it is time to scale back military talk and give diplomacy another chance, including by working closely with, rather than arming, the rebels.
Libya: A solution worse than the problem?
Related NotesAs the crisis in Libya unfolds and as the US, France and the UK get potentially sucked ever deeper into yet another disastrous military intervention, policy debates and decisions appear to be driven primarily by humanitarian concern. Unsurprisingly,...
Iraq at a crossroads: Dealing with the Energy Question and Disputed Territories
Maintaining, and actively managing, the status quo does not resolve any of the big questions, but it avoids “solutions” that are worse than the problems they are targeted at.
How to deal with Yemen
There are important parallels between Yemen and Afghanistan that help put in context the very complex challenge that Yemen has posed for some time.
What does the future hold for Kirkuk?
Three months after parliamentary elections were held in Iraq, a new government has yet to be formed, and it appears that the status of Kirkuk remains one of the stumbling blocks on the way to forming a new coalition.