Engagement with China must not lead to a further weakening of the OSCE human dimension, which is already under a lot of pressure.
Afghanistan
The OSCE’s Afghanistan Challenge
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan poses local, regional and global stability challenges for the OSCE and its participating States.
China: A Challenge or an Opportunity for the OSCE?
China has become a significant actor in the OSCE area at a time of deep divisions among participating States.
Prepare for more drones, and less all-out war
As drone technology advances and proliferates ever further, national and international security interests will increasingly come to be seen being served better by drones than by expeditionary campaigns. That said, the temptation for more state (and non-state) actors to use drones and to do so more often, will not necessarily make the world a safer or less violent place.
Taliban talks are the centrepiece for a joined-up peace deal in Afghanistan
The announcement by the United States that it intends to enter into direct negotiations with the Afghan Taliban represents a significant opportunity to manage the Western ‘exit’ from the country by the end of 2014.
Afghanistan between the Bonn Conference and fears of sectarian warfare
The recent attacks in Afghanistan underscore that the situation in the country continues to represent a major challenge for internationalised peacebuilding and state building efforts and that the fundamental problem remains wide-spread insecurity.
What should we expect from the Afghanistan Conference in Bonn?
The 2011 Bonn Conference needs to make clear that the Afghan government and people and their partners in the international community are united in their efforts to make tangible and sustainable progress towards a more stable Afghanistan in an equally more stable region.
Negotiating with the Taliban: A promising exit strategy?
A political settlement will only be possible and sustainable if both the Afghan government and the Taliban commit to it credibly and if it has broad regional and international support during its negotiation and implementation.
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.