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This Week at the ISN

Our Weekly Content Roundup

09 13 February 2015

JUMP TO Editorial Plan | Security Watch | Blog | Video

// Security Watch

This week, our 'hard power' Security Watch series focuses on the potential for pirate attacks on aid convoys along the Nile
River; why hybrid warfare is neither new nor an exclusively Russian phenomenon; how the US drawdown in Afghanistan
could affect the economic and security interests of China, India and Pakistan; how governments can lead the fight against
cyber jihad; and how France's new defense and security strategy has evolved over the past year. Then, in our second,
more wide-ranging feature, we consider Dirk Messner's thinking on the dynamics of global change; the current status of
Turkey's peace talks with the PKK; possible links between illegal gold mining and insecurity along the Liberia-Cte d'Ivoire
border; the future of US-Russia relations; and what the recent cyber-attacks against Sony and others reveal about the
changing nature of cyber-threats.

The South Sudanese Conflict and the Pirates of the Nile

09 February 2015

The UN and other aid agencies are planning to send more food and equipment to South Sudan along the Nile River. Paul
Pryce warns, however, that this might be accompanied by a rise in pirate attacks, a problem that the region's armed and
security forces are ill-equipped to deal with. More

Theory Talks: Dirk Messner on the Dynamics of Global Change and the Significance of International
Science and Technology Cooperation in the Post-Western World
09 February 2015

To what extent have global power shifts facilitated new patterns of international cooperation, particularly when it comes to
science and technology? The answer to this and other questions can be found in this Theory Talk with the German
Development Institute's Dirk Messner. More

Hybrid Tactics: Neither New nor Only Russian

10 February 2015

Turkey's Peace Process with the PKK Faltering

10 February 2015

Pinar Elman warns that several factors threaten to derail Turkey's peace talks with the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK).
These include rifts emerging within the PKK leadership, the threat posed by the so-called Islamic State along the Turkish
border and more. More

Pakistan, India, and China after the U.S. Drawdown from Afghanistan
11 February 2015

The United States' impending withdrawal from Afghanistan has raised concerns about the nature and character of the
regional strategic environment in the coming years. Today, Rabia Akhtar and Jayita Sarkar look at how the US drawdown
could affect the economic and security interests of China, India and Pakistan. More

International Gold: Demand and Insecurity

11 February 2015

Is illegal gold mining aggravating security problems along the border between Liberia and Cte d'Ivoire? This
anonymously written article thinks so. That's because the mining areas are supported by remote camps where young men
can sustain themselves and be recruited by commanders for cross-border attacks. More

Cyber Jihadists and Their Web

12 February 2015

How can governments ensure that they play a leading role in the fight against cyber jihadists? Beatrice Berton and Patryk
Pawlak think that an explicit and unquestioned commitment to keeping the internet open, safe and secure as stated in
the EU's cyber-security strategy - might be part of the solution. More

The US-Russia Implosion

12 February 2015

Richard Weitz does not expect the current breakdown in relations between the United States and Russia to culminate in
another Cold War. He also warns, however, that dialogue between Washington and Moscow will remain difficult until both
sides have more harmonious values and interests. More

France's New Strategy: Two Years On

13 February 2015

When it was first published, France's current defense White Paper caused some anxiety about whether the spending cuts
it called for might undermine the country's security and strategic autonomy. Two years later, Lisa Watanabe wonders
whether these fears have been borne out. More

Sony, the Internet of Things, and the Evolving Cyber-Threat

13 February 2015

Do recent cyber-attacks including North Korea's against Sony and a Stuxnet-style attack against a German steel works
suggest that the nature of the cyber-threat is escalating? Chris Bronk thinks so. That's because advances in computing
and the revenue-driven culture of corporate hierarchies are undermining the implementation of much-needed security
measures. More

// Blog

The Forgotten Year: 1915

09 February 2015

The battles that the British Army fought on the Western Front in 1915 were a key stage in the development of modern
warfare. Today, Nick Lloyd outlines some of the technical and tactical innovations that emerged throughout this year, and
reveals why 1915 deserves its place in reappraisals of the First World War. More

The Syrian Opposition Meeting in Cairo: One Small Step

10 February 2015

What was the significance of the recent gathering of Syrian opposition figures in the Egyptian capital? Geoffrey Aaronson
thinks that the meeting confirmed Egypt's entry into the Syrian crisis and represented the still-fragmented opposition's first
tentative steps in the direction of a compromise with the Assad regime. More

Fascism in Interwar Egypt: Islam, Nationalism and Political Modernization

11 February 2015

Panos Kourgiotis thinks that three factors help to explain the emergence of Fascism in interwar Egypt: 1) the impact of the
1929 Great Depression on the agricultural base of the Egyptian economy; 2) domestic political struggles between the King
and the Wafd; and 3) the foreign communities of the big urban centers. More

Arctic Oil on Life Support

12 February 2015

Why is the tapping of the Arctic's vast oil reserves proving to be more difficult than previously thought? Nick Cunningham's
answer points to industrial mishaps, plummeting oil prices and limited opportunities for partnering with Russian oil
producers. More

Jack Goldstone: "Migration, Islam and Security"

13 February 2015

What is the future of the Muslim community in the West? What should be the nature of Europe's relationship with the
Islamic world? Does Europe have an immigration problem, or an integration problem? These were the issues discussed
by Jack Goldstone at a recent ISN-CIS roundtable. More

// Video

The Future of Military [Forces]

In this video, a mix of experts and practitioners discuss 1) the nature of conflict today and how it might evolve in the future;
2) how the world's militaries could be more adaptable in an era of hybrid warfare; and 3) the challenges facing the armed
forces of Europe, Iraq, Colombia and the US. More

Confusion Through Sand

This award-winning and disturbing animated film "explores the spectrum of haze experienced by today's soldiers in the
desert." The action takes place on the ground and "under the helmet" of a 19 year-old combat infantryman who
encounters circumstances beyond his control. More

The Myth of Deterrence Stability between Nuclear-Armed Rivals

In this video, the Stimson Center's Michael Krepon explores 1) the concept of deterrence stability, which he defines as "a
situation where adversaries feel that their nuclear capabilities are configured and balanced against each other in such a
way that they prevent either a nuclear or a conventional attack," and 2) the difficulties of achieving such stability. More

// Multimedia Content
Here is a selection of this week's additions to the ISN Digital
Library:

Publications More
// African Development: What Role do the Rising Powers Play? More
// Hostages to Moscow, Clients of Beijing
More
// The Emerging Era in Undersea Warfare
More

Videos More
// Intelligence in a Dynamic World More
Peshawar: Domestic Security in Pakistan More
/After
/
//Brazil's Metamorphosis More

Audio / Podcasts More

// Whatever Happened to the Abominable Gas Man? Russia and Security of Gas Supply in the EU
More
// Scorecard 2015: Thomas Wright on the United States
More
// What's Next for the Global Economy: A Look Ahead at 2015 More

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