Public Policy Commons^™

Report Of The Select Committee On Intelligence United States Senate On Russian Active Measures Campaigns And Interference In The 2016 U.S. Election: Volume 2: Russia's Use Of Social Media, With Additional Views, Select Committee On Intelligence United States Senate

United States Senate Documents

In 2016, Russian operatives associated with the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency (IRA) used social media to conduct an information warfare campaign designed to spread disinformation and societal division in the United States. Masquerading as Americans, these operatives used targeted advertisements, intentionally falsified news articles, self-generated content, and social media platform tools to interact with and attempt to deceive tens of millions of social media users in the United States. This campaign sought to polarize Americans on the basis of societal, ideological, and racial differences, provoked real world events, and was part of a foreign government's covert support of Russia's …

Demining In Urban Centers Is A Race Against Time, Pascal Rapillard, Jeremy Repond

Global CWD Repository

Identifying and clearing explosive ordnances in formerly embattled areas in Iraq is a matter of priority as refugees and internally displaced persons are returning to their homes. It is a race against time.

Achievements And New Challenges In Mine Action, Stefano Toscano

Global CWD Repository

In the past two decades, the sector has achieved significant results: 31 of the formerly contaminated countries have declared themselves mine free; more than 52 million stockpiled mines have been destroyed; the new use of antipersonnel mines by States, even those not yet party to the Convention, is rare; the International Mine Action Standards (IMAS) play a key role in ensuring safe, efficient and effective demining activities. The sector has also made strong efforts to reinforce its role as an enabler of broader agendas: while pursuing its own objectives, mine action also represents a prerequisite for additional transformative agendas such …

A Guide To Non-Technical Survey, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The aim of this guide is to provide an introduction to Non-Technical Survey (NTS) for mine action personnel who wish to learn more about the subject, but who may lack practical experience. This guide collects the lessons learnt from the development and standardisation of the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) Non-Technical Survey Training Course and will form part of the pre-course reading material. It aims to provide course participants with a better understanding of the theory and practice of NTS operations. The importance of the practical training cannot be overstated, and this guide is not meant to replace …

Demining In Urban Centres Is A Race Against Time, Pascal Rapillard, Jeremy Repond

Global CWD Repository

Pascal Rapillard, GICHD Head of External Relations, Policy and Cooperation programme and Jérémy Repond, GICHD External Relations Officer, expand on how demining in urban centres is a race against time.

The Ninth Meeting Of States Parties To The Convention On Cluster Munitions (2019), Ccm

Global CWD Repository

The Ninth Meeting of States Parties of the Convention on Cluster Munitions will take place from 2 to 4 September 2019 in Geneva at the Palais des Nations.

National Capacities And Residual Contamination (Croatia), Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Croatia is affected by explosive ordnance (EO) contamination that consists of mines and, to a lesser extent, explosive remnants of war (ERW), including cluster munition remnants, caused by the legacy of four years of armed conflict associated with the break-up of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s.

This case study documents Croatia’s experience of developing national systems and capacities to address residual contamination and to identify and present good practices and lessons learnt. In addition, this case study highlights the importance of a participatory and transparent long-term strategic planning process, including a comprehensive and properly …

Factors In Refugee Resilience Building During Humanitarian Response, Rachel Starner

Capstone Collection

If countries hosting refugees want to build resiliency and reduce dependency on foreign relief, humanitarian response and local development need to be addressed simultaneously, and collaboration at all levels of stakeholders needs to take place in planning and decision making. Additionally, innovation and strong leadership are strong factors in creating and leading new ideas as funding and world leadership dynamics change, especially with traditional leaders such as the US and the UN losing influence. Observations made at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda as well as existing document analysis reflect these traits by active efforts of camp administrators and humanitarian …

Vietnam Ageing Study Management Of Explosive Remnants Of War (More), Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Every conflict leaves behind explosive remnants of war (ERW) in lesser or greater quantities depending upon the nature and duration of the conflict and the types and quantities of weapons used. How ERW are dealt with reflects local circumstances and conditions, as well as the influence of international humanitarian law (IHL), the availability of resources and prioritisation choices made by governments, international institutions and agencies. In many cases an initial period of proactive effort is followed, sooner or later, by the adoption of more reactive policies and practices. The duration of the transition period varies from country to country, but …

Long-Term Risk Management Tools And Protocols For Residual Explosive Ordnance Mitigation (Vietnam), Gichd

Global CWD Repository

The Management of Residual Explosive Remnants of War (MORE) framework is a holistic long-term risk management (LTRM) approach for handling the reality of risks posed by explosive ordnance (EO). The current Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) project in Vietnam includes – amongst other objectives – the development and pilot of LTRM processes, tools and protocols in several provinces. Vietnam offers ideal preconditions for the testing of the concept.

Vietnam not being a signatory of binding conventions, yet with the recently signed national mine action decree, leaves the national authority and national mine action centre with the question of …

Geneva International Centre For Humanitarian Demining 2018 Annual Report, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

In 2018, GICHD staff visited and supported 61 countries to improve mine action globally and locally and delivered over 30 training sessions and workshops. To carry out this work, our staff grew. As of the end of 2018, the GICHD is made up of 74 staff members representing 23 nations.

Read about all the main areas of the Centre's work in 2018, as well as highlights of some of its major achievements. The report also includes a summary of the financial statements and the most recent list of the members of the Council of Foundation and the Advisory Board.

Constructing And Destructing The Peace: Models Of International Engagement In Post-Conflict States, Colin Churchill

Political Science Honors Projects

Variance in the stability of post-conflict states presents an interesting predicament. What causes this variance in states two or three decades removed from civil conflict? In this paper, I argue that the type of engagement that international actors take towards post-conflict states explains differences in stability. I draw out four distinct models of international engagement from three case studies of Lebanon, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Northern Ireland that present the different ways that international actors have constructively and destructively engaged in these states. Furthering this analysis is an examination of the transition or possible transition between models in the cases.

Best Training Practices For Probation Officers And Staff Toward Building A More Sophisticated, Fair, And Effective System Of Juvenile Justice In San Diego County, Carissa Carrasquillo

Ethnic Studies Senior Capstone Papers

This report illustrates how probation leadership, officers, and staff in San Diego County can adopt best training practices to address and alleviate incidents in juvenile detention facilities and build a sophisticated, fair, and effective system of juvenile justice. The goal of implementing best training practices for probation officers and staff is to build a knowledgeable workforce to better serve youth and families and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. This report analyzes how innovations in management and the introduction of new programs has proven effective through research- and evidence-based practices and direct community involvement. In particular, …

Resolving Conflict Between Canada’S Indigenous Peoples And The Crown Through Modern Treaties: Yukon Case History, Kirk Cameron

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article presents an example of how modern treaties with Yukon First Nations have created a foundation for co-relational involvement in the direction and control of land and resource management throughout Canada’s subnational region of Yukon, approximately 470,000 square kilometers in size. The modern treaties with eleven of the fourteen Yukon First Nations create assessment and management structures where appointment to these bodies are nominations not only from the territorial and federal governments but from the Yukon First Nations. The rights captured in the treaties are protected under Canada’s supreme law, the Constitution Act, 1982. The treaty relationship has effectively …

Contextualizing Approaches To Indigenous Peoples’ Experiences Of Intractable Conflict, Michele A. Sam

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article contextualizes intractable conflict within the lived experiences and worldviews of an Indigenous person, imbued with academic and scholarly research. The text illustrates how intractable conflict is experienced within the “developed world,” resulting in both freedom and fragmentation. Whether intractable conflict stems from colonial and postcolonial development and influences current Indigenous Peoples’ self-development efforts in Canada, specifically, and possibly across British colonies in general seems to be a new inquiry. The author relates her intergenerational experiences of contact, unpacking research and development in its many forms alongside the characteristics of intractable conflict and related federal Indian and social policy. …

Cultural Work In Addressing Conflicts And Violence In Traumatized Communities, Eugen Koh

New England Journal of Public Policy

There is a growing appreciation that conflict and violence in many communities have their origins in a history of traumatic experiences. Why this link exists and how it comes about is still unclear. We have no unified psychology of traumatized communities, and little is known about how to address these traumatic origins collectively in these communities. This article proposes a psychodynamic model of collective trauma and a psychoanalytically informed approach to working with traumatized communities to address their issues of conflict and violence. It highlights the impact of collective trauma on the culture of a community, which is its collective …

The 4m Way Of Combating Violent Extremism: An Analysis*, Kumar Ramakrishna

New England Journal of Public Policy

This article puts forth a “4M Way” of dealing with the threat of violent Islamist extremism in Southeast Asia. It argues that our narrative must be fundamentally more attractive to the target audience than the competing vision of the violent extremists. The memes that constitute our narrative in the social media space must be “stickier” than those of the violent extremists. The personal credibility of our messenger in the eyes of the target audience should exceed that of extremist ideologues vis-á-vis that same audience. The mechanisms that we employ to impart our messages to the target audience must be more …

Stories Untold: Art From Syria, Manas Ghanem

New England Journal of Public Policy

In Damascus, a group of artists created paintings of startling intensity, rich in texture and bold to the eye, suffused with light and reflecting alternate realities: the resilience of a highly cultured people with a civilization of seven thousand years and a history of survival and reinvention. While the machines of war produced death, amid the blood and terror, the devastation and savagery, these artists produced images of hope and beauty that were brought together in an exhibition held in Athens and other parts of Greece. The paintings that accompany Ghanem’s article, “Stories Untold: Art from Syria,” also the name …

Preparing The Psychological Space For Peacemaking, Gabrielle Rifkind, Nita Yawanarajah

New England Journal of Public Policy

Peace processes fail for many reasons, but one of the critical factors is the state of mind of the participants around the peace table. Often the atmosphere is one of mistrust and suspicion: the traumatic effects of the conflict and the degree of suffering makes the parties likely to be more interested in retribution than accommodation. This state of mind keeps conflict parties rigidly and emotionally attached to their positions and often psychologically blocked from being able to engage productively in a peace process and achieve outcomes that meet their best interests.

This article proposes that to make conflict resolution …

The Crisis Of Cultures And The Vitality Of Values: A Commentary On Emmanuel Macron’S Declaration Of The Need For Religion, Scott Atran

New England Journal of Public Policy

French president Emmanuel Macron’s claim that society needs religion is explored in the light of rising populism and illiberalism, and failures allied to the forced gamble of globalization. Historical and experimental research indicates that the universal religions have no fixed meanings or essences that drive followers. Religions have adapted to many contexts and cultures because core elements are believed sacred and transcendental, that is, non-negotiable, logically inscrutable, empirically unverifiable or falsifiable and therefore always open to interpretation under changing sociopolitical influences. Recent studies in the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe suggest that “devoted actors” committed to transcendental causes are …

Iraq Programme Report 2018, Unmas

Global CWD Repository

Upon request from the Government of Iraq and the United Nations, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) was formally established in June 2015 to lead the efforts, in close collaboration with the Iraqi government, to mitigate explosive hazards in country. Our mission is to facilitate the safe, dignified, and voluntary return of internally displaced persons to their homes. UNMAS achieves this mandate through three different response modalities: » First, we provide explosive hazard management in support of humanitarian and stabilization efforts. » Second, we deliver risk education at the community, national and regional level to protect the local population …

The Controversial F-35 Joint Strike Fighter: America's Most Expensive Weapons System And Its Global Impact, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Creative Materials

Presentation describing my 2019 Palgrave Macmillan book Global Defense Procurement and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. It describes this aircraft and places particular emphasis on the government information resources from multiple countries used in writing this book.

To Walk The Earth In Safety 18th Edition (Cy 2018), Us Dos Pm/Wra

Global CWD Repository

This 18th Edition of To Walk the Earth In Safety summarizes the United States’ Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) programs in 2018. CWD assistance provides the United States with a powerful and flexible tool to help partner countries manage their stockpiles of munitions, destroy excess small arms and light weapons (SA/LW) and clear explosive hazards such as landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and unexploded ordnance (UXO). Our assistance also helps countries destroy illicitly-held or poorly-secured man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS) and mitigate their threat to civilian aviation and public safety.

In today’s dynamic world, threats to U.S. national security abound. The …

Book Review: Forced Confrontation: The Politics Of Dead Bodies In Germany At The End Of World War Ii, Christiane K. Alsop

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Ddasaccident820, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

It appears that the explosive hazard was a small IED concealed or wrapped in plastic (which is common with IEDs). The only recorded injury was a severe foot injury that resulted in surgical amputation, from which it is reasonable to infer that the Victim stepped on a pressure initiated explosive device that he had missed during his search.

Ddasaccident821, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

A bomb explosion killed two of three “unlicensed” men who were hired to carry out mine clearance in O’Svay commune, in Oddar Meanchey province’s Trapaing Prasat district.

The primary cause of this accident is listed as ‘Inadequate training’ because the deminers were working without applying basic safety rules. This is apparent because Victim No.2 was brewing tea alongside the excavation being conducted by Victim No.1. The secondary cause is listed as a ‘Field control inadequacy’ because the mature team member (who may have been experienced) was not paying attention to the work of the young men as he went to …

Utilizing The Iatg In Conflict-Affected And Low-Capacity Environments, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Inadequately-managed ammunition poses the dual risk of accidental explosions of ammunition sites and diversion to illicit markets, resulting in humanitarian disasters and contributing to armed conflict, terrorism and crime.

To promote the effective, safe and secure management of ammunition stockpiles in accordance with the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), the UN SaferGuard Programme has published this practical guide.

Critical Path Guide To The International Ammunition Technical Guidelines, Gichd, Small Arms Survey

Global CWD Repository

Inadequately-managed ammunition poses the dual risk of accidental explosions of ammunition sites and diversion to illicit markets, resulting in humanitarian disasters and contributing to armed conflict, terrorism and crime.

To promote the effective, safe and secure management of ammunition stockpiles in accordance with the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), the UN SaferGuard Programme has published this practical guide.

This Guide has been co-authored by the GICHD and Small Arms Survey.

A Guide To Developing National Standards For Ammunition Management, Gichd, Small Arms Survey

Global CWD Repository

Inadequately-managed ammunition poses the dual risk of accidental explosions of ammunition sites and diversion to illicit markets, resulting in humanitarian disasters and contributing to armed conflict, terrorism and crime.

To promote the effective, safe and secure management of ammunition stockpiles in accordance with the International Ammunition Technical Guidelines (IATG), the UN SaferGuard Programme has published this practical guide.

This Guide was co-authored by the GICHD and Small Arms Survey.

Ddasaccident819, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

The primary cause of this accident is listed as a ‘Field control inadequacy’ because the person in charge at the site had decided to move fuzed explosive hazards and did not enforce safety distances that would have reduced the casualty toll in the event of an accident.

The secondary cause is listed as ‘Inadequate training’, because, while all of the victims had extensive experience, it seems that their training had not prepared them to conduct this task safely.

It is surprising that five ex-pat specialists who had been supervising the teams of national deminers who found the mines should have …