A Worst Practices Guide to Insider Threats: Lessons from Past Mistakes

Insider threats are perhaps the most serious challenges that nuclear security systems face. All of the cases of theft of nuclear materials where the circumstances of the theft are known were perpetrated either by insiders or with the help of insiders; given that the other cases involve bulk material stolen covertly without anyone being aware the material was missing, there is every reason to believe that they were perpetrated by insiders as well. Similarly, disgruntled workers from inside nuclear facilities have perpetrated many of the known incidents of nuclear sabotage. The most recent example of which we are aware is the apparent insider sabotage of a diesel generator at the San Onofre nuclear plant in the United States in 2012; the most spectacular was an incident three decades ago in which an insider placed explosives directly on the steel pressure vessel head of a nuclear reactor and then detonated them.While many such incidents, including the two just mentioned, appear to have been intended to send a message to management, not to spread radioactivity, they highlight the immense dangers that could arise from insiders with more malevolent intent. As it turns out, insiders perpetrate a large fraction of thefts from heavily guarded non-nuclear facilities as well. Yet organizations often find it difficult to understandand protect against insider threats. Why is this the case?Part of the answer is that there are deep organizational and cognitive biases that lead managers to downplay the threats insiders pose to their nuclear facilities and operations. But another part of the answer is that those managing nuclear security often have limited information about incidents that have happened in other countries or in other industries, and the lessons that might be learned from them.The IAEA and the World Institute for Nuclear Security (WINS) produce"best practices" guides as a way of disseminating ideas and procedures that have been identified as leading to improved security. Both have produced guides on protecting against insider threats.5 But sometimes mistakes are even moreinstructive than successes.Here, we are presenting a kind of "worst practices" guide of serious mistakes made in the past regarding insider threats. While each situation is unique, and serious insider problems are relatively rare, the incidents we describe reflect issues that exist in many contexts and that every nuclear security manager should consider. Common organizational practices -- such as prioritizing production over security, failure to share information across subunits, inadequate rules or inappropriate waiving of rules, exaggerated faith in group loyalty, and excessive focus on external threats -- can be seen in many past failures to protect against insider threats

Defending Activists at Risk: Protecting Human Rights Defenders from Threats and Violence

This paper seeks to identify protection and security strategies that can be utilized to support human rights defenders. With the intention of making this paper useful to both human rights practitioners and grantmakers, we discuss important legislation, highlight case studies and conclude with a series of best practices drawn from our experience and the recommendations of experts in the field. We hope this work stimulates needed dialogue, enhancing the safety of human rights defenders and making them more effective in their tireless efforts on behalf of others

Soviet industry and the Red Army under Stalin : a military-industrial complex?

The paper considers some of the views of the Stalin–era relationship between Soviet industry and the Red Army that are current in the literature, and disentangles some confusions of translation. The economic weight of the defence sector in the economic system is summarised in various aspects. The lessons of recent archival research are used as a basis for analysing the army–industry relationship under Stalin as a prisoners’ dilemma in which, despite the potential gains from mutual cooperation, each party faced a strong incentive to cheat on the other. It is concluded that the idea of a Soviet military–industrial complex is not strictly applicable to the Stalin period, but there may be greater justification for the Soviet Union after Stalin

How important is a regional free trade area for Southern Africa?: Potential impacts and structural constraints

"We develop a detailed trade analysis to assess the potential welfare impacts of a free trade agreement (FTA) on the agricultural sector of southern African countries and to determine opportunities and challenges faced by the region as a consequence of the agreement. Our approach combines an in-depth look at the current trading patterns of southern African countries with the application of a partial equilibrium analysis that uses bilateral trade data at the four-digit standard international trade classification (SITC) level for 193 agricultural industries in 14 southern African countries. Low diversification of agricultural exports in most southern African countries seems to be a major constraint for promoting regional trade. In most countries, overall welfare effects of an FTA would be positive but small. Inefficient agricultural producers with a regional comparative advantage for agriculture would benefit from trade creation with the rest of the world. Welfare results for regional importers would be negative because of increased imports from inefficient regional producers. These results suggest that the region should be looking at regional policies and interventions beyond trade arrangements, such as those targeting investment, agricultural productivity, and diversification, to enhance benefits of regional trade liberalization." from authors' abstractRegional trade agreement, Agricultural trade, Development strategies,

Considering a war with Iran

The paper is a strategic studies analyis of the war-fronts, weapon systems and political-military tactics of a U.S.-Iranian war, including the U.S. use of nuclear weapons

Programme of Prime Minister Antti Rinne’s Government 6 June 2019: Inclusive and competent Finland – A socially, economically and ecologically sustainable society

Climate change, globalisation, urbanisation, the ageing of the population and technological development may be transforming Finland and the world faster than ever before. This transformation offers great opportunities for the development of our country, but it also creates insecurity and concerns about what lies ahead. To face this transformation, we need policy measures that offer people a sense of security and hope for a better future. The aim of the first Government of the new decade is a socially, economically and ecologically sustainable Finland by 2030. The Nordic welfare state and its key pillars, income security, well-functioning health and social services and solid education as well as high expertise create a robust and just platform for the work on reforms. In the socially, economically and ecologically sustainable Finland the economy is managed for the people, not the other way round. Sustainable economic growth is built on a high rate of employment and strong public finances. The Government of Antti Rinne aims to create 60,000 new jobs, which will be achieved by measures that boost the demand and supply of work. Besides a higher employment rate, sustainable growth also builds on more robust work productivity. The new Government rates education and research very highly. Education and culture are an important part of our value system and are considered to be a means of guaranteeing individual freedom. In the 2020s, wellbeing will continue to draw on knowledge and skills and on work and entrepreneurship. We must bring Finland’s level of education and competence back up to the top of the world league. We aim to boast the best working life in the world; to be a nation with happy and competent professionals where every person’s knowledge and skills are put to good use. Social responsibility means that we take responsibility for each other and our common future. This means a sense of trust that we will all be looked after when we are no longer able to do so ourselves. It means taking care of the whole of the nation and ensuring that our country develops equitably. Not a single senior citizen should be afraid of getting old; not a single young person should be at risk of exclusion. We will build a Finland that is child-friendly, a country where families and their opportunities to make choices are supported and where parents contribute equally to caring for their children. The world of the 2020s needs trailblazers. An ecologically sustainable Finland shows the way in mitigating climate change and protecting biodiversity. The Government is drawing a roadmap for an emissions-free Finland. The Nordic welfare model, combined with responsible and decreasing use of natural resources, is a model that will guarantee the future competitiveness of our country

Economic Backwardness in Security Perspective

Modern political economies are distinguished from each other by the institutions that mediate actors’ interactions, falling somewhere along a spectrum between pure market and non-market mechanisms. But how did these institutions originally emerge? With regard to the financial sector, I argue that higher levels of national security threats in combination with economic backwardness lead to a financial system more dominated by banking relationships. To evaluate the argument, I conduct a focused comparison of Japan and Germany before WWII since they had similar political and legal institutions and were both ‘backward’, but differed with regard to the security threats they faced. Germany confronted more menacing threats from neighboring great powers as well as greater domestic unrest following unification in 1871, which led the government to direct lending to sectors vital to the nation’s security via banks. Japan, by contrast, did not face the same level of threats to its security, and consequently securities markets were more dominant.Economic History; Germany; Japan; Government; War; Finance; Financial Institutions