The impact of migration on urban security and the quality of urban life

The paper analyzes the impact of migration on urbanization, that is, on urban security in major cities and the quality of urban life. Urbanization itself has its own positive and negative challenges. The positive challenges are most often associated with accelerated modernization of cities and their industrialization, economic development, democratization, im�proved quality of services, cultural development, education, etc. According to some unwritten rule, the quality of services in urban areas increases in proportion to the increase in the popula�tion. On the other hand, the large concentration of population in a small area highlights the dis�advantages that are a side segment of the urbanization and are most often related to security, i.e. to the so-called “urban security”. The shortfalls are associated with the increased occurrence of negative social deviations, poverty, increased crime rate, lack of drinking water, enormous soil, water and air pollution, concentration of large populations in a small area, vulnerability to terrorism, increased noise, scarce green areas, appearance of a specific microclimate, climate change, etc. This also leads to a division of the population living in neighborhoods, which are most often formed based on the economic power of the population and security. There are also poor neighborhoods that may be hotbeds of negative social deviations and are characterized by a lack of security of the population. This, in turn, requires the city authorities and the state to invest additional resources in finding mechanisms that will remove such shortfalls and allow the population greater equity and security. Urbanization is widely accepted by a large proportion of the population, but there is also strong resistance in part of the population that opposes modernization and urbanization and is attached to the traditional way of life in the rural areas. The paper aims to emphasize some of the benefits, but also some of the challenges that are a segment of the urbanization, that is, the migration of the population and urban security and the quality of life of the population

Country Reports on Terrorism 2019

This 2019 report details terrorist activities occuring around the world and provides an overview of areas where international and regional terrorist organizations may have a presence or foothold and access to financial or other types of support

The EU’s Approach to Peacebuilding in Common Security and Defence Policy Missions and Operations

The main purpose of this thesis is to provide an understanding of the EU’s approach to peacebuilding in its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions and operations. The thesis explores why EU missions carry out mainly post-conflict peacebuilding tasks and whether the shift towards peacebuilding is about a substantial change of EU norms. The research analyses how peacebuilding in CSDP actions is framed, designed and operationalised through the complex decision- and policy-making processes within the CSDP. In particular, the thesis assesses how the EU’s approach to peacebuilding in the CSDP was influenced by the UN’s conceptualisation of peacebuilding and how the EU has developed its own distinctive approach to peacebuilding. While looking at the examples of civilian missions and military operations in Mali and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the thesis provides insights into the operational dynamics of peacebuilding under the CSDP. The thesis argues that CSDP missions and operations reflect a normative and practical commitment of the EU to international peacebuilding. CSDP actions deployed in post-conflict scenarios follow the logic of liberal peacebuilding strategies while aiming at the stabilisation, reconstruction and building of the institutions of a functioning state, in particular the military, police and justice sectors. The EU pursues its peacebuilding activities under the CSDP in a comprehensive, case-specific and geopolitically strategic way as demonstrated by case studies of Mali and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the research reveals that, although the shift towards peacebuilding in CSDP actions has been underpinned by a change of normative approaches, driven by the reform process of the UN peacekeeping, it also reflects the EU’s preferences, pragmatic limits and capability-expectation gaps in crisis management.Peterhouse Postgraduate Studentship; Greta Burkil Fund / Peterhouse; University of Cambridge/ Department of Politics and International Studies Fieldwork Fun

Reduction of Ict Security Risks Using Level Based Approach

Security controls are certainly one of the most preferred ways of controlling the environment in which our system is “alive”. But although they are heavily represented and used in practice, security controls tend to become the same and not change after they are introduced. To try to make the most of the opportunities that this approach provides, this paper will explain the importance of implementing ICT security controls and propose a new approach by adding emergency ICT control. This approach gives us the ability to integrate the entire organization into the development of control by providing a better, more accurate and faster basis for managing the security risks of ICT technology

NATO burden sharing policy and Covid 19 implications on defence expenditures

The aim of the paper is to evaluate the implementation of NATO policies, recommendations and guidelines in the field of defence expenditures in accordance with the Declarations and the accompanying documents from 2014 Wales Summit. The pledge to share 2% of GDP for defence expenditures and at least 20% of them on major new equipment aims to increase the Alliance’s ability to meet the three core tasks arising from the 2010 Strategic Concept. At the same time, research and development (R&D) of new capabilities to respond to the rapidly changing threats and risks in the Euro-Atlantic area is a challenge not only for each Ally, but also for NATO as a whole entity. The paper provides an analysis of the implementation of the “2/20 pledge” policies and recommendations of the Alliance from the 2014 Wales Summit in view of meeting the guidelines to spend a minimum of 2% of GDP on defence by 2024 and 20% of it on major new equipment, including related R&D of new capabilities. A parallel of defence expenditures distribution by main categories has been made for the period 2013-2020. The main categories include operational expenditures (personnel, operations and maintenance) and capital investments in defence (equipment and modernization, and infrastructure). At the same time, the distribution of defence expenditures by main categories for the period 2013-2020 for the Republic of North Macedonia was analyzed in accordance with NATO methodology and data provided by the Ministry of Defence of North Macedonia. In addition, expert analyses related to COVID 19 implications and impact on the economic and GDP growth are presented. This COVID 19 implication is expected to have a certain positive or negative impact on defence expenditures in 2020, as well as in the following years. No matter which scenario prevails, experts agree that defence expenditure needs to maintain an upward trend not only as a percentage of GDP, but also in real terms. This is necessary not only for dealing with modern, rapidly growing and unpredictable threats to citizens’ security and safety, but also for the economic recovery of the Allies from the COVID 19 effects

REPATRIATION OF MIGRANTS TO ISIS: THE EXPERIENCE OF FOUR STATES FROM THE WESTERN BALKANS

This article is about the repatriation of migrants to ISIS by four countries of the Western Balkans: Albania, BiH, Kosovo and Republic of North Macedonia. The main research question is: under which conditions States are prone to repatriate their nationals in ISIS? It is argued that the likelihood of undertaking such a step is higher where there is a constellation of strong internal (number of migrants, secular-oriented Muslim population, government messages, suitable legislation, interinstitutional and intersectoral cooperation, participation of civil society) and external incentives (desire to prove oneself as a reliable international partner, membership in international organizations, international cooperation in repatriation operations)

Analysis and views on the report of the reflection group on NATO 2030: United for a new era

During London Summit held in 2019, allied leaders had a substantive discussion, among other political and security issues, to initiate a “reflection process in order to further strengthen the political dimension of NATO. In that regard Secretary General Stoltenberg in 2019 stressed that “as the world changes, NATO will continue to change”. Going back in the past, we can notice that since its foundation in 1949, NATO has faced numerous challenges related to its own survival. All those adaptations have helped NATO to build appropriate tools and mechanisms and gain political and military strength. Today, NATO is strong, but it has to continue to adapt and respond to a changing security environment. Looking up to 2030, the need for collective defence of the Alliance to protect Europe and North America against threats to their physical security and democratic way of life is as strong as ever. Today, and in the future NATO has to strengthen its political and military adaptation by developing a capability for dealing with emerging challenging threats. To continue adapting the Alliance to this unpredictability, Allied leaders launched the NATO 2030 initiative. Today, the world does not just face one clear challenge, but multiple, complex challenges, from pandemics to infodemics, from climate change to disruptive technologies. So far, well-known threats like terrorism, in all its forms and manifestations will persist, even as new risks loom from pandemics and climate change, to the emerging and disruptive technologies (EDTs) that present both dangers and opportunities for the Alliance. Fulfilling this role will require even greater cohesion and ability to act collectively against shared threats. This is a way for NATO to be in a stronger position than the others, both in the fight to protect the freedom and security of its members and in acting as an essential pillar of an open and stable international order. The initiation of the reflection process is a serious step towards the preparation of a new Alliance`s Strategic Concept that will replace the existing one from 2010 and pave the way for the development of the Alliance until 2030 and beyond

Rule of Law Challenges in the Western Balkans

Establishing the rule of law remains a key challenge in the Western Balkans. Progress in the region, while different across countries, is slow (Mendelski, 2018; Milošević and Muk, 2016). The rule of law criterion has emerged as one of the top priorities and key concerns in EU enlargement policies for the region (Elbasani and Šabić, 2017). The EU Commission’s new enlargement strategy emphasises that “the rule of law must be strengthened significantly” (EC, 2018). Strengthening the rule of law is not only an institutional issue, but also requires societal transformation in the countries and incorporation of particular fundamental values into daily culture (Hoxhaj, 2018). This report discusses the key challenges faced by countries in the Western Balkans in the area of rule of law and the experience of relevant reform efforts. Given the breadth of this topic, the report is based on a review of literature published during the past five years. They comprise primarily of academic literature, NGO reports, and EC and US government status reports. There are very limited donor evaluations or discussions of particular projects and programming readily available. In addition, academic and NGO literature rarely refer to specific donor projects and programmes, but rather discuss reforms more generally. A key commonality in academic and NGO literature is the critique that donors have not paid sufficient attention in their reform efforts to issues of pervasive politicisation and historical legacies in the region that impinge on the current culture and environment. There has also been inadequate attention to the need for accountability. As such, reform progress can be constrained. In some instances, reforms may even produce negative unintended consequences, such as by pushing for strong, independent judicial councils, when members are still politicised and subject to political influences