Beyond the Border Management Programme for Central Asia (BOMCA). EUCAM Policy Brief No. 11, 07 December 2009

Since 2003, the EU has been exporting border management assistance to the Central Asian Republics via the Border Management Programme for Central Asia (BOMCA), which has sought to train border guards, provide key technology and infrastructure at border crossings, and prod states in managing their borders jointly. BOMCA is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme through a network of five in-country teams wholly dedicated to BOMCA. While the programme’s continued presence in all Central Asian states is itself a success and measures well in comparison to initiatives in the EU’s Central Asia Strategy for a New Partnership, 2007-2013, this policy brief assesses BOMCA’s mission and achievements so far and provides recommendations designed to bolster the EU’s impact on border management assistance

State Failure and Regional Containment: The Case of Afghanistan

Streaming video requires RealPlayer to view.The University Archives has determined that this item is of continuing value to OSU's history.George Gavrilis is assistant professor of government at the University of Texas at Austin and an International Affairs Fellow with the Council on Foreign Relations. He has previously held the positions of Director of Research for the Council on Foreign Relations Oral History Project (Columbia University), Associate Research Fellow at the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy (Columbia University), and National Security Postdoctoral Fellow at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies (Harvard University). During his lecture on "State Failure and Regional Containment: The Case of Afghanistan" Gavrilis will explore the strategic role that states play towards the recovery of a failed neighbor. The talk is based on the author’s recent work in the field and with international organizations. It will focus on the case of Afghanistan as a way to explore broader hypotheses on state failure and regional containment. Gavrilis's research and teaching interests include border management, judicial politics, strategies of conflict, and state failure and international cooperation. His field experience includes the Middle East, Central Asia, and Europe. Gavrilis's first book, The Dynamics of Interstate Boundaries (Cambridge University Press, 2008), explains why some borders deter insurgents, smugglers, bandits and militants while most suffer from infiltration and crisis. He has also published articles in Foreign Affairs and The Washington Quarterly. Gavrilis has received research awards and fellowships from the Social Science Research Council, the Institute for Social & Economic Research and Policy, the American Research Institute in Turkey, the Institute for Turkish Studies, the University of Texas at Austin and Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. with distinction in political science from Columbia University. He graduated with honors in the joint B.A./M.A. program in the Committee on International Relations at the University of Chicago. He is fluent in seven languages including Greek, Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Uzbek, French, Spanish, and English.Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security StudiesEvent Web page, streaming video, event photos, articl

Central Asias Border Woes & the Impact of International Assistance

Over the last decade, the Central Asian republics have hosted a number of international programs designed to overhaul, equip, and reform the region's border control practices aimed at making the borders more secure and open-more secure against threats such as narcotrafficking and cross-border extremism and more open to licit civilian crossings and lucrative trade flows.The sixth paper of CEP's Occasional Paper Series examines Central Asia's border dilemmas; assesses programs funded by the United States, European Union, United Nations, and other sponsors; and offers recommendations for policymakers and the donor community to make these programs more effective

Synergies vs. Spheres of Influence in the Pan-European Space. Report prepared for the Policy Planning Staff of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany. CEPS Paperbacks. April 2009

This report investigates whether and how the European Union, in its policies towards Russia, the Eastern partner countries and Central Asia, might build stronger common programmes and projects across these three political ‘spaces’. The aim would be to secure synergies between actions that are presently segmented between these three regions, and especially to induce Russia to become a genuinely cooperative positive-sum game player in the wider European neighbourhood, rather than to continue its efforts to rebuild the former Soviet Union space as its sphere of influence. With this aim in mind, this report examines various policy sectors for the opportunities they present for cooperative action between the EU, Russia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The tantalising idea is that the current global financial and economic crisis might become the tipping point to set in motion a change of strategic attitudes and thence a cascade of cooperative actions of the kinds outlined in this report

Information, and the Organization of Political Violence

August 2009To my family and friends in Cyprus for their unwavering support. Acknowledgments This dissertation is undoubtedly the result of collaborative effort. Many people contributed to its completion in different ways, and I thank them all for the guidance, help, and support that I received throughout this process. First, I would like to thank my committee members for their collective input at all stages of this project; they have challenged, spurred, and inspired me in many more ways than the ones specified here and for that I am grateful. Alan Kuperman provided some crucial guidance as soon as he became involved with the project that had a transformative effect on the entire dissertation. His insightful and challenging feedback will have a lasting effect on my future research endeavors. Ami Pedahzur has been the source of very important advice, especially in terms of professional development and practical issues on how to conduct research on this often challenging research area. George Gavrilis ’ thoroughnes