Suchergebnisse

The Good War tackles the issue of NATO in Afghanistan, exploring NATO's evolution in the 1990s and blending NATO's transformation from a reactive defense organization into a pro-active risk manager with the ethic of liberalism. It raises questions such as why an alliance built upon the territorial defence of Europe ended up in Afghanistan

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the overwhelming challenge that confronts Western policy-makers is the management of diverse, amorphous and qualitative security risks, rather than the fixed, quantifiable threats of yesteryear. As such, policy-makers have had to move from a reactive to a more proactive mindset, which ultimately challenges established international institutions and norms of action. This change has been seen at both the domestic and international levels and gained prominence with sociologist Ulrich Beck's Risk Society thesis in the early 1990s. The risk paradigm calls into question many commonly used concepts in international relations (IR), such as established forms of cooperation and the utility of force. Because such a burgeoning security studies research agenda, inspired by Beck's writing, has begun to develop, I examine this new literature and the challenges that the Risk Society paradigm poses to IR as an academic study. I also raise the need to reconsider thinking surrounding the use of force, security cooperation and international law in light of the security risks and challenges that confront the West today.

Background In response to a growing cancer burden and need for improved coordination among stakeholders in Kenya, the US National Cancer Institute and the Kenya Ministry of Health collaboratively hosted a stakeholder meeting in 2014 which identified four priority areas of need (research capacity building, pathology and cancer registries, cancer awareness and education, and health system strengthening) and developed corresponding action plans. Methods Surveys were conducted with participants to collect input on the progress and impact of the 2014 stakeholder meeting. Findings Of 69 eligible participants, 45 responded from academia, healthcare institutions, civil society, government, and international agencies. Of the four technical focus areas, three have continued to conduct working group meetings and two have conducted in-person meetings to review and update their respective action plans. Accomplishments linked to or enhanced by the meeting include: Kenyan and international support for expansion of population-based cancer registries, increased availability of prioritized diagnostic tests in selected regional referral hospitals, a greater focus on development of a national cancer research agenda, strategic planning for a community education strategy for cancer awareness, and improved coordination of partners through in-country technical assistance. Interpretation The Stakeholder Program has successfully united individuals and organizations to improve cancer control planning in Kenya, and has enhanced existing efforts and programs across the country. This model of partners working in parallel on prioritized track activities has supported development of long term coordination of cancer research and control activities sustainable by the Kenyan government and Kenyan institutions.