Suchergebnisse

Yemen today finds itself confronted with multiple fronts, the significance of which is often misunderstood. Although the terrorist threat linked to al-Qaida has monopolized attention, the Sa'dah war which has shaken the country's north since 2004 undeniably deserves to be better understood. Its duration and violence as well as the growing involvement of international actors make this conflict a significant source of instability at the local and regional levels. The complexity of the conflict has significantly increased over the course of six phases of combat, multiplying the potential levels of understanding. As a result, the interpretation that sees the conflict as a "classic" confrontation between the government of President Ali Abdallah Saleh and a Shiite rebellion led by the al-Houthi clan appears to be inadequate. Given the degree to which Yemen sometimes seems to be marked by the specificities of its history, society and political system, the Sa'dah conflict is no doubt for many incomprehensible. The roots and issues at stake in this war should thus be put into context by taking its singularities into consideration as well as by underscoring the extent to which this eruption of violence is itself symptomatic of transformations in the international system and the operation of political regimes at the level of the Arab world. Adapted from the source document.

The paper focuses on three main axes of Greece's international relations: (1) its integration in the European Union, as a full member & as a member of the European Monetary & Economic Union; (2) its efforts to play a regional role in the Balkans (Southeastern Europe), & the difficulties encountered because of the particularities of the region & the positions taken by Greece on a number of outstanding political questions of this part of the world; (3) the attempt, initiated by the government in power -- with the acquiescence of the other political powers -- to a rapprochement with Turkey, in order to overcome the long-standing Greek-Turkish crisis in the determination of the Aegean legal status & the settlement of the Cyprus question. It is concluded that Greece has succeeded in aligning itself with the rest of the countries belonging to the European Union, in assisting, albeit with some difficulties, the reconstruction of the region, & in indicating, forcefully, that the only acceptable solution to the Greek-Turkish crisis is a peaceful settlement of the outstanding problems. 12 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article aims to pry open the "black box" of a public activist stance, analyzing Amnesty International's discourse on the ongoing Ivory Coast crisis since September 2002, drawing on participatory observation conducted in the Paris research offices of the organization's international secretariat. Tackling the question from the angle of law, analysis of the discursive strategies used by this organization as well as the broader context in which the producers of this discourse are involved reveals gradual pragmatic arrangements having to do with the building of expertise within the organization. This pragmatism appears not only in the strategies the organization has developed to adapt to the new situation of a postbipolar context, in particular the "urgency" of armed conflicts, but also in the changing rules of impartiality on which its moral authority is based. Adapted from the source document.

It is traditionally assumed that the US long ago established a zone of influence in the Western hemisphere where its hegemony goes unchallenged. Thus, global organizations such as the UN & regional organization such as the Organization of American States (OAS) should be ineffective bodies in mediating conflicts in this US sphere of influence. In this study, however, we find that Latin American international crises since 1947 have been characterized by a greater incidence of global organization activity than one would expect, although UN intervention was not as important in abating conflict levels as the OAS & the US. How can one explain this important global organization activity in light of the alleged US hegemony over the area, & what factors influence the effectiveness of its mediation in Latin America? What lessons can be learned from these findings that can be applied to other conflict areas & for the future? These findings may serve as a lesson for other regional organizations. 5 Tables, 1 Figure, 2 Appendixes. Adapted from the source document.