Suchergebnisse

The Arctic is saturated with nuclear facilities bringing both benefits for regional economic and social development and risks of nuclear and radiological accidents and concerns about radioactive wastes. There is every reason to expect the Arctic will remain a nuclearized region during the foreseeable future. This makes it important to direct attention to issues of nuclear safety and security in the region. We identify several clusters of these issues in the Arctic, including the challenges of potential nuclear accidents, the handling of spent nuclear fuel and radioactive waste, the cleanup of radiological contaminants, and concerns about nuclear security. An analysis of international conventions and voluntary codes of conduct shows that they are applicable to Arctic nuclear safety and security, but only in general terms. This suggests a need for an Arctic-specific agreement on nuclear and radiological safety, emergency preparedness and response, and cleanup of radiological contaminants. The outbreak of military hostilities in Ukraine in February 2022 has disrupted normal procedures for addressing issues of common concern in the Arctic. But the need for co-operation regarding matters like nuclear safety and security will not go away. Assuming it is possible to devise "necessary modalities" for restarting the work of the Arctic Council following the acute phase of the Ukraine crisis, an Arctic-specific agreement on nuclear safety and security could be developed under the auspices of the Arctic Council, which already has taken an interest in nuclear safety through the activities of its Working Group on Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response. Once such an agreement is in place, it will become important to consider the infrastructure needed to ensure that its provisions are implemented effectively.

Most studies of Asian state involvement in Arctic affairs assume that shorter sea-lanes to Europe are a major driver of interest, so this article begins by examining the prominence of shipping concerns in Arctic policy statements made by major Asian states. Using a bottom-up approach, we consider the advantages of Arctic sea routes over the Suez and Panama alternatives in light of the political, bureaucratic and economic conditions surrounding shipping and shipbuilding in China, Japan and the Republic of Korea. Especially Japanese and Korean policy documents indicate soberness rather than optimism concerning Arctic sea routes, noting the remaining limitations and the need for in-depth feasibility studies. That policymakers show greater caution than analysts, links in with our second finding: in Japan and Korea, maritime-sector bureaucracies responsible for industries with Arctic experience have been closely involved in policy development, more so than in China. Thirdly, we find a clear tendency towards rising industry-level caution and restraint in all three countries, reflecting financial difficulties in several major companies as well as growing sensitivity to the economic and political risks associated with the Arctic routes. Finally, our examination of bilateral and multilateral Chinese, Japanese and Korean diplomatic activity concerning Arctic shipping exhibits a lower profile than indicated by earlier studies.

The article addresses the issue of indigenous agency and its influence on the contestation of indigenous rights norms in an extractive context from the perspective of organizations representing people, whose recognition as 'indigenous' is withheld by the Russian authorities. The article argues that a governance perspective and approach to recognition from 'below' provides a useful lens for comprehensively exploring strategies on norms contestation applied by these groups in the authoritarian normative context of Russia. Based on findings from a case study of Izhma-Komi organizations in the northwest Russian Arctic, the article identifies three strategies utilized by these organizations. By mobilizing inter-indigenous recognition, forging alliances with environmentalists and negotiating with an oil company, Izhma-Komi organizations have managed to extend certain rights and power previously not granted to them in an extractive context locally.

Katalog einer Ausstellung zu den pakistanischen Stammesgebieten. Peshawar, Peshawar Museum, 27 November - 12 Dezember 2021. Pakistan zählt zu den ältesten Partnerländern des Bundesministeriums für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ) in Asien. Bereits im Jahr 1961 wurden erste gemeinsame Projekte ins Leben gerufen. Entwicklungsinitiativen wurden über die vergangenen sechs Jahrzehnte hinweg immer wieder an neue Herausforderungen und sich verändernde soziale, wirtschaftliche wie auch ökologische Rahmenbedingungen angepasst. Ein Beispiel für die langjährige und vertrauensvolle Zusammenarbeit mit Pakistan ist das FATA-Entwicklungsprogramm, das die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit im Auftrag des BMZ und kofinanziert durch die Europäische Union in der Provinz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa im Nordwesten des Landes umsetzt. Hier arbeitet die GIZ seit 2009 eng mit ihren lokalen Partnerinnen und Partnern an der Verbesserung der Lebensbedingungen der Bevölkerung in den Stammesgebieten entlang der gebirgigen Grenze zu Afghanistan. In dieser heute "Merged Areas" genannten Region liegt ein besonderes Augenmerk auf der Verbesserung staatlicher Dienstleistungen in den Sektoren Bildung und Gesundheit sowie auf der Reintegration von Binnenvertriebenen. Durch die Förderung von Bürgerbeteiligung und Selbstverwaltung, wie auch eines staatlich-zivilgesellschaftlichen Dialogs zur Entwicklungsplanung, unterstützt das Programm die politische und administrative Integration der bis 2018 weitgehend autonomen und von zahlreichen Konflikten geprägten Stammesdistrikte in die Provinz Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Die Region ist historisch und politisch bedeutsam. Mit dem Khyber-Pass liegt sie an der Schnittstelle zwischen West- und Südasien, was die einzigartige Kultur der Stammesgebiete bis heute prägt. Das Buch gibt nicht nur tiefe Einblicke in die Geschichte, Politik und in die reichen Traditionen der Menschen in dieser unruhigen Grenzregion, es legt auch ein beredtes Zeugnis über die facettenreiche Entwicklungszusammenarbeit zwischen Deutschland und Pakistan ab.