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Author: James Bowen

by James Bowen

James Bowen is a former Editor of the Global Observatory.
More articles by this author →

  • China, Global Peacemaker?

    September 25, 2017by James Bowen

    In diving into global peacemaking efforts as a result of Belt and Road, Beijing may increasingly find itself out of its depth.

    Analysischina, peace-and-security
  • Changing the Narrative on Migration: Q&A with Louise Arbour

    September 18, 2017by James Bowen

    United Nations Special Representative on International Migration Louise Arbour discusses the human mobility challenges now facing policymakers and politicians.

    Interviews
  • The South China Sea Code of Conduct: Another Prelude to Action?

    August 8, 2017by James Bowen

    A mechanism to uphold the rule of law in the South China Sea has consistently been the standard that ASEAN members have demanded of China; it has been just as consistently rejected by Beijing.

    Analysisrule-of-law, southeast-asia
  • Alleged Chinese Interference Creates Strategic Conundrum for Australia

    June 26, 2017by James Bowen

    Considerations of national interest are likely to be weighed even more assiduously in the wake of the recent revelations.

    Analysischina, peace-and-security
  • Reinvigorating International Cooperation: Q&A with The Elders 

    May 11, 2017by James Bowen

    The Elders—Kofi Annan, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Lakhdar Brahimi, and Mary Robinson—discuss means of increasing international cooperation around climate change, migration, and other issues.

    Interviewsclimate-change, multilateralism
  • Protecting China-US Ties Will Be Best Deal for All

    February 21, 2017by James Bowen

    While the new US administration may not have targeted China directly, it has certainly taken several trade-related steps that may change the balance of international economic and political power.

    Analysisamericas, china
  • Global Uncertainty Follows US Electoral Turn

    November 9, 2016by James Bowen and John L. Hirsch

    The Trump election campaign’s strong opposition to immigration of all stripes—but particularly from Mexico and Muslim countries—appears to have been endorsed by his surprise win and could inspire other governments to continue building walls and enacting strong protections at a time of record human displacement.

    Analysisamericas, elections
  • Peacekeeping with Chinese Characteristics?

    October 20, 2016by James Bowen

    China’s level of commitment to UNMISS objectives—and thus the general principles it would be expected to uphold in a DPKO leadership role—has been called into question.

    Analysischina, peacekeeping
  • How Australian Setbacks Could Inform Global Refugee Response

    August 24, 2016by James Bowen

    Looking at the factors that have narrowed the Australian playing field might be instructive for others aiming to further curb its behavior and guard against wider adoption of similar practices.

    Analysisrefugees, united-nations
  • Climate Action at the Crossroads: Winning the Battle of Wills

    August 9, 2016by James Bowen, Jimena Leiva Roesch and Wael Hmaidan

    Economic arguments against the necessary carbon-free revolution make increasingly less sense when politics are taken out of the equation.

    Analysis
  • Next →

This week

  • The Role of Peacekeepers in Protecting Civilians from Sexual and Gender-Based Violence

    May 25, 2022by Jenna Russo

    There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for peacekeepers to protect civilians from sexual and gender-based violence, particularly those forms that fall outside of conflict-related sexual violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians, women-peace-and-security
  • Protecting Peace? How the Protection of Civilians Contributes to Peace Processes

    May 23, 2022by Jenna Russo

    Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of widespread violence.

    Analysispeacekeeping, protection-of-civilians

Trending

  • Russia, NATO, and International Organizations

    May 23, 2022by Kseniya Oksamytna

    As Finland and Sweden begin the process of applying for NATO membership, misleading narratives about the role of NATO’s so-called eastward expansion in “provoking” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to hold sway.

    Analysisconflict, eastern-europe
  • Sanctions and the Costs of Russia’s War in Ukraine

    May 12, 2022by Erica Moret

    The sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine mark a new page in global sanctions practice yet lessons from earlier cases could help increase efficacy and minimize costs.

    Analysisconflict, europe, ukraine
  • A4P+ and Uniformed Women’s Participation in Peacekeeping

    April 26, 2022by Gretchen Baldwin and Jake Sherman

    The UN, in its implementation of A4P+, must address the heavily masculine, exclusionary, and militarized structures which often preclude women (and anyone outside of a very particular gendered profile) from deploying.

    Analysisa4p, peacekeeping, women-peace-and-security
  • Despite Constraints, MINUSMA Remains the Legitimate International Partner to Mali

    April 21, 2022by Rida Lyammouri

    Facing its most difficult period since its inception in April 2013, MINUSMA, and the Security Council, now need to acknowledge that their biggest problems in Mali are political.

    Analysisafrica, mali, peacekeeping
  • While Afghans Wait, States and Banks Decrypt the Humanitarian Exception in the Taliban Sanctions Regime

    April 14, 2022by Agathe Sarfati

    Amid mounting pressure to alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe in Afghanistan, the United Nations Security Council took the rare step of creating a humanitarian exception for the 1988 Taliban sanctions regime.

    Analysisafghanistan, humanitarian
  • What Are the International Military Options for the Sahel?

    April 12, 2022by Nina Wilén and Paul D. Williams

    The complex, and not always coordinated, ecosystem of military operations across the Sahel has been aptly labeled a security traffic jam. Why are external forces in the Sahel? Can they help resolve any of the region’s crises? And, if so, what configuration of external forces makes the most sense?

    Analysismali, peacekeeping, sahel
  • NATO, the EU, and the War in Ukraine: Interview with Paul Poast 

    April 8, 2022by Eimer Curtin

    It has been six weeks since Russia invaded Ukraine and the conflict is devolving into a stalemate. Paul Poast discusses the responses of NATO, the shifts in EU defense policies, and how this war might end.

    Interviewsconflict, europe
  • Climate Governance, Reform or Perish—The Future of the UNFCCC

    April 6, 2022Jimena Leiva Roesch and Eimer Curtin

    As the need for stronger commitments toward the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees grows, the voices and interests of the most vulnerable people and countries are not being given precedence in global climate talks.

    Analysisclimate-change, united-nations
  • The Benefits, Challenges, and Limitations of Criminalizing Ecocide

    March 30, 2022by Rachel Killean

    The campaign to introduce a new international crime of “ecocide” at the International Criminal Court is long-standing but has received increased support over the last couple of years.

    Analysisenvironment
  • Putin’s “Peacekeepers”

    February 23, 2022by Paul D. Williams

    Putin has ordered Russian soldiers to conduct what he called “peacekeeping operations” in Donetsk and Luhansk, a clear violation of international law and a perversion of the important international concept of peacekeeping.

    Analysisconflict, europe
  • Analyzing Member State Pledges from the 2021 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial

    February 9, 2022by Daniel Forti and Mark J. Wood

    After nearly two years of advocacy, preparations, and deliberations, what did UN peacekeeping’s most prominent pledging conference secure in terms of personnel, capabilities, and finances?

    Analysispeacekeeping, united-nations
  • ECOWAS Sanctions Against Mali Necessary, but May Be Counter-Productive

    February 2, 2022by Festus Kofi Aubyn

    The new sanctions were triggered by months of growing tensions between ECOWAS and the military-dominated transitional government over the timetable for Mali’s return to civilian rule after two successful coups d’état.

    Analysisafrica, sanctions
  • New Name, but Little Sign of Change: The Revised Agreement on the African Union Mission in Somalia

    January 27, 2022by Colin Robinson

    The AU mission’s success relies on the handover of military responsibilities to an effective Somali replacement. But the Somali National Army remains as politicized and clan-divided as it has ever been.

    Analysisafrica, african-union, peacekeeping
  • Ugandan and Congolese Troops Are Conducting Joint Operations: What Could that Mean for MONUSCO?

    December 20, 2021by Daniel Levine-Spound

    The joint operations against the Allied Democratic Forces in the Beni territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo raise critical legal, operational, and reputational challenges for MONUSCO.

    Analysisafrica, peacekeeping
  • New Climate Data Visualizations, 2021

    December 15, 2021by Noemi Florea

    Noemi Florea has compiled some key data visualizations from 2021 for the Global Observatory that highlight progress on climate change, from expanded research on the global environment to emerging developments for climate adaptation.

    Further Readingclimate-change, climate2021
  • Is the Global Climate Governance System Working?

    November 23, 2021by Jimena Leiva Roesch, Julia Almeida Nobre, and Eimer Curtin

    In the wake of COP26, there is a need to examine the current structures and dynamics of global climate governance.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • How Permafrost Thaw Puts the Russian Arctic at Risk

    November 22, 2021by Katarina Kertysova and Akash Ramnath

    Permafrost thaw presents a major challenge to Arctic communities and ecosystems and has enormous potential to accelerate climate change and its global impacts.

    Analysisclimate-change, climate2021
  • When Militarism Meets Gender Reform: Fixing the Contradictory Legacy of the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda in Afghanistan

    October 27, 2021by Zinab Attai and Sabrina Karim

    The prevention pillar of the WPS agenda focuses on preventing the root causes of war and violence. Efforts being made under the protection and participation pillars can fundamentally contradict the prevention pillar. Nowhere is this more visible than in Afghanistan.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security, wpsat21
  • Advancing Women, Peace and Security in the UN Security Council: Critical Choices for Elected Member States

    October 7, 2021Patty Chang, Louise Olsson, and Angela Muvumba Sellström

    How the ten elected members of the Security Council act, and the issues they raise, can have a lasting effect.

    Analysiswomen-peace-and-security, wpsat21
  • The Pitfalls of UN Peacekeeping in Afghanistan

    September 1, 2021by Paul D. Williams

    Neither local nor international politics are currently right for a UN peacekeeping deployment in Afghanistan.

    Analysisafghanistan, peacekeeping

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The Global Observatory provides timely analysis on peace and security issues by experts, journalists, and policymakers. It is published by the International Peace Institute. The views expressed here represent those of the contributors and not IPI.

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