European-cuban academic views on the economy, development and cooperation
By Francesc Bayo, Anicia García, Susanne Gratius (13/11/2008)
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This document, which is the result of a collaboration between the CEEC in Havana, CIDOB in Barcelona and FRIDE in Madrid, summarizes the main results of a frank and open discussion between a select group of Cuban and European academics.
Can a two-state solution survive Olmert's resignation?
By Henry Siegman (02/10/2008)
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G. Tibbon/AFP/Getty Images |
Latin American's new conflict zones
By Ivan Briscoe (11/07/2008)
Mexico’s attempts to combat drug cartels along its border with the United States and the dispute between Ecuador and Colombia over the bombardment of a FARC camp have shown the extreme difficulties in establishing state control over Latin America's frontiers, and the different views over how this should be done.
Marco Millán/AFP/Getty Images
The state of the negotiated political solution of the Colombian conflict
By Carlos Lozano (04/07/2008)
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s policy of “democratic security” is rooted entirely in counter-insurgent warfare and authoritarianism, which have served to weaken the FARC’s military operations yet do nothing to bring about the conditions for dialogue lasting peace.
US foreign policy towards Latin America's oldest guerrilla group
By Sebastián Chaskel (04/07/2008)
US foreign policy toward Colombia is at a crossroads. Colombia’s security achievements – including the recent release of 15 FARC hostages – and prospects for a negotiated solution, coupled with a revived interest in the region’s efforts to solve its own problems, mean that Washington must update its policies in order to further its interests.
Death in Baghdad and the UN role in Iraq
By Pierre Schori (22/05/2008)
With "Chasing the Flame – Sergio Vieira de Mello and the Fight to Save the World" (Penguin Press, 2008) Samantha Power, Anna Lindh Professor at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, has written a fascinating portrait of the kind of compassionate cosmopolitan figure of which there are far too few in this world. The book is also a remarkably well-researched handbook on the UN, and it contains new and important material for a much-needed discussion, namely: under which circumstances should the UN be engaged in Iraq?
Lebanon: facing another wave of destruction?
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (13/05/2008)
The latest wave of violence in Lebanon shows the limitations of organising the state along confessional lines, and the weight of other countries, from the United States and France to Syria and Iran, along with Israel, in the country’s destiny. Mariano Aguirre analyses the roots of the confrontations and the dangers they represent for the region.
Europe, Israel and Palestine: endgame?
By George Joffe (28/04/2008)
The Annapolis initiative last November is already doomed to failure as the Palestinians and Israel fail to engage and Hamas is deliberately isolated by Europe and America. Could Europe intervene instead? George Joffe argues that, having betrayed its own principles of normative power and constructive engagement, the European Union now has no viable alternative to offer.
No Middle East peace without tough love
By Henry Siegman (14/04/2008)
Instead of new European initiatives for “peace conferences” on the Israelí-Palestinian conflict, it is necessary to stop the violence from both sides –Hamas attacks and Israeli´s occupation– in order to recover some level of dialogue that must be based on the UN Resolutions and the 1967 Green Line.
Bring in Hamas
By Henry Siegman (10/03/2008)
Last October, a bipartisan group of eminent former senior government officials urged President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice not to entertain the fantasy that an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord could be negotiated with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, without the participation of Hamas. You cannot make peace with half of a country’s population and remain at war with the other half.
Photo by Getty Images
In this Comment article Henry Siegman calls on the US leadership to adopt a more realistic approach to achieving a lasting peace between the belligerent parties.
Cuba: the end of an era
By Susanne Gratius (21/02/2008)
A new day has finally arrived. Despite all the predictions, the post-Fidel era did not begin in traumatic fashion, but was instead almost stealthy in character. It was an orderly change that took place within the framework established by the regime. Little by little, Cuba and the world can now get used to the idea of life without Fidel. It is a positive development and there is hope that it will mark the beginning of a new era in Cuban politics.
Sven Creutzmann / Mambo photo / Getty Images
Pakistan: farewell to Musharaff and a warning to the radicals
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (20/02/2008)
The elections scheduled for February 18 in Pakistan should bring, albeit with difficulty, some stability to the country, but they will also make clear the people’s will on two key issues. Firstly, they will put an end to the political career of General Pervez Musharraf, and secondly, they will show the radical Islamists that the population prefers the risks of secularism to living according to the orthodox letter of religious law.
Liu Jin / AFP / Getty Images
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
Democracy perspectives in Pakistan
By Christian Wagner (14/02/2008)
Nine years alter the 1999 coup that brought President Musharraf to power, the security situation in Pakistan is as bad that it has reached only a few times in the 60-year history. Hopes are currently being placed on the parliamentary elections scheduled for February 16, which will have to provide the new government wider legitimacy. This FRIDE Comment analyses the correlation between internal and external faces in 2008, a year which promises to be a trying one for Pakistan.
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
NATO struggles with an opium-funded war in Afghanistan
By Robert Matthews (23/01/2008)
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| Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images |
The reality of developments in Afghanistan since 2005 has mocked US assertions of success and the scales have finally fallen from the eyes of both the media and some government officials. In this Comment article, Robert Matthews explores the failures of US and NATO policy in Afghanistan, and asks what should be done to bring a long-awaited stability to the war-ravaged country.
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
Colombia: a paradoxical state
By Kees Koonings, Dirk Krujit (17/01/2008)
Colombia is a paradoxical state, one of stable instability and unstable stability. The spheres of stability and instability, equally persistent, are linked to the country’s recent economic, social and institutional history. In this Comment article, Dirk Krujit and Kees Koonings of Utrecht University explore the unique political and economic factors that give Colombia its firm foundations despite the country’s troubled reputation.
Raul Arboleda / AFP / Getty Images
Iraq and after: setting the scene for rethinking Europe's role in the Middle East
By John Sloboda (09/01/2008)
Europe is in danger of becoming complacent in the Middle East. The fact that European soldiers, in contrast to their American counterparts, are not dying in large numbers in Iraq can lead both politicians and the general public to let the region slip down their list of priorities. In this Comment article one of the UK’s leading political analysts examines the challenges the EU must face if it is to take a more proactive role and thereby contribute to a more secure future for the region.
Annapolis: the good, the bad and the ugly
By Henry Siegman (17/12/2007)
In this Comment article the author asks whether the latest round of negotiations between Israel and Palestine has the potential to bring a long-awaited peace to the troubled region. He also examines the internal divisions within both Palestinian and Israeli society, and analyses how these factors will affect any attempt to put an end to the hostilities. Siegman finds that Israel's repeated failure to keep its commitments, along with the international community's apparent lack of understanding of the predicament faced by the Palestinian people, does not bode well for the future.
See also: Annapolis: three lame ducks in search of peace; Annapolis' road to nowhere; Annapolis: The cost of failure; Europe: A New Role in the Middle East?
Chavez' failure at the polls opens a new horizon in Venezuelan politics
By Susanne Gratius, Laura Tedesco (11/12/2007)
Annapolis: three lame ducks in search of peace
By George Emile Irani (03/12/2007)
See also: Annapolis' road to nowhere; Annapolis: The cost of failure; Europe: A New Role in the Middle East?
Cuba: change and continuity in the 21st century
By Susanne Gratius (03/12/2007)
On 29 November FRIDE organised a debate in Casa de Galicia featuring the Cuban academic Carlos Alzugaray Treto, a profesor from the Centre for Studies on the United States in the University of Havana. The main internal challenges of the country, its foreign policy and the relations with its allies and opponents were at the centre of the debate.
Challenging future after Annapolis
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (29/11/2007)
The talks in Annapolis have produced one surprise and several predictable results. The surprise is in the final declaration which sets a timeframe for negotiations and indicates that all of the issues related to the conflict will be dealt with. The more predictable facet of the declaration is the fact that it does not mention any of these issues specifically.
Getty Images/AFP
Annapolis' road to nowhere
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (26/11/2007)
There is little hope that the meeting in Annapolis between the governments of Israel and the Palestinian Authority will bring anything more than a vague declaration in favour of continuing the talks.
Is Europe adrift in the Middle East?
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst, Mark Taylor (26/11/2007)
Participants in a Madrid roundtable organised by FAFO (Norway) and FRIDE in October were highly skeptical about the future political events in the Middle East and particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Annapolis: the cost of failure
By Henry Siegman (22/11/2007)
One of the first on-line responses to the publication of the letter to President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was a simple, straightforward question: "What is in it for Israel?" The "it" referred to guidelines the letter proposed for an agreement that would end Israel's occupation of the territories the IDF overran forty years ago.
Irregular Warfare and Non-State Combatants: Israel and Hezbollah
By George Emile Irani (26/10/2007)
Mercenaries, "Premodern" Soldiers
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (10/10/2007)
The scandal surrounding the Blackwater private security firm in Iraq shows that the delegation of state powers to profit-making non-state actors has many dangers. First, international and national law is undermined, as is the case of the US occupation of Iraq. On the other hand, the basic principle of state authority, that of a monopoly on the use of force, is threatened.
Blackwater: mercenaries and international law
By Joana Abrisketa (27/09/2007)
The role of mercenaries in modern conflict has once again come under the spotlight after an incident in Baghdad left 17 people dead. Amidst growing concerns over the “privatisation of war” and accusations of a “trigger-happy” culture among security contractors, the author asks what legislation already exists to control such firms and what can be done to improve it.
Misguided wars: comparing the lost French cause in Algeria with the US debacle in Iraq
By Robert Matthews (12/09/2007)
At first glance, France’s battle to keep control of its north African colony half a century ago might seem very different to the unrest currently challenging US military capabilities in Iraq, but there are some interesting parallels between the two conflicts.
The continuation of a lost war
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (12/09/2007)
In recent weeks several official reports have indicated that the US and the Government in Bagdad have not succeeded in meeting the 18 objectives set by Congress to guide its decision on whether to maintain the increase of funds for the occupation of Iraq.
Is the politicial dialogue between the European Union and Latin America useful?
By Christian Freres, Susanne Gratius (01/09/2007)
Different European and Latin American authors analyse the results and prospects of political dialogue between European Union and Latin America. The editors of the book are Christian Freres, Susanne Gratius, Tomás Mallo, Ana Pellicer and José Antonio Sanahuja. All of them participated in this project financed by the Spanish agency AECI.
Bush and Blair, lost in Palestine and Israel
By Mariano Aguirre Ernst (24/07/2007)
President Bush's proposal to relaunch the negotiation process between Israel and Palestine has all it takes to get to nowhere.
¿En brazos de Al Qaeda?
By Henry Siegman (29/06/2007)
With very few exceptions, the Israeli Government and media - as those of a majority of countries - reacted to the recent events in Gaza either with ingenuity or with incredible hypocrisy.
The European Union and South American Populism
By Susanne Gratius (14/06/2007)
This comment examines the impact of populism in European Union's policy towards South America and concludes with a series of policy recommendations.
Sri Lanka: relapse into conflict. Limits of donor interventions
By Charan Rainford (22/05/2007)
For over two decades, Sri Lanka has been embroiled in a protracted and seemingly intractable conflict. While its most visible impact has been the death of 65,000 people and the displacement of millions more, the cumulative effect on the country’s social fabric has been profound.
Angola: empowerment of the few
By David Sogge (14/05/2007)
For many decades, war and other kinds of violence brought wretchedness and early death to millions of Angolans. What difference has Western action or inaction made for the waraffected? Have donors helped or hindered their empowerment?
Publishing groups: Empowerment
Timor-Leste on the Brink: a new way forward
By Rebecca Engel (12/04/2007)
With weeks to go before a historic runoff presidential election, Timor-Leste is at war with itself. Since liberation in 1999 and its declaration of independence in May 2002, the country has staggered under the weight of extreme poverty, regional divisions, and internecine fighting between and among political party actors that has manifest with severe social consequences.
The External Actors and Cuba after Fidel
By Susanne Gratius (01/04/2007)
This articles analyses the policy of the European Union, the United States and some Latin American countries in a post-Fidel Cuba.
Military and Aid Responses: the Afghan Dilemma - Response to Astri Suhrke and Juan Garrigues
By Robert Matthews (21/03/2007)
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
Hugo Chávez' "Revolution": a leftist project or historic populism?
By Susanne Gratius (01/03/2007)
This comment analyses the main characteristics of Chávez' political regime and concludes that his project is closer to historic peronism than to socialism.
The Africa Plan within Spain's Foreign Policy Initiatives in the Fight against Terrorism
By Luisa Barrenechea (11/01/2007)
Forum Spain-Cuba: Spanish Policy and the future of Cuba
By Jorge I. Domínguez, Susanne Gratius (01/10/2006)
This Activity Brief reflects the results of three debates on Spanish policy towards Cuba and the opportunities of co-operation in the future
¿Transición de Castro a Castro?: ensayando el futuro
By Susanne Gratius (15/09/2006)
Following the transition of power from Fidel to Raúl Castro, this essay looks at the power constellation inside the Cuban regime and underlines some common elements with the Spanish Transition.
When More is Less: aiding statebuilding in Afghanistan
By Astri Suhrke (06/09/2006)
This document examines the nature of international economic and military
assistance to statebuilding in Afghanistan. The central argument is that this assistance has had negative as well as positive effects that combine to create severe internal tensions in the statebuilding project itself.
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
Common goals, different strategies? options for a transatlantic agenda on Cuba
By Publicaciones FRIDE (10/11/2005)
The United Nations report on Iinternational migration: new? guidelines for states' action
By Mª Carmen Pérez González (09/11/2005)
Spanish Policy towards Colombia's peace strategies: challenges posed by the justice and peace law
By Christian Freres (17/10/2005)
The Justice and Peace Law: will it bring true peace?
By Rafael Pardo (13/10/2005)
Afghanistan: what did the spanish soldiers die for?
By Barnett Rubin (13/09/2005)
Publishing groups: Afghanistan and Pakistan: a region in crisis
Iraqi Constitution Entrenches Grim Status Quo
By Chris Toensing (13/09/2005)
The difficulties of consolidating peace and democracy: the case of Mozambique
By Francisco Rey Marcos (09/09/2005)
The Crisis in Timor-Leste: restoring National Unity through state institutions, culture, and civil society
By Rebecca Engel (19/08/2005)
Iraq: the day after
By Shlomo Ben-Ami, Diego Hidalgo, Jon Shifrin (12/05/2003)
As part of its mandate to promote international understanding through dialogue and discussion, the Fundación para las Relaciones Internacionales y el Diálogo Exterior (FRIDE), along with the Fundación José Ortega y Gasset , convoked the Conference Iraq: the day after (May 12, 2003), to examine the implications of the recently concluded war. The conference brought together an array of political leaders, experts, and academics to Toledo, Spain, a city famed for its history of tolerance and pluralism. This newsletter contains a summary of the three roundtable discussions that comprised the day’s events, an article from former Israeli Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami, who participated in the Conference, and a complete list of the gathering’s atendees.
