The politics of insecurity

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Daniel Korski & Richard Gowan

Broken promises from EU members on crisis missions risk more fragile states collapsing into failed states, argue ECFR's security experts Daniel Korski and Richard Gowan. Broken promises and treating Afghanistan, DR Congo and Iraq like Bosnia has left the EU without the capacity to prevent fragile states from becoming failing states. This is the main finding of the latest report from the European Council on Foreign Relations, by ECFR's security experts Daniel Korski and Richard Gowan, published today. According to the report, Can the EU rebuild failing states? A review of Europe's civilian capacities: EU member states break promises and significantly under-staff key international missions. No member state has deployed even half of what they promised in the 2004 Civilian Headline Goal process, and the EU has a shortage of 1,500 personnel across its 12 ongoing EU state building missions. All eyes are on Afghanistan: but the EU's police mission there is at half its authorised strength. Crisis missions still rely on the 'Bosnia-template', ignoring reality on the ground. The 2005-2006 mission to DR Congo, for instance, was rendered largely irrelevant because EU planning failed to take into account corruption and the country's size compared to Bosnia. Turf wars between the European Commission and the European Council weaken missions. In practice, spheres of influence overlap, leading to squabbles over who is responsible for what. In 2004 this led to a case at the European Court of Justice over who should get involved in a project tackling weapons trafficking in West Africa. Daniel Korski says: "If Yemen descends into full blown civil-war or al Qaeda gains new bases in Africa, the EU will be ill-equipped to offer the strategic and development assistance likely to be needed. Getting EU crisis missions right is essential in a world where stability in faraway places is key to security on the streets of Hamburg, Marseille and Manchester."--Publisher description.

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Paul Rexton Kan

Since 2006, when Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels, there has been a rise in the number of Mexican nationals seeking political asylum in the United States to escape the ongoing drug cartel violence in their home country. Political asylum cases in general are claimed by those who are targeted for their political beliefs or ethnicity in countries that are repressive or are failing. Mexico is neither. Nonetheless, if the health of the Mexican state declines because criminal violence continues, increases, or spreads, U.S. communities will feel an even greater burden on their systems of public safety and public health from "narco-refugees." Given the ever increasing cruelty of the cartels, the question is whether and how the U.S. Government should begin to prepare for what could be a new wave of migrants coming from Mexico. Allowing Mexicans to claim asylum could potentially open a flood gate of migrants to the United States during a time when there is a very contentious national debate over U.S. immigration laws pertaining to illegal immigrants. On the other hand, to deny the claims of asylum seekers and return them to Mexico where they might very well be killed, strikes at the heart of American values of justice and humanitarianism. This monograph focuses on the asylum claims of Mexicans who unwillingly leave Mexico rather than those who willingly enter the United States legally or illegally. To successfully navigate through this complex issue will require a greater level of understanding and vigilance at all levels of the U.S. Government.

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Maxime Tandonnet

Les première années du XXIe siècle sont marquées par une nouvelle vague de migrations, qui résulte des déséquilibres de la société internationale et de l'instabilité planétaire croissante. Les jeunes générations des pays en développement semblent aujourd'hui constituer un vivier inépuisable de candidats à l'émigration. Cela se traduit par une augmentation spectaculaire de l'immigration illégale. Incontrôlés, mal gérés, les phénomènes migratoires deviennent un facteur d'incompréhension et de tension entre les nations et les peuples. Le malaise européen sur l'immigration appelle aujourd'hui un changement profond de politique..

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Tom Streissguth

"Examines immigration in the United States, including the history of U.S. immigration and the debate over immigration reforms, laws, and policies"--Provided by publisher.