International Crisis Management Research Articles

Who matters for memory: Sources of institutional memory in international organization crisis management

Scholarship on organizational learning has explored how international organizations (IOs) reform but has paid little attention to the origins of institutional memory. For IOs engaged in crisis management operations, acquiring knowledge about strategic errors is necessary for adopting reforms that could save lives. This study seeks to identify the sources that affect whether or not IO elites will contribute knowledge to an IO’s institutional memory in crisis management. The study employs a survey experiment in the field on 120 NATO elites who decide on and plan operations. Findings indicate that when the United States introduces knowledge of a strategic error, NATO elites are significantly less likely to share it. This deterrent effect on knowledge-sharing illustrates an unexpected way in which the US influences international crisis management. The study also finds that an IO’s secretariat can somewhat increase elites’ likelihood of contributing to the IO’s institutional memory.

OPERATIONS OF INTERNATIONAL CRISIS MANAGEMENT AS A PART OF SECURITY AND DEFENSE POLICY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

AbstractThe current scientific publication follows the invitation of scientists from the University of Defense in the Czech Republic, Brno for joint international study on economic diplomacy and peacekeeping. The paper presents the role of the Bulgarian army in the operations of international crisis management as part of the security and defense policy of the country, and characteristics of the activities of armed forces in international operations for crisis management. The article focuses on national contribution to international efforts in support of peace and stability, the legal basis for the participation of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria in allied and coalition operations and support operations and military participation of the Republic of Bulgaria in international missions and operations.

English

The recently unveiled EU Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy presents bold and ambitious plans in several increasingly important domains for Europe, including outer space. The EU has committed itself to securing an autonomous access to space, providing security for its space-based assets, and promoting the adoption of a voluntary code of conduct in space. With the evolving dynamics in astropolitics, space security has become an ever more important aspect of space activities. Clearly, the EU has a vested interest in space security, whereas space-enabled services form an important part of European economy and contribute to effective implementation of its energy policy, migration, border control as well as domestic and international crisis management. Since the EU is currently in the process of drafting a European Space Strategy, it should seize the opportunity to take stock of its existing space programs and lay out a promising way forward. Besides reinforcing the existing Copernicus and Galileo programs and further developing the Governmental Satellite Communications (GOVSATCOM) project, the EU should make a significant investment in space security, particularly through boosting its Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) capabilities and actively working on the international fora to promote a responsible behavior in outer space that could be eventually transformed into a voluntary international code of conduct. Through a comprehensive space policy and by reinforcing its autonomy in outer space, the EU will not only strengthen its foreign and security policy, but also reconfirm its relevant role in global affairs.

Unficyp Mission and Armed Forces of Slovak Republic

Abstract UN for years enters into Cyprus conflict and use military power as one of the means for peace solutions of conflict. Slovak Republic participates in this process by military contingent which is, at this time, the biggest one from Slovakia in international crisis management military forces. Despite the large efforts and numerous attempts, peace-making process on the island is failing and UNFICYP is still necessary as well as participation of Slovak Armed Forces.

Are We Doing Enough? Change and Continuity in the German Approach to Crisis Management

In the two-and-a-half decades since unification Germany has developed a distinctive approach towards international crisis management. This approach accepts the need to engage in the full spectrum of military and civilian operations but maintains a clear preference for the latter. Consequently, the European Union with its profile as a civil–military actor in international security is the preferred framework for German contributions. The article analyses the development of the German approach during the governments of Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel in the light of three interlinked debates on German foreign policy: continuity and change; multilateralism; and leadership. The announcement of a more active German foreign policy in 2014 has reanimated these debates. Concentrating its efforts on networked security and capacity building Germany has become an indispensable player in international crisis management. At the same time Germany's deeply rooted attachment to a culture of military restraint and continued reluctance to lead, limit its ability to work for necessary reforms at the European level.

The role and place of international organizations in the settlement of armed conflicts in the southeast of Ukraine (legal aspects)

Problem setting. Armed conflict in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions led to significant losses as personnel of military units and special law enforcement agencies of Ukraine and civilian casualties Ukraine. Under these conditions, according to most politicians and political scientists to modern standards of international law crisis management in Ukraine is possible only through the mediation of international organizations. International organizations have a tool for early detection, warning and conflict prevention and crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation, they are engaged in a wide range of security issues, including arms control, preventive diplomacy, confidence-building measures, human rights, monitoring elections, economic and environmental security and so on. Recent research and publications analysis. In the literature of recent years certain issues affecting the regulatory and legal framework of international organizations in the field of security. However, scientific research towards the place and role of international organizations in resolving the internal armed conflict in research paid insufficient attention. Paper objective. The article is to examine the nature of international security organizations, evaluating the effectiveness of their work to resolve the situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and providing relevant proposals. Paper main body. The primary place in the order of settlement of the armed conflict in the South East Ukraine has a key intergovernmental international organizations dealing with peace and security in the world – the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). The new National Security Strategy of Ukraine of 05.06.2015 p. Indicated that the aggression of Russia against Ukraine increased the urgency of reforming the Security Council. As part of the UN General Assembly will focus the government of Ukraine will support such initiatives to reform the UN Security Council, which will provide an adequate response to its violations of international law, even if the offender is a permanent member of this body. The main role in resolving the armed conflict currently owned OSCE. The feature is the presence of its field operations acting directly in some participating States, upon request and provide necessary assistance. Decisions in the OSCE adopt by consensus. Currently, there is a problem in meeting the personal safety of observers. The forces of law and order are the following main objectives: personal safety SMM OSCE during their surveillance in the territory controlled by Ukraine; support the SMM OSCE in the demilitarized zone with the ability to provide shelter in special equipment and engineering facilities in the alleged attacks; property protection equipment and CMM OSCE in their locations of the territory controlled by Ukraine. Conclusions of the research. The only security support among international organizations in the settlement of the armed conflict in the South East of Ukraine (except for economic sanctions against the aggressor country) is an unarmed civilian OSCE SMM. OSCE needs serious reform, the creation of a new model of its operation, which takes into account the new situation in Europe, the dramatic changes the security environment, the emergence of new challenges and threats. Areas for further scientific studies will be used to research legal and organizational-tactical bases of improvement of international organizations in resolving the armed conflict.

Sanctions and Embargoes as a Crisis Response Instrument in the Context of the Ukrainian Crisis

The paper analyzes the importance of sanctions and embargoes as a tool used by organizations of international crisis management to resolve large-scale crisis events in a peaceful way. The attention is paid to one of these crisis events, the Ukrainian crisis. On the basis of value selected parameters, which are the change of exchange rates and inflation growth in particular countries, it reviews their impact on both stakeholders, namely the countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation.

EU Bridging Operation in Support of AU and UN Missions in the Central African Republic

In the practice of EU-UN collaboration in international crisis management, examples of European Union (EU) military operations have emerged when contingents of troops are dispatched to African conflict zones for limited period and purpose as temporary support for pending United Nations (UN) or already operating African Union (AU) missions. These EU deployments are intended to ‘bridge’ the gap in international capabilities until a more comprehensive and sustained ‘multidimensional presence’ under UN direction is not prepared to take over full responsibility for the security and protection of civilians and humanitarian assistance. Bridging operations can be conducted as temporary EU military crisis management undertakings in support of other multinational missions. The current deployment of an EU-led military contingent in the Central African Republic (CAR) began originally to help the AU intervention force, then it continued its operation to complement the subsequent UN mission on the way to its full operational capability. EU bridging operations are closely coordinated with the UN, implemented under explicit Security Council authorizations and concluded with the transfer of tasks and responsibility to a succeeding UN mission.

Policing the Desert: The IOM in Libya Beyond War and Peace

AbstractThe war that took place in Libya in 2011 forced 1.5 million people to leave the country. Many of them, from sub‐Saharan Africa, were helped to return to their countries of origin by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). This paper questions the purely humanitarian nature of the IOM intervention with references to its activities before and after the conflict. It shows that this organization has long participated in the implementation of European migration policies in Libya, and more widely in the Sahara, without being accountable to any people. Through the replacement of local politics by international crisis management, the Sahara is gradually integrated into a zone of international bureaucratic expedience. War and humanitarian intervention appear as contingencies in the progressive implementation of a global system of surveillance, spatial control and management of mobility in Africa.

SECTOR: Secure Common Information Space for the Interoperability of First Responders

The ever-growing human, economic and environmental losses due to natural and/or man-made disasters demand a systematic, holistic, inter-governmental and multi-disciplinary approach to the management of large-scale crisis. However, crisis management is usually coordinated by local authorities, supported by a variety of different national and international crisis management organizations, all acting relatively autonomously. Coordination actions usually adopt non-interoperable information management tools, due to the heterogeneity of the involved organizations, limiting or even hindering the coordination efforts. This paper introduces the efforts conducted in the context of the EU-funded project called SECTOR, which aims at establishing the foundations of future Collaborative Crisis Management (CCM) Information Spaces by expanding the European scientific knowledge base on (cross-border) multi-agency processes and their complications when setting-up and designing the enabling information systems.

International Crisis Management and Human Security in the Framework of ‘Hybrid Wars’ and Unrecognized States

This article deals with the impact of the current Ukrainian crisis on international conflict management and human security in the framework of ‘hybrid wars’ and unrecognized states. It analyses the particularities of the international community’s dealings with conflicts that have multi-party actors. Human security issues are difficult to redress when warfare takes hybrid forms and major actors are non-recognized entities that are not members of international organizations. The Ukrainian crisis has seen the resurrection of the osce as a major forum for conflict resolution endeavours. A new European order of peace that guarantees human security can only be achieved with minimum standards of mutual respect.

The European Union as Crisis Manager: Patterns and Prospects, by Arjen Boin, Magnus Ekengren, and Mark Rhinard

Arjen Boin, Magnus Ekengren, and Mark Rhinard The European Union as Crisis Manager: Patterns and Prospects Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. 195 pp., $85.00 (cloth) ISBN: 978-1-107-68028-9The emergence of the European Union as a regional and international security provider came as a surprise to many. Although it was once thought to occupy a realm beyond the pressures of integration, recent developments in the area of European security and defence have proven that this is not the case. With 24 civilian and military missions under its belt as of 2003, the EU has emerged on the international stage as a key player in crisis management. But, considering the long-standing belief that states are the international actors who provide security, what role is there for the European Union? And to what extent and - perhaps more importantly - how has crisis management become institutionalized in the European Union?These are the central questions driving The European Union as Crisis Manager: Patterns and Prospects by Arjen Boin, Magnus Ekengren, and Mark Rhinard. With considerable academic and policy expertise in the areas of international security and crisis management, these authors are well placed to begin exploring these questions.1 In an effort to provide answers, the authors examine the institutionalization of EU crisis management capabilities in three crisis domains: (1) national crises; (2) external crises; (3) trans-boundary crises. Each of these crisis domains is afforded a separate chapter, with the final chapter offering insight and estimations as to what the future may hold for EU crisis management.The central argument of this book is that EU crisis management has become institutionalized in the absence of an overarching grand strategy. The authors conceive of institutionalization as being measureable in three areas: (1) regulatory output; (2) network configurations; and (3) level of legitimacy. By measuring institutionalization in this capacity, the authors are able to capture the complexity of institutional interactions at the European level by considering institutions from both a European and an intergovernmental perspective. Their analytical account of crisis management institutionalization is therefore not teleological. Nor do they construe it as a random process. They argue instead that crisis management in the EU, in many respects, can be defined as a process of mission creep, wherein an institution not originally intended to act in a crisis management capacity nevertheless came to fulfill that role.The main strength of this book lies in its scope. Providing a comprehensive overview of EU crisis management capabilities is no small feat. In spite of the monumental task, the authors succeed in identifying a vast array of institutions, mechanisms, and capabilities, some of whose original purposes were unrelated to areas of crisis management. …

Wieviel Sicherheit braucht der Friede? Zivile und militärische Näherungen zur österreichischen Sicherheitsstrategie

<i>Wieviel Sicherheit braucht der Friede? Zivile und militärische Näherungen zur österreichischen Sicherheitsstrategie</i>

The EU's Future Role on the Global Stage

AbstractWhat role will the EU play on the global stage? The struggle of some of its members in the current economic crisis, its apparent inability to punch its political weight in international negotiations (e.g. the climate summit in Warsaw in 2013) or play a dominant part in international crisis management (the Arab Spring, Syria) cast doubt on the capabilities of the EU as a global player. In order to regain its strength, the EU has to deal with pressing economic and political questions. It has to provide a credible and feasible road map for economic recovery and social cohesion. At the same time, it has to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of European governance without risking its legitimacy. To preserve its actor capacity, the EU must make sure that the (presently unequally distributed) growth potential stemming from research and development serves the economic recovery of the union as a whole. At the same time, successful efforts to make European governance more efficient must be accompanied by additional safeguard measure to ensure its legitimacy.

Communication Challenges in CBRN Terrorism Crises: Expert Perceptions

The aim of this paper was to investigate experts' perceptions on communication in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) terrorism crises, including challenges and good practices. This is pursued by means of a qualitative online questionnaire aimed at international crisis communication and crisis management experts. The challenges of communication concerning CBRN terrorism arise from the complexity of such incidents, having to do with the nature of the threat, leading to problematic public perceptions and response. Critical areas that need to be taken into consideration include resources, competences, and cooperation in preparedness communication and when providing information during a crisis. The findings and conclusions of this study will serve the development of an audit instrument for communication preparedness towards CBRN terrorism.

English

During the past two decades, the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (AF SR) have participated in more than thirty operations under major international organizations and coalitions. Despite the political interest to sustain active engagement of the AF SR in international crisis management operations, the declining level of capabilities coupled with the urgent need to modernize most of the military equipment compels the Slovak Ministry of Defense to commence a complex optimization process. Even though the evolving security environment continues to widen the spectrum of military capabilities, AF SR will need to prioritize and optimize their capabilities selectively. The defense planners must make sure that the AF SR will develop and maintain the necessary spectrum of capabilities required for the most likely deployment scenario. The optimization process should be conducted within a long-term conceptual plan that clearly defines the future course of the AF SR development within a limited financial frame. At the same time, the optimization endeavor must include a certain degree of flexibility that will allow for necessary adjustments based on specific operational requirements. In the end, the AF SR may become a modern and flexible instrument of power that could be engaged in crisis management operations abroad, upholding national and international interests effectively.

Cultural Awareness in Peace Operations: Effective Marketing or Strategic Communications

Cultural awareness is receiving a growing attention in disciplines studying the effects of communication. It is understood as the ability to attain knowledge about the particular cultural characteristics of the people of a certain terrain (state or region). They often reflect a cluster of certain beliefs and practices, which may substantially differ from one region to another. Cultural awareness has also gained prominence in recent academic discussion as regards international conflict resolution and crisis management. The importance of cultural awareness as a crucial element in the conduct and planning of contemporary peacekeeping and stability operations is gaining wide acknowledgement. As in Touristic Marketing in which cultural awareness is often employed as the vehicle to increase the affiliation of xenos, (the foreign visitor) with the aspired touristic product, similar approaches have developed in the study of conflict resolution. In the context of peace operations or stability operations, “the peacemaker” is also a xenos (a foreigner and a stranger) to the region they are deployed. Importantly, the evolution of international peace operations in recent years has rendered communicating the credentials of the peace dividend to the local population, as the key factor in the effective evolution of the peace mission. Accordingly, cultural awareness is considered as the element of strategic importance since it is the vehicle through which effective communication is substantiated. It generates lines of communication between the providers and the receivers of the ‘peace product’ thus progressively creating the environment for the local population to become true affiliates of the credentials that the peace mission is providing.

Current trends in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union

In 1999, soon after the European Union member states had decided to establish the European Security and Defence Policy, the processes of appointing adequate tools for its accomplishment also started. Decisions were made to create organs and institutions and to elaborate appropriate procedures which would enable fast and precise decision-making of planning and conduct in the field of security and defence. Since that time the European Union and its Security and Defence Policy have evolved in many aspects and are still evolving. Security researchers currently attempt to provide the answer to an important problem: what are the trends characterising changes in the Common Security and Defence Policy of the European Union. The author, basing on research and own experiences of work in the politico-strategic planning structures of the European External Action Service, analyses current trends in the Common Security and Defence Policy, especially regarding the evolution of the Union’s organs and institutions, crisis management procedures, implementation of comprehensive approach and tendencies in the newly-deployed missions. This material is a result of extensive discussions and consultations conducted within a broad international and interinstitutional crisis management environment. It is based on interviews with high-level subject-related personnel and the listed bibliography

On the theoretical and terminological premises for researching peace operations

&lt;i&gt;The high dynamics of the changes in the security environment, deepening globalisation, and the growth of current and new, predominantly asymmetric, threats make permanent new demands on international society and require new more complex approaches towards the issue. One of the most significant tools the international community has for keeping peace and security on an international level, restraining centres of tension, consolidating or stabilising relations in crisis areas, and multilateral reconstruction and restoration of countries after armed conflicts, is represented by peace operations within international crisis management. Peace operations have changed a lot throughout the last fifty years, and today, unlike in the past, they represent highly complex, dynamic, demanding and multidimensional activities. Therefore, the main aim of the authors is to point out the significance of a theoretical and terminological basis for research in the field of peace operations.&lt;/i&gt;

Участие ФРГ в международном кризисном регулировании (1991–2012)

The article discusses the participation of the Federal Republic of Germany in the struggle against new challenges of the world security sphere. In this regard the main focus is on the usage of German armed forces (Bundeswehr) for International Crisis Management (ICM), first of all – outside the NATO area. Although Germany has been taking part in this type of activities since 1991, only in 1994 German Bundestag formulated and approved the mechanism of parliamentary control over the Bundeswehr usage outside the NATO area. The author attempts to define the periods of this process and cover practical German involvement in ICM activities of the NATO, the European Union and the United Nations Organization. In this sense it is necessary to compare the forms and the average number of soldiers, which were used by Germany in ICM operations by each of these three international structures. It is also rather important to define the main regions (countries) where German troops were used in ICM activities, and the reasons for it. Yugoslavia was the first region where Bundeswehr served for stabilization of the situation in areas of internal military conflicts. By the year 2014, the main regions of the German International Crisis Management participation became Afghanistan and Horn of Africa.The article also examines the perspectives of the Federal Republic of Germany’s involvement in ICM, considering the current and possible future results of the Bundeswehr reform, while Bundesehr was and is the main country’s instrument in ICM.