World Today, The

Ways Out of the Irish Puzzle

In effect, all EU treaties are required to be ratified by referendum under the Irish constitution, a legal provision absent in all other member states. Previous referendums on EU treaties have been very effective in generating an informed debate that would otherwise not have occurred, as well as subsequently providing a high level of legitimacy to the state's ceding power to international institutions.

Book Review

Good for Government

LESSONS FROM THE PIONEERS, BY ROSS HERBERT AND STEVEN GRUZD, THE SOUTH AFRICAN INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, JOHANNESBURG, 2008, WWW.SAIIA.ORG.ZA aT THE HEIGHT OF THE KENYA POST-ELECTION crisis early this year, I reread the 2006 African Peer Review Mechanism report on that troubled country. RESISTING PRESSURE Ross Herbert and Stevan Gruzd's new book is the first in-depth study of the mechanism with analysis of the evolving peer review process in the first five countries - Ghana, Kenya,...

European Union Treaty

Trust the People

True, there are precedents for individual countries securing opt-outs and exemptions: the open border Schengen agreement is one, the euro currency another. Painful as it is to contemplate, it is not beyond the realm of sensible discussion to imagine that one or more countries in the EU could see a surge in opposition to the free movement of labour in coming years, particularly if there were an economic downturn and unemployment rose sharply. From energy policy, through the deepening of the ...

Europe And The Mediterranean

Eyeing Other Shores

Drawing on Europe's own experience, the underlying philosophy has been to spread the benefits of European market capitalism, by lifting trade barriers, creating a Mediterranean free trade zone by 2012, and opening state-run economies to private investment. Sarkozy has not been the only critic of Barcelona's plethora of senior official meetings in Brussels, endless conferences, and political discussions repeatedly blocked by speeches on the lack of Palestinian statehood; it has become almost ...

South Africa

Fundamental Failures

A crucial test of whether Mbeki, and his successor, will respect judicial independence will be their response to the recent extraordinary complaint by the Constitutional Court about attempts to influence its proceedings by Cape Judge John Hlophe, who is accused of professional misconduct yet, instead of being disciplined, is being touted as a possible successor to the current head of the Constitutional Court, the respected Pius Langa. Whatever Cosatu's shortcomings, it is hardly appropriate ...

Small Arms

Arms Control

The hope is that by sharing detailed, concrete information on the challenges and opportunities they face, states will use the meeting to advance practical implementation at the national, regional and global levels. In a departure from previous biennial meetings, which reviewed all the issues covered in the Programme, this one will focus on just three: * international cooperation, assistance and national capacity-building; * illicit small arms brokering; and * stockpile management and surplus...

The Gulf In The G8 Agenda

Top Table Time?

[...] even at a time of tough questions about developments in the oil market and banking sector crises, there is no place at the G8 table for the combined might of the Gulf economy: the common market of the six Gulf Cooperation Council states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It is partly a question of definition; promoting the area as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), or 'Gulf', has certainly helped it establish an international profile, even boost...

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Policy

Discreet Persuasion

[...] keen awareness of the domestic and regional tensions that the alignment with the US, or perceived US interests, can cause, limits how far it will move from the established foreign policy orientation. Frustration with the US's lack of a coherent strategy to resolve the conflict saw Saudi Arabia talk in March of withdrawing the Arab peace plan.

Energy For Asia

Chasing Pipe Dreams

Following an agreement in April, construction work could start as early as 2010, with gas flowing five years later. * The second is the $7.5 billion IPI scheme, an overland pipeline, running from Iran's large South Pars gas field, across Pakistan and into India. Competing strategic relationships and security problems are the greatest obstacles, but with oil prices forecast to reach $200 a barrel by the end of the year, and Asia's big economies increasingly facing energy insecurity, economics...

Burma After The Cyclone

Making a Disaster Out of a Cyclone

tHE BURMESE MILITARY GOVERNMENT'S RESPONSE to the cyclone presented the international community with an acute dilemma: whether, and how, to intervene, when the authorities in a sovereign state refuse to cooperate. If the international community did not follow-through with concrete action, there was a danger that the doctrine of humanitarian intervention, and the responsibility to protect, might be significantly damaged, undermining the prospect of future initiatives. Over the past decade - ...

Analysing North Korea

Big Wheel Turning

FLASHES OF SPECULATION However, excitement about the opening of markets, price reforms, monetisation of the economy, the introduction of new performance criteria for businesses and externally oriented economic activities, such as the Mount Geumgang tourism project, or the Gaeseong Special Industrial Zone, now seems to be making room again for a return of gloomy predictions just because Kim Jong-il has dared not to privatise the whole economy, demobilise the army and step down. During the las...

Profile: Sir Richard Dearlove

Overestimating Al Qaeda?

EXAMINING ROOTS Dearlove seems confident that the British intelligence community has adapted well to the new threats posed since 2001, especially when compared to actions taken by American agencies: 'There has been an unprecedented level of public discussion about the role of intelligence and security organisations, mainly a consequence of what's happened in the United States.