Managing Across Boundaries Newsletter

March 15, 2011

Managing Across Boundaries Newsletter


March 15, 2011

Welcome to MAB’s Newsletter

Welcome to the first edition of our newsletter. This issue features an article by myself and the Managing Across Boundaries (MAB) program’s Visiting Fellow O’Neil Hamilton, who also serves as the Caribbean Community’s nonproliferation coordinator. We are also proud to announce the release of a new study entitled, Counterfeit Drugs and National Security, as well as a new online tool, “The Pathfinder,” which illustrates how “dual-benefit” international security assistance can play a key role in bridging the security-development divide.

In the past few months our program staff has published journal papers, reports and articles on a wide variety of topics and regions, including: a study on Middle Eastern security and development dynamics; two articles on how “dual-benefit” assistance can positively impact development and democratic reform in the region; an op-ed in the Guardian on how a strengthening private-public partnership to stop individuals like Victor Bout; and Johan Bergenas published in the Nonproliferation Review an article on EU nonproliferation policies as well as a study on the role of the GCC in implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540. We also hosted and participated in several meetings in Asia and Africa. We partnered with the Finnish Mission at the United Nations and the Stanley Foundation to feature our work in the Caribbean and Central America on how to better leverage security assistance to build development capacity in innovative new North-South partnerships.


For more information about our program and current and future activities please visit:
http://www.stimson.org/programs/managing-across-boundaries.

Brian Finlay

The Pathfinder

Development and security programs are often treated as conflicting priorities in national budgets, ignoring untapped opportunities to leverage each in mutual support. The Managing Across Boundaries program has developed this “Pathfinder” tool to help demonstrate the nexus between security and development and to illustrate how international assistance can have a “dual-benefit.” Click here to bridge the security-development divide.
Sustaining Proliferation Prevention: Gaining Ground in the Global South
When the threat of “proliferation” is raised among developed states, the discussion focuses on preventing the acquisition of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons by states and terrorist organizations. Many of these governments have concluded that the proliferation of WMD is the greatest threat to our collective security. By contrast, however, the “proliferation” debate for audiences of the Global South centers on more immediate threats, most notably the scourge of small arms and light weapons. This divide offers policy constraints… and innovative opportunities. Read the analysis by Brian Finlay and O’Neil Hamilton here.
New report: "Counterfeit Drugs and National Security"

The deadly implications of counterfeit drugs are well understood to be a central challenge to the integrity of public health systems around the globe, as well as a direct threat to our individual health and welfare. What is less understood is that the profits from counterfeit drugs are increasingly being co-opted by an array of organized criminal groups and terrorist entities to fund their operations around the world. Read the full publication here.
MAB Highlights

MAB’s impact in bridging the security-development divide has been widely recognized by key international stakeholders. Please visit the following links to learn about MAB’s ‘dual-benefit’ assistance model and its influence across the international community:

  • March 2011 – Stanley Foundation policy memo on UN Issues Conference notes multifaceted approach to UNSCR 1540
  • February 2011 – NNSA-DTRA border security workshop in Ghana recognizes linkage between international security and human development issues
  • January 2011 – Finnish Government applauds MAB’s work in implementing UNSCR 1540 in the Caribbean [pdf]
  • December 2010 – Hans Blix commends “The Peace of the Global Puzzle” a report on regional organizations’ role in implementing UNSCR1540 in the Middle East
  • November 2010 – Organization of American States collaborates with MAB in effective UNSCR1540 outreach efforts in Latin America and the Caribbean
  • October 2010 – Ambassador Albert R. Ramdin acknowledges success of ‘dual-benefit’ assistance model in the Americas [pdf]
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    Recent Publications

    Beyond Boundaries in Eastern Africa – Brian Finlay, Johan Bergenas and Veronica Tessler, a Stimson Center and The Stanley Foundation report (March 2011)

    Save money, live better: Doing more with fewer nonproliferation dollars – Brian Finlay, The Hill (March 2011)

    Counterfeit Drugs and National Security – Brian Finlay, Stimson Center Report (February 2011)

    Sustaining Proliferation Prevention: Gaining Ground in the Global South – Brian Finlay and O’Neil Hamilton, Stimson Center Spotlight (February 2011)

    The Case for Smart Assistance in the Middle East – Johan Bergenas, World Politics Review (February 2011)
    Events

    Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) discussed current international security challenges during the 2011 Chairman’s Forum, March 9, 2011 at the Stimson Center

    MAB participated in the Stanley Foundation’s "UNSCR 1540: Identity, Extension and Implementation" Conference, with UN Permanent Representatives on February 25 – 27, 2011 in Tarrytown, NY

    MAB staff and Eastern African missions to the UN were hosted by the Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations on February 25, 2011 to discuss recent research and outreach in the region.

    Our next steps

    March 2011 – A World Politics Review five-piece article series on achieving ‘dual-benefit’ assistance programs in the East African region.

    May 2011 – An article on private sector engagement in security-development assistance initiatives, to be published on Japan’s Center for Information on Security Trade Control (CISTEC) research journal.

    Spring - Summer 2011 – Upcoming international engagements in the following regions and countries to promote collaboration on and implementation of the ‘dual-benefit’ assistance model:
    - East Africa
    - Central Asia
    - Andean Region
    - Scandinavia

    © 2011 Stimson Center

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