			Home About us Contact

Security Challenge (security + challenge)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	80%

Selected Abstracts

FROM CRISIS TO CUMULATIVE EFFECTS: FOOD SECURITY CHALLENGES IN ALASKA

ANNALS OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2009
David V. Fazzino
Recent increases in the price of fuel in rural Alaska, coupled with high prices of grocery store foods and decreased efficacy of hunting and fishing have led to a food crisis in many regions of rural Alaska. In the summer of 2008 it was predicted that these events would lead to an upswing in the number of individuals migrating to urban areas of Alaska, putting additional stress on the already dwindling resources of food assistance providers. Through discussions with food assistance providers in Fairbanks, Alaska, a research program was designed to assess how well recent migrants were able to meet their food needs. In total 39 individuals were interviewed in November and December 2008, using face-to-face, semistructured interviews. This article discusses a smaller subset of the overall interviews, namely the responses of Natives who currently live in Fairbanks, Alaska. Further, this article informs understandings of "crisis" in the global sense, highlighting the importance of placing "crises" into the larger context of cumulative effects which are long-term and differentially distributed, rather than treating them as discrete and individually mitigatable events. [source]

An Independent Palestine: The Security Dimension

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2004
Robert E. Hunter
If negotiations produce an end to the Israeli,Palestinian conflict then a sovereign, independent Palestine may emerge. But what is required for it to succeed? Nothing is more important than the security of a Palestinian state,for itself, for Israel, and for the region: security trumps all else. In addition to the problem of dealing effectively with opposition to a peace agreement within Palestine or directed against it from outside, the nature and magnitude of the security challenge will depend in large part on three issues: the drawing of borders between Israel and Palestine,and whether they are porous or marked by a rigid line of barriers; whether Israeli settlements are withdrawn, or in part incorporated into Israel, perhaps through land swaps with Palestine; and what arrangements are made for Jerusalem. One answer is the creation of effective Palestinian military forces (in addition to police), but this course could be divisive; a second is the development of a series of Israeli,Palestinian confidence-building and share,security measures, including intelligence cooperation; a third is progress towards reducing external threats to Israel,Palestine, including success in Iraq and in defusing other Middle East problems. Most useful, however, would be the creation of an American-led peace enabling force, ideally modelled on NATO. This force would need to be agreed by both Israel and Palestine; it must be adequately staffed, trained and equipped; its duties and rules of engagement must make sense to all parties; and it must be part of a network of dispute-resolution and confidence-building measures in full partnership with Israeli and Palestinian authorities. [source]

South Korea's Missile Defense Policy: Dilemma and Opportunity for a Medium State

ASIAN POLITICS AND POLICY, Issue 3 2009
Tae-Hyung Kim
Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) delivery systems has made missile defense a key security challenge, but missile defense systems are highly controversial. I closely examine the development of the missile defense system in South Korea. South Korea has steadfastly remained outside the theater missile defense (TMD) structure, but it cooperates on missile defense, in a limited way, with its U.S. ally. South Korea's refusal to participate in TMD even as it quietly acquires air defense systems can be explained by political and diplomatic considerations regarding its neighbors (especially China), military and economic considerations about missile defense, and strategic considerations for the United States-South Korea alliance. The TMD situation demonstrates South Korea's dilemma and opportunity as a medium power in a particularly harsh security environment. South Korea is walking a fine line to diversify security relations, to maintain the alliance structure with the United States (albeit in a changed form), and to build a self-reliant military capability. [source]

Toward an Understanding of Nonlethality

PEACE & CHANGE, Issue 1 2001
Brian Rappert
In recent times, growing attention has been given to the possible role "nonlethal" technology might play in helping to resolve contemporary security challenges. The concept of nonlethality offers the possibility of reducing suffering through the application of weapons designed and intended to minimize unnecessary harmful effects. Despite this promise and the accompanying expansion of literature on nonlethal weapons, there are basic disagreements about the nature of nonlethality. This article considers how we should conceive of the effects of nonlethal weapons and the underlying notions of lethality and nonlethality. An approach is proposed for elucidating how their characteristics and effects could be understood. [source]

Imperfect Federalism: The Intergovernmental Partnership for Homeland Security

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2006
Peter Eisinger
The terror attacks of September 11, 2001, posed a set of security challenges for the nation's cities that the increasingly decentralized federal system was poorly prepared to meet. Although it was generally agreed that domestic security required a close intergovernmental partnership, strong national leadership and support were lacking in creating and guiding this partnership. To make matters more difficult, political considerations in Congress generally trumped the assessment of security risks in the distribution of federal fiscal aid. This article explores the strains in the intergovernmental homeland security partnership, their causes, and efforts to adapt and reform. Despite some progress toward a more rational public administration of homeland security, the partnership still reflects the deficiencies of imperfect federalism. [source]