Marcel Reymond – författare

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject South Asian Studies, South-Eastern Asian Studies, grade: A, , course: INTL5550, language: English, abstract: On May 18, 2009 the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and ended a 30-year conflict. The way the final phase of the war was fought, how it ended and what happened with the Tamil civilians and LTTE combatants at the end of the hostilities became a controversial issue. The Security Council (SC) considered the war and the internments of the internally displaced people (IDP) as an internal matter. The GoSL always called the final stage of the war a humanitarian rescue operation and presented its actions as part of a large hostage rescue operation (This was based on the well-known fact that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were holding back civilians in its territory). At the end of the hostilities, civilians were put in overcrowded, closed camps for InternalIy Displaced Persons (IDPs) with limited humanitarian assistance where they were exposed to harassment by security forces who were looking for LTTE fighters likely to be hiding among them. After more than a year, on June 22, 2010 the SG announced the appointment of an Experts Panel to inform him of the progress of the commitment made by the GoSL after his visit in 2009. The UN Panel of Experts completed its report at the end of March 2011 and made it public on April 25. The Lessons Learned and Reconciliation Commission's (LLRC) accountability initiative had by then conducted eight months of public hearings and the GoSL was very concerned that the earlier publication of the UN Panel report would compromise its domestic driven initiative. Past events are the underlying cause for a need for a reconciliation process. They are well documented and the author has referred to them when strengthening or clarifying an argument. The length of this document does not however, allow for a detailed account of the conflict history in Sri Lanka. This essay will firstly analyze the process that led to the establishment of the LLRC and its working modalities including its mandate. Secondly, it will critically assess the final report and a selection of LLRC major findings of the LLRC. It will then discuss some key elements, based on the framework of restorative justice, which could be deemed essential for an improved reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. As a conclusion, it will propose required key short- and long-term policy changes in order to facilitate the reconciliation process.

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Sociology - General and Theoretical Directions, grade: A, , course: INTL5000, language: English, abstract: In an article entitled 'Clash of Civilizations?', published in Foreign Affairs, American political scientist, Samuel P. Huntington outlined his thesis about the post Cold War world order. According to him, conflicts have evolved from feuds among nation states to ideological hostilities which would develop further into cultural clashes. He put forward the theory that nation states and other groups which share cultural affinities would unite and cooperate and fight as one, against other cultural blocks. He introduced the main forces of his new world order as being eight major civilizations (Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and eventually African) of which the Muslim, the Western and the Confucian would be dominant. Huntington predicted a decline of the western civilization should its members not unite to defend their power status. He identified religion, especially Islam as one of the most important sources for future clashes likely to further weaken the West. He prophesied a more unstable and anarchic world. Huntington's ideas differed from Francis Fukuyama's outlined in a 1989 essay "e;The End of History"e;, in which he predicted a conversion of states into liberal capitalist democracies, which would not wage war against each other, according to the democratic peace theory. A more stable and harmonious world order would have been its outcome. Huntington s article and the related book (The Clash of Civilizations and The Remaking of World Order, 1996) were widely debated and criticized by many scholars. This might be explained by the controversial thematic and some methodological flaws, mentioned further in this essay, which allowed for interpretation and differing opinions. His thesis makes very little reference to other scholars and offers almost no quantitative empirical data to strengthen the arguments put forward. His mainly qualitative arguments seem to rest on his particular world view (Realist) and are therefore more easily refuted by scholars with other perceptions of the world. However appealing Huntington s civilizations clash theory may have been, it could not be substantiated by most other social scientists.

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: A, Webster University (International Relations), course: INTL5570 , language: English, abstract: On February 4th 2012, Russia and China vetoed an Arab-West plan in the United Nations (UN) Security Council (SC). The plan called for Syria's President Bashar al Assad to step down. Russia, in particular, has often used the outcome of the Libyan resolution as a justification for its Syria vetoes. This paper applies the two level game theory of Robert Putnam, and the foreign policy (FP) decision-making model by Margaret G. Hermann and Charles F. Hermann. Its aim is to provide evidence to substantiate the hypothesis that domestic Russian interests were the driving factor behind the double SC vetoes and that China had echoed the move to honor its strategic partnership agreement with Russia. Firstly, the paper will briefly explain the two-level game theory as well as the foreign policy decision-making model. Secondly, will follow an analysis of the international environment (level one) which influenced the veto decision. Thirdly, an investigation of the domestic game (level two) will be carried out, using the Hermann model before drawing to a conclusion. The lack of access to detailed decision making protocols and the haziness surrounding the relevant domestic decision makers in Russia, have made it impossible to clearly identify the members of the ultimate decision making unit and the level one rationale for the Syria veto. One can assume, that in all likelihood, a single group composed of different players within the Russian elite, influenced the decision. China s exact interests or its reasons to use its veto power remain undefined. It seems to be relatively safe to claim that Russia was the driving factor behind the veto and that China followed suit. The paper concludes that Russia s national security concerns and its wish to be recognized once more as a great power, (this implies some anti- western feelings) were, in all likelihood, the important reasons behind the veto.

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Region: USA, grade: A-, Webster University (International Relations), course: The United States and its drone program in Pakistan, language: English, abstract: The United States of America's current lethal drone policy is still shrouded in mystery and complexity: little official information is accessible to the public. This document, therefore, could only raise a certain number of issues. If there were a document detailing the said policy, it could not be found. This paper has had to rely on other various sources to expose the policy elements. It focuses on the war theater in Pakistan/Afghanistan and the drone policy's lethal elements. Firstly, the paper will delve into the development of the U.S. drone program and the controversial use of an automatized lethal process. Secondly, it will consider elements from the political sphere that shaped the current policy. Thirdly, it will analyze the implication of public opinion in Pakistan and the U.S. Fourthly, the paper will highlight a few of the legal aspects that influenced the drone policy before drawing a conclusion. The most discussed element influencing the drone policy of the U.S has been freely interpreted as the information relating to the matter remains scarce and mostly unofficial. What looked, at first, like a classic security versus democracy dilemma added to a member of the U.S. intelligence community seemingly out of control, a Department of Defense (DoD) with hardly any oversight, gave rise, surprisingly, to a quite controlled but executive branch driven process. One cannot ascertain however whether the safeguards in place, were operative and respected whilst the lethal drone program was progressing.

Essay from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Region: South Asia, grade: A, Webster University (International Relations), course: INTL5100, language: English, abstract: This stud's aim is to explain why in 2008, there were food related protests in the Philippines. The events have been analyzed using two frameworks. One examined the four dimensions of the food security concept as presented by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to understand the dynamic of the rice market; The other expounded the legitimacy of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo' s government, probing at the Philippines' s level of democratization through an approach of historical institutionalism. The staple crop in the Philippines is rice. If food prices in general started to increase from 2006, rice markets were slow off the mark. WMR wholesale prices in the Philippines shot up in mid-2007 and reached their peak in 2008. The food unrest critical period occurred between March 2008 and August 2008 when prices escalated Other points deemed important will be raised even if they happened outside of this time frame.