Resources

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The purpose of the Resources section of the CSS website is outreach - i.e., it features the analyses of CSS experts, external partners and like-minded institutions in order to promote dialogue on international relations and security-related issues. CSS Resources is the successor to the International Relations and Security Network (ISN).

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The Future of European Strategy in a Changing Geopolitical Environment: Challenges and Prospects

06.08.2021

In response to profound changes in the geopolitical landscape, the European Union is pursuing a more independent and assertive international role. This shift has raised questions about how the drive for strategic autonomy and the Union’s complex processes and institutions will affect Europe’s global role. In this forum, thirteen scholars address the challenges for European strategy in the areas of defence, trade, international norms, energy diversification, and relations with other major powers.

Inviting the Elephant into the Room: Culturally Oriented Mediation and Peace Practice

23.07.2021

For a long time, peacebuilding has focused on international actors building social cohesion in mostly non-Western countries following violent conflict, rather than thinking about problems at home. Yet structural inequalities exist throughout the world and conflicts are one result of this. Katrina Abatis’ CSS Mediation Resources focuses on the UK where growing polarization threatens to undermine past social integration strategies and the population increasingly questions established institutions.

Contemporary Christian Nationalism in the US

07.07.2021

The disputed presidential election in 2020, culminating in a mob storming the Capitol, poses challenges for US democracy, argue Cora Alder and Emanuel Schäublin in this CSS Analysis. In a polarized society, an increasingly confrontational version of Christian nationalism gains support among mostly white Americans who oppose efforts to address racial injustice and gender inequality.

COVID-19: Germany Rethinks Civil Protection

07.07.2021

Coordination at the national level is key to managing complex crises. In many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic showed a lack of coordination. To address this shortcoming, Germany plans to reform its crisis response authorities. This includes creating a Joint Competence Center for Civil Protection. Other countries could use this as a source of inspiration for reassessing their own crisis management systems, argues Benjamin Scharte in this CSS Analysis.

Cyber Ceasefires: Incorporating Restraints on Offensive Cyber Operations in Agreements to Stop Armed Conflict

02.07.2021

Despite the increased use of offensive cyber capabilities in armed conflict, no guidance currently exists for peace practitioners on if, or how, peace processes may need to evolve with this trend. This CSS Mediation Resources represents one of the first attempts to address this gap, focusing specifically on how developments in offensive cyber capabilities might impact efforts to negotiate and implement ceasefires. It also sets out and analyzes possible adaptations and responses.

Featured Publications

27 Jun 2021 | Publications

Russian Analytical Digest No 269: Russia and the Arctic

The topic of this issue is Russia and the Arctic. Firstly, Troy J. Bouffard and P. Whitney Lackenbauer discuss Russia’s 2021–2023 chairmanship of the Arctic Council, positing that Russia is not seeking to revise Arctic governance structures or undermine regional peace; instead, Moscow seeks to define the region in its preferred terms; secondly, Alexander Sergunin examines Russia’s policy priorities for its chairmanship in the Arctic Council and the possible implications thereof for the region. The author argues that Russia’s Arctic Council presidential agenda will likely include the following priorities: climate change action; sustainable development; social cohesiveness and connectivity in the region; indigenous peoples; conservation of biodiversity; science diplomacy; and partial institutional reform of the Council. Moscow will not, however, renew its earlier efforts to transform the Council from an intergovernmental forum into a full-fledged international organization and introduce military security issues to the Council’s agenda.

May 2021 | Publications

No 121, Caucasus Analytical Digest: Local Dimensions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

This issue of the Caucasus Analytical Digest deals with Local Dimensions of the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict. Firstly, Leila Alieva explores the securitization/de-securitization processes and attitudes towards the conflict in Azerbaijan in the periods before, during, and after the 2020 conflict in Karabagh; secondly, Tamar Shirinian discusses the affective connections between the two spectres of soldiers who are missing or who have died in action and the old political economic elite who now threaten to regain power, and the political implications of national trauma on Armenia’s post-war futures; thirdly, John O’Loughlin, Gerard Toal, and Kristin Bakke analyze the somewhat contradictory results of a February 2020 survey of inhabitants of Karabakh concerning the questions of territory and peace.

21 May 2021 | Publications

Strategic Trends 2021

Strategic Trends 2021 offers a concise analysis of major developments in world affairs, with a primary focus on international security. In the first chapter, Brian G. Carlson explores the impact of the China-Russia relationship on transatlantic security. In the second chapter, Julian Kamasa assesses the potential for security cooperation among France, Germany, and Britain in the E3 and other formats following Brexit. In the third chapter, Niklas Masuhr analyzes Turkey’s recent military interventions. He notes the limited success of them and their reliance on Russia’s acquiescence in them. In the fourth chapter, Lisa Watanabe describes how the US retreat from the Middle East has allowed other powers, especially Russia and China, to strengthen their involvement in the region. In the final chapter, Linda Maduz analyzes the responses by Japan and South Korea to China’s rise and to concerns about continued US engagement in Asia.

CSS Blog Network

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