Posts tagged as:

guerrilla diplomacy

Science Diplomacy: New Day or False Dawn?

June 15, 2011

A few weeks ago in Oslo, Norway, in the company of about 40 other invitees from around the world, I attended an OECD “experts” meeting, sponsored by the Norwegian and German Ministries of Education and Research, on the subject of Science, Technology, Innovation and Global Challenges.
The workshop was predicated upon the shared realization that if  [...]

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The Bottom Line: Thoughts on Commercial and Economic Diplomacy

April 16, 2011

For the past few weeks I have been lecturing and travelling in the UK and Europe with a group of MA candidates in diplomacy and international business. They are studying at the University of East Anglia’s London Academy of Diplomacy, and the subject of my short course is science, technology and international policy.
Even by Canadian [...]

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Arms and the Man: What’s Next for Libya?

March 3, 2011

“Libya is engaged in a civil war. New protests have broken out in Oman, Bahrain and Yemen. The uprising in Tunisia, the pioneer state of the so-called “Arab Spring,” is entering a second phase. As usual, the amateurish Obama administration has no idea what to do about any of this.
…America has established that its [...]

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Cairo Burning: Implications for the Defence vs. Diplomacy Debate

February 4, 2011

The following commentary, based in part on my “Ferment in North Africa” entry, was posted by the University of Southern California’s Public Diplomacy Blog 02 February:
This is one of those rare, defining moments in world history. In Egypt – as well as Tunisia, Sudan, Yemen and elsewhere – change is unfolding at [...]

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Ferment in North Africa: A Guerrilla Diplomacy Take

February 1, 2011

Stand-off in Tunis.
Riots in Khartoum
Cairo burning.
In the erstwhile global village, which today looks more like an island patchwork of  heavily guarded, gated communities surrounded by an angry sea of seething shantytowns, the relentless forces of globalization continue to transform world politics. Cairo is the current, and increasingly turbulent epicentre, but many [...]

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Listening to Lawrence – Part I

August 3, 2010

Last Sunday, August 1st, the Dutch began a low key, unceremonious withdrawal from participation in the NATO/ISAF mission to Afghanistan. With 24 dead, 140 wounded, and over a billion euros expended, Holland is the first major member of the ISAF coalition to head for the exit. This event, however, was almost lost in the Canadian [...]

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Guerrilla Diplomacy Revisited

July 20, 2010

It has now been a year since the release of Guerrilla Diplomacy. I have spent much of this time trying to promote the book’s main arguments in support of restoring the diplomatic ecosystem and de-militarizing international policy. Following are a few reflections on those efforts.

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Political Officers in Conflict Zones: Public Diplomacy and Counterinsurgency – Part III

May 25, 2010

The past few posts have focused on the potential role of diplomacy in addressing the complex challenges of counterinsurgency.
Can non-violent approaches to conflict resolution make a difference?
Yes, but it is unlikely that contribution cannot be fully realized under present circumstances.
It is not just that the diplomatic business model has not responded adequately to the challenges [...]

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