The authors review the broad dynamics of Nepal’s current civil conflict, arguing that environmental stress and population factors have played significant roles in creating the underlying conditions for acute insecurity and instability. more

ECSP invited analysts to address whether global poverty should and can be a U.S. national security issue (Part 2). more

November 2004 - Over the past 15 years, a fascinating experiment has taken place in Europe regarding the codification of minority rights. As communism collapsed in 1989, several ethnic conflicts broke out in the Caucuses and Balkans, and commentators feared that ethnic violence would spiral out of control throughout Central and Eastern Europe. In response, Western democracies decided to "internationalize" the treatment of national minorities in postcommunist Europe, creating a pan-European regime to monitor whether countries are meeting European standards in the treatment of their minorities. Some of these standards have been formulated by the High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)–a position established in 1993. Other standards were formulated by the Council of Europe (COE) in its 1995 "Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities." Complying with these OSCE and COE standards is required for countries to ‘join the West,' and in particular to join the European Union (EU) and NATO. more

The volume, edited by Barbara Entwistle and Paul C. Stern, focuses on land use or land cover change where population is a prominent driving force. more