Presenta temas sobre Relaciones Internacionales y Seguridad; ambas entendidas en sentido amplio y desde un enfoque multidimensional, abierto a diferentes perspectivas teóricas
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Mesa, Beatriz (2013) "La Falsa Yihad, El negocio del narcotráfico en El Sahel"
Medina Ortega , Manuel (2014): "El derecho de secesión en la Unión Europea"
González del Miño, Paloma (2014) (ed.): "Tres años de revoluciones árabes"
The US and Turkey in Search of Regional Strategy: Towards Asymptotic Trajectories
Security relations with the US have been critical for Turkey. Cold War strategic imperatives dictated typical bandwagoning policies, although disagreements and frictions were present at times. In the 2000s, a combination of domestic developments and rapidly changing regional security patterns has resulted in a more assertive Turkish regional security policy, which for many represents a departure from traditional Kemalist principles. This article attempts to assess the current course of Turkish regional security engagement and the extent to which relations between the USA and Turkey are subject to major change. The analytical context accounts for the impact of domestic, regional and global levels. The empirical focus is on Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian sectarian conflict and on the trajectory of the bilateral relations with Israel.
A Coherent Strategy for a Changing Region?: The Obama Administration Foreign Policy and the "Arab Spring"
The Foreign Policy of the Obama Administration has been clearly affected by the process of change in the Middle East known as Arab Spring. The debate about the nature of the Strategy of the president for that region has been added to the previous debate about the mere existence of an Obama doctrine, as the region has turned to be the main battlefield of the ideological groups of the American Foreign Policy: realists, neoconservatives and liberal interventionists. The need of balancing the strategic and security interest with the promotion of values such as the liberal democracy or the human rights has been followed by some kind of return to a realist strategy, of limited intervention, founded in core strategic interests and different solutions for different contexts. The contemporary conflict in states like Iraq or Syria, presents enormous uncertainties which should be confronted in the short term.
Official Discrepancies: Kosovo´s Independence and Western Europe´s Rhetoric
This article examines approaches and official discrepancies characterising Western European rhetoric with regard to the Kosovo status question. Since the early 1980s, Kosovo has been increasingly present in European debates, culminating with the 1999 international intervention in the region and subsequent talks about its final status. Although the Kosovo Albanians proclaimed independence in February 2008 and the majority of EU Member States decided to recognise Kosovo as an independent state, Western European rhetoric has been rather divided. This article shows that in addition to five EU members who have decided not to recognise Kosovo from the very beginning, and thus are powerful enough to affect its further progress, both locally and internationally, some of the recognisers, although having abandoned the policy of “standards before status”, have also struggled to develop full support for the province – a discrepancy that surely questions the overall Western support for Kosovo’s independence.
Slovakia 1939 – 1945: Statehood and International Recognition (de iure or de facto statehood?)
The world is entering a new phase in its international relations. In Eastern Europe new political entities have emerged. The article deals with the case of Slovakia in the period 1939 – 1945, an example of a de facto State that emerged during a time of instability in Europe. Slovakia 1939–1945 held many characteristics of a de iure State such as a wide international recognition. From a formal point of view it could thus be described as a de iure State, however, the article shows that it is not possible to characterise it in this way and slightly amends the criteria for accepting de facto States. The case of Slovakia 1939 – 1945 shows how vulnerable small States can become and how quickly recognition can be granted as well as withdrawn.
Ramón Serrano Suñer at the Helm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Spain Becomes a Member of the Axis and Losses its Neutrality
The Backbone Plan: Spain under a double threat of invasion
The Iberian Peninsula in the Allied Military Planning
The First Agreement between the New Spanish State and the Holy See on the 7th June 1941
The Late Reorientation of the Spanish Foreign Policy towards the Allies in World War II
Franco-British Diplomacy in the Face of War
The Asia-Pacific Region in the National Security Strategy 2013
In spite of the inclusion of the region Asia-Pacific as one of the most important strategic areas within the National Security Strategy, a thorough analysis bears as a conclusion, that in fact, the real importance attributed is not significant. Dealing with this region in such a way is surprising given the fact that Asia-Pacific is gaining in importance and more external actors are accordingly devoting an increased attention; this is not only the case with such actors as the US, but also with some of the main actors in the European Union. The low priority granted to the region, along with an excessively vague definition of both those possible threats to our security and the actions needed to counter them, result in this document being far from what this region deserves in importance.
Strategy of National Security: Perspective and Strategic Focus of Sub-Saharian Africa
The Spanish National Security Strategy adopted on 30 May 2013 emphasizes a “holistic approach” to national security. One of the key aspects of this integrated approach is the establishment of a close relationship between security and development. In this sense, security and development would be interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Based on this comprehensive approach and the focus provided by the Spanish National Security Strategy and by the European Security Strategy, this article tries to highlight the specific challenges with emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa. The analysis of the security-development nexus indicates the generation of an approach that proposes and enables the continuous search for purely security objectives, ignoring other aspects such as the economic development of the individual countries. Thus the focus has been on “promoting our security” to the detriment of the development of more equitable and balanced relations with third countries.
Armed Conflicts in the National Security Strategy 2013
The Spanish National Security Strategy 2013 considers armed conflicts as one of the main risks or threats that Spain has to confront. This is an example of continuity with the 2011 Spanish Security Strategy, the first document of its kind adopted in Spain, which also included armed conflicts and their consequences as one of the threats to the Spanish security. However, the perspectives used by the two strategic documents to analyze armed conflicts are very different, as are the proposed Lines of Action to face them. The approach to armed conflicts as security threat is radically different in the two National Security Strategies adopted in Spain to date. In theory, both texts share a "comprehensive" and multidimensional view of security. In practice, when dealing with armed conflicts, the National Security Strategy 2013 is much more Defense-focused than the previous one. This article analyzes the characteristics of today's armed conflicts, followed by a study of the Spanish strategic context, as a starting point to examine whether the National Security Strategy 2013 reflects the current international environment or not. The article also includes a critical analysis of the perspective employed by the National Security Strategy 2013 when addressing armed conflicts, comparing it with the different approach that was used in the Spanish Security Strategy 2011.
Mass-Destruction Weapons Proliferation in the National Security Strategy 2013
Weapons of Mass Destruction are of the most important threats the humankind has to face in the next decades. If the 20th Century was marked by the power of nuclear weapons, the 21st century will be the century of chemical and bacteriological ones. Despite the international regimes established to manage the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the reality is that these initiatives have not worked. In my opinion, this disturbing reality has dealt with difficulties by the Spanish National Security Strategy The Spanish Government should have realised the importance that this challenge deserves.
The National Security Strategy assesses the risk of suffering an attack with biological weapons as low. This seems to be a clear mistake for the reason that NATO already considered this possibility in 2002. To effectively assess the level of this threat we need to consider that it already goes beyond the strictly military field. In the current article we will show the vulnerability of Spain as derived from policies and security protocols of reactive and not preventive character established, along with multilateral dimensions that require a reconsideration of the real threat, following a more precise evaluation. Important improvements are needed.
The Fight Against Terrorism in the National Security Strategy 2013
The National Security Strategy 2013 is considered a security framework for dealing with threats and risks and aims thus to ensure security for Spain and its citizens. In the specific case of terrorism, it assumes that ETA has been defeated and it mentions jihadism as the most worrisome type of terrorism. But it ignores other kind of terrorism highlighted by European official documents –especially by Europol— such as lone wolves, the attacks perpetrated by rightist and leftist extremists, and those of nationalist origin, the largest in Spain.
Extremism and Radicalism in the National Security Strategy 2013: a fragmented and incomplete vision
Although Islamic extremism is one of the main issues threatening global stability and security, the Spanish National Security Strategy (NSS) does not pay much attention to it. According to the NSS, it is merely an enhancer of threats, integrated into a complex and multidimensional concept of security, and is related to (a) the terrorist threat, (b) the risk of energy vulnerability, and (c) the risk associated to a lack of national cohesion. There is a drop in the level of analysis and also a conceptual confusion around the terms: radicalism, extremism and fundamentalism. This lack of precision, that make the various phenomena look homogeneous, make difficult the design of a precise and effective polity that can signal the road to combat extremism and the actors that should be involve in this fight.
Islamic Fundamentalism in the Strategy of National Security 2013
Eight years after the terrorist attacks of 11 March, the new Spanish National Security Strategy doesn’t include explicitly the issue of Islamic fundamentalism as an influential or key factor that can affect the welfare of Spanish citizens and the stability of the State. Neither did the previous National Security Strategy (2011). The new document acknowledges that Spain is a target of jihadist terrorism, and even recognizes that there are certain elements that make Spain the target of international terrorism, such as the insistence of Islamic fundamentalism groups to present Spain as part of the Islamic world. And there is no other reference to the most extreme version of Islam as source of risks and threats in a country that suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe, with 191 fatalities, and where the police have broken around 30 jihadists cells in the last decade.
Transnational Crime: Mechanism to Fight it as Foreseen in the National Security Strategy 2013
Organized crime is a major global threat that has grown around the world. This threat uses the channels of Globalization. The proliferation of this kind of criminal activity is one of the main threats to global security. The Spanish National Security Strategy has included organized crime in their main lines of action. Global threats require global responses. This article tries to show the different key instruments held in our neighbouring countries to deal with this threat. In this sense, one of the most important tools is ooperation among nations in order to implement a multidisciplinary approach.
Irregular Migratory Movements and the National Security Strategy 2013
Irregular migration flows are a source of concern among governments and citizens of the European Union. The National Security Strategy in its chapter dealing with risks and threats to national security, notes that "irregular" migration flows constitute a real challenge that even affects "undocumented" immigrants themselves. The aim of the National Security Strategy is the prevention, control and management of migration flows arriving to our borders, which are also "borders of the European Union." Nevertheless, the approaches are reactive and carried out in a nationalist framework.
Sea Security in the National Security Strategy 2013
The National Security Strategy does not seem to give due relevance to sea security, bearing in mind Spain´s reliance on the sea as derived from its geographical position and the importance of commercial exchanges. Following the same reasoning, we must bear in mind that the document´s approach is unsatisfactory both regarding the challenges singled out in relation to our sea security and the responses offered to such challenges. In addition, it must be considered that, even if the National Substrategy of Sea Security fills the gap left in the National Security Strategy, it does it only partially and the results are not fully satisfactory.
Energy Issues in the National Security Strategy 2013
Energy becomes a capital aspect of our global society nowadays. A diversified and efficient energy mix is an essential factor for the promotion and defense of the national interests of Spain and the interests of the European Union. This article analyzes the changing international scenario on energy, its challenges, threats and impact on Spain and the European Union, and presents several recommendations for the adequate protection of our national interests.
Spain and the US in a New Strategic Context
The 2013 Spanish National Security Strategy sets a clear continuity with the 2011 Spanish Security Strategy regarding the treatment of the partnership and relations with the Unites States, showing a political consensus on a fundamental national policy for Spain. However, it tends to be more a political document and a declarative consensus than a security strategy with greater depth and width. In this sense, the National Security Strategy presents questionable conceptions and perceptions about the structure of the international system and the behavior of the great powers, which can create narratives, strategies and policies in a situation of decreasing capabilities. All this can lead to trigger a security dilemma. In this sense, alliances and strategic policies of Spain could move between its reinforcement (chain gangs) or abandonment (buckpassing), including more realistic strategic planning. A review of the Agreement on Defense Cooperation and the 2001 Joint Declaration Statement could be a first-class strategic option for the security policy of Spain.
The Mediterranean in the National Security Strategy 2013
The National Security Strategy 2013 considers the Mediterranean region as a priority area, but the approaches contained in the document are largely poor and don't take into account important changes that took place in recent years in the Mediterranean and its broader security space. The article explains first these changes and later describes the principal innovations that should be introduced to avoid the simplifications and omissions included in the Mediterranean section of the National Security Strategy 2013.