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The research paper examines how the US adapted to asymmetric warfare after 9/11 by rapidly expanding its use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and Special Forces. It details the scale of UAV deployment, the shift toward 'network-centric' warfare, and the resulting geopolitical tensions and ethical risks, such as the 'Playstation syndrome' and the potential for a global arms race involving Russia and China. The author also highlights the role of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and the Navy SEALs in covert operations across multiple continents, arguing that these developments have revolutionised 21st-century warfare and necessitate international legal scrutiny, particularly regarding operations in Africa.

In a 2011 speech, Dame Nicola Brewer describes the evolving relationship between the UK and South Africa, framing Africa as a continent of potential rather than a problem. She highlights the UK's commitment to development aid, regional integration, and a transition to a carbon-constrained future, while advocating for shared democratic values and African leadership in resolving regional conflicts and reforming the UN Security Council.

The document examines Rwanda's post-genocide trajectory, noting significant achievements in economic growth, gender parity in parliament, and progress toward Millennium Development Goals. However, it argues these gains are offset by a lack of political freedom, citing the 2010 elections, the suppression of independent media, and the intimidation of opposition voices under President Paul Kagame's administration. The author warns that the suppression of civil society could lead to instability similar to the pro-democracy uprisings then occurring in the Middle East and North Africa.

The document argues for a paradigm shift from linear to circular urban metabolism in sanitation, emphasizing the recovery of water, energy, and nutrients. It critiques conventional centralized sewerage for its high energy costs and nutrient loss, proposing instead a variety of decentralized and source-separating systems. The report provides a multi-level planning framework (Sanitation 21) and highlights the importance of participatory, demand-driven approaches to overcome socio-cultural and institutional barriers, illustrated through global case studies.

The research examines Hamas's proposal for a hudna, an extended ceasefire that differs from a final peace deal by allowing the postponement of the refugee right of return. Based on interviews with Hamas leaders in Gaza, Syria, and Lebanon, the study finds that while the hudna is tactical—serving as a means to an objective—it is grounded in Islamic and Arab traditions of conflict resolution (hudna followed by sulh, or reconciliation). The author notes that some Hamas members in Gaza are open to pragmatic compromises, such as land swaps, provided Israel withdraws to 1967 borders. However, the proposal faces challenges from salafi-jihadist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, as well as ideological opposition from other Palestinian factions like Islamic Jihad. Ultimately, the document argues that Hamas is serious about the hudna as a partial solution to establish a Palestinian state without requiring the formal recognition of Israel.

The author proposes a new green revolution focused on sustainable land management and water harvesting to meet development goals and climate risks. He argues that investing in small-scale rainfed agriculture and conservation agriculture can double or triple crop yields while sequestering carbon. The document identifies systemic barriers, such as the policy fixation on large-scale irrigation and the administrative split between 'wet' water ministries and 'dry' agriculture ministries, and calls for integrated national strategies in Africa to scale these solutions.

The report argues that climate change in the Middle East—predicted to be hotter, drier, and less predictable—threatens to reduce water availability and increase food insecurity, which may lead to violent conflict. It highlights that the region's history of hostility undermines the ability of countries to collaborate on adaptation and shared resources. Potential security risks include increased competition for water, destabilizing forced migration, and the militarization of strategic natural resources. However, the report suggests that promoting conservation, fostering cooperation on shared resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions can mitigate these threats to regional peace.

The report examines the relationship between the global al-Qaida network and the Palestinian polity, focusing on the Gaza Strip. It argues that al-Qaida has used an offensive propaganda campaign to criticize Hamas for political moderation and has attempted to establish an operational foothold in the region. While the report finds no hard evidence of a formal al-Qaida organization in the Palestinian territories, it notes the emergence of various salafi-jihadi groups that have engaged in violence against 'non-Islamic' targets, Christians, and foreigners. Hamas has generally responded defensively to these challenges, fearing that radical elements within its own movement may be receptive to al-Qaida's message, especially under the pressure of international isolation.

The report argues that while climate change is not the sole cause of conflict, it acts as a 'threat multiplier' in the Levant. It identifies six primary security threats, including increased competition for water, intensified food insecurity, and destabilizing forced migration. The authors emphasize that the region's history of conflict and deep distrust undermine its adaptive capacity, making it more vulnerable to environmental shocks. To mitigate these risks, the report proposes four strategies: fostering a culture of conservation, implementing community-level adaptation, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enabling regional cooperation through shared resource management.

The author argues that historiography in the Israel-Palestine conflict is inherently political, as both nations fight for a dominant narrative to legitimate their actions and claims. The text contrasts the Zionist narrative of survival and liberation with the Palestinian narrative of neo-colonialism and ethnic cleansing. It specifically examines the 'broadcast theory' used by Israel to deny responsibility for the 1948 refugee crisis, noting that academic consensus now attributes the flight of approximately 750,000 Palestinians to the actions of the Haganah/IDF, Irgun, and Stern Gang. The author also critiques the 'terrorism as the primary obstacle to peace' thesis, arguing it is ahistorical and ignores Israeli violence and the timing of suicide bombings. Finally, the document highlights the paradox where the Holocaust is used for Israeli legitimacy while the Nakba is denied, noting that the Israeli state bears responsibility for the latter.

This research paper investigates the impact of democracy measurement on the 'democratic peace' proposition, which posits that democracies rarely go to war with one another. The author compares the widely used Polity dataset with Vanhanen's Polyarchy dataset, which uses a simpler index based on electoral competition and participation. Through bivariate and multivariate analyses of conflict data from 1816 to 2002, the study finds that the choice of indicator does matter; specifically, electoral competition appears to be a stronger predictor of peace than the aggregated democracy scores. The author concludes that while different measures often correlate, they are not interchangeable and can lead to different inferences about the causes of international peace.

India and China are experiencing rapid economic growth and a corresponding surge in energy consumption, leading to an increasing reliance on imported oil, primarily from the Persian Gulf. Both nations are pursuing similar strategies to mitigate this vulnerability: diversifying import sources, acquiring equity oil through overseas investments, building strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs), and shifting toward natural gas and nuclear power. While there are efforts toward Sino-Indian energy cooperation, such as joint bids for oilfields in third countries, competition remains high, particularly in contested areas like Burma. The report outlines three future scenarios: 'Increased cooperation,' 'Conflict in East Asia' (centered on Taiwan and Japan), and 'The Middle East explodes' (a full-scale resource war). It recommends that Norway support energy efficiency, clean coal and gas technologies, and the inclusion of China and India in the International Energy Agency (IEA).

A group of medical professionals and scientists argue that Reed Elsevier's ownership of The Lancet is contradictory to its role as a promoter of arms fairs, specifically the Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) event. The authors contend that promoting arms sales, including cluster bombs and small arms, violates the medical principle of 'do no harm' and contradicts Reed Elsevier's commitment to the UN Global Compact.

The document highlights that just 1% of Syria's estimated superhot rock geothermal resource could provide 194 GW of energy capacity, generating over 1,613,788 GWh of electricity. This amount is 95 times the country's 2021 electricity consumption and could theoretically replace all fossil fuels used for electricity production, supporting Syria's Nationally Determined Contribution goal of 10% renewable power by 2030. The technology is described as a land-efficient, 24/7 energy source that could reduce Syria's dependence on coal imports, primarily from Turkey, and provide raw energy for desalination and hydrogen production.

The report argues that climate change and armed conflict act as mutually reinforcing drivers of harm, creating a polycrisis that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations. It highlights how climate change serves as a 'threat multiplier' by exacerbating resource scarcity and instability, while military activities contribute significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions and environmental degradation. The document emphasizes the resulting collapse of health systems and the emergence of infectious diseases in conflict zones. It calls for integrated climate, health, and peacebuilding strategies, including a transition to renewable energy and greater military accountability for emissions, to break this cycle of harm.

The document examines the 'hunger-climate-conflict nexus,' where food insecurity acts as a 'threat multiplier' for instability. It argues that while military forces have historically played ad-hoc support roles in humanitarian aid, the increasing frequency of climate-driven food crises necessitates a shift in military training, doctrine, and interagency coordination. The author highlights barriers to this transition, including the risk of 'over-securitisation' and existing institutional silos between defence and development agencies, while specifically noting the implications for the Irish Defence Forces regarding peacekeeping and domestic disaster response.

The Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) is launching the TECH 4 Resilience Challenge to identify and scale AI innovations that enhance humanitarian preparedness and response to climate shocks. The initiative targets entrepreneurs and organisations operating in low- and middle-income countries, offering winners up to US$50,000 in funding, alongside mentoring, a virtual Leadership Academy, and investment mobilisation support. Eligible solutions must address extreme climate events or strengthen Anticipatory Action frameworks, with a priority on locally led innovations benefiting women and youth. The challenge opens on 1 August 2025, with final winners announced in November/December 2025 for implementation throughout 2026.

The policy brief advocates for the G20 to push the IMF for a new $650 billion SDR allocation to address the intersecting debt and climate crises in the Global South. It argues that SDRs are a critical alternative to debt-based financing, as they do not require repayment and can be used for fiscal support, climate adaptation, and mitigation. The brief also recommends that the IMF revert its accounting of SDRs from liabilities to equity (as per BPM5) to prevent artificial increases in debt-to-GDP ratios and facilitate the donation of unused SDRs from advanced economies to indebted nations.

The research paper develops a formal model and provides empirical analysis to argue that third-party military intervention in civil wars is driven by economic factors. The authors find that the likelihood of intervention increases when the conflict state has large oil reserves, when the global oil market is more oligopolistic (less competitive), and when the potential intervener is a net oil importer. Using a dyadic dataset from 1945-1999, the study demonstrates that the value of oil reserves and the intervener's balance of trade in oil are significant predictors of intervention, often exerting a larger impact than traditional factors like ethnic ties or Cold War dynamics.

The author warns that a hasty reduction in international civilian aid to Afghanistan could undermine a decade of progress in education, health, and media. While security transitions and political leadership changes dominate the agenda, the author emphasizes that the 'economic transition' is critical. The document highlights that achievements in school enrollment and health are fragile due to poor quality and lack of maintenance funds. It further notes that while a media revolution and a growing civil society provide a platform for reform, these are vulnerable to conservative forces and a lack of resources. The author concludes that predictable aid is necessary to consolidate these gains and prevent reform-minded groups from being marginalized by warlords and powerbrokers.