February 24, 2006
Elcano Royal Institute

Abstract:

The xe2x80x98transformation' of military forces into modern and effective tools for providing security in a changing world is a key concern for states and international organizations. Some xe2x80x98middle powers', with limited resources but willing to play a role in contributing to security, are adapting their forces to face new and challenging threats and the demands of closer cooperation within alliances and coalitions. This paper provides an overview of the policies designed and implemented by three mid-sized countries as relevant examples of the ongoing global debate about adjusting national armed forces' strategies and capabilities to the current international security environment. These case studies are interesting examples of how national political will and decision making remain the key driving forces behind any such mod#ernisation process....

October 5, 2005
Danish Institute for International Studies

Abstract:

This brief essay compares Dutch colonial policies in Indonesia with the current involvement of Western states in state- and nation-building processes in the Middle East.

March 11, 2005
Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs

Abstract:

On December 23, 2004, the Dutch Ministry of the Interior published a 60-page report entitled From Dawa to Jihad. Prepared by the Dutch general intelligence service (AIVD), it describes radical Islam and examines how to meet its threat to Dutch society. Among the close to one million Dutch Muslims, about 95 percent are moderates. This implies that there are up to 50,000 potential radicals. Since September 11, 2001, phenomena such as the growth of radical Islamic groups, polarization between Muslims and the surrounding society, limitations in the process of integration, and Islamist terrorism have increased in The Netherlands. The capability of Dutch society to resist the threat of radical Islam is considered low, though recently a greater desire has become apparent among the Dutch population to become more resistant. Also within the Dutch Muslim community resistance against radical forces is low. The moderate organizations and individuals are not able to counterbalance the radical forces. An earlier AIVD report dealt with Saudi influences in The Netherlands, mentioning a number of mosque organizations that originated from Saudi missions and financing. The Amsterdam Tawheed mosque, which in the past has put extreme anti-Semitic statements on its website, is linke#d financially, organizationally, and personally with the Saudi Al Haramain Foundation. Several other mosques are supported financially by Saudi charities. The Dutch report places the blame for the origins of the problem squarely on the deeply-rooted ideology of fierce opposition to the Western way of life among certain Muslim groups. It does not claim that the problem of radical Muslims would disappear if there were peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Israel and Jews are not mentioned in the report. ...

January 12, 2005
American Society of International Law

Abstract:

On December 15, 2004, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed separate complaints originally filed on April 29, 1999 by Serbia and Montenegro against eight NATO member states (Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom), asking the ICJ to hold each of the respondent states responsible for international law violations stemming from the NATO bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in March-April 1999. According to the Court's unanimous Judgments, Serbia and Montenegro lacks standing to sue before the ICJ....

March 31, 2010
Combating Terrorism Center // West Point

Abstract:

This issue includes the following articles: Anwar al-`Awlaqi: Profile of a Jihadi Radicalizer, by Christopher Heffelfinger; The Taliban Arrest Wave in Pakistan: Reasserting Strategic Depth?, by Thomas Ruttig; Untangling the Punjabi Taliban Network, by Raheel Khan; Insight into a Suicide Bomber Training Camp in Waziristan, by S.H. Tajik; Iran’s Ambiguous Role in Afghanistan, by Sajjan M. Gohel; The Nexus Between Salafism and Jihadism in the Netherlands, by Beatrice de Graaf; Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Courts, by Huma Yusuf....

April 23, 2008
Angus Reid Global Monitor

Abstract:

Adults in the Netherlands are divided over their country’s current mission in Afghanistan, according to a poll by Maurice de Hond. 49 per cent of respondents oppose the Dutch engagement in Uruzgan, while 46 per cent support it. Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. The Netherlands committed troops to the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. At least 790 soldiers—including 16 Dutch—have died in the conflict, either in support of the United States-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)....

May 28, 2007
Freedom House

Abstract:

Freedom House welcomes the vote by the United Nations General Assembly to elect Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina for the two open seats for Eastern European States in yesterday's election to the UN Human Rights Council. Belarus, the third candidate for the East Europe vacancies, was defeated in a tight race following a vigorous campaign by numerous human rights organizations and countries opposed to the candidacy of a country with one of the world's most abysmal human rights records.

April 10, 2007
Track Impunity Always

Abstract:

Frans van Anraat, born in 1942, is a Dutch businessman. It is alleged that he provided Saddam Hussein's regime with chemical supplies which where used in the attacks on the Kurds in 1988, especially in Halabja, and against the Iranian town of Sardasht in 1987 and 1988.

August 8, 2006
GlobalSecurity.org

Abstract:

The Katyusha was originally a World War II-era Soviet rocket. During the Great Patriotic War the BM-8 and BM-13 rocket launchers [some times confusingly called rocket mortars] got their famous name "Katyusha". In March 1941 the first successful fire tests of BM-13 rocket launchers were carried out and 21 June mass production order was sign. Originally this system was based on standard ZIS-5 but this experience wasn't successful. Afterwards ZIS-6 was chosen. At last the BM-13 was mounted only on Studebaker-US6 (BM-13N). The BM-13 could fire 16 130mm rockets simultaneously....

June 7, 2006
Council of Europe

Abstract:

The United States of America finds that neither the classic instruments of criminal law and procedure, nor the framework of the laws of war (including respect for the Geneva Conventions) has been apt to address the terrorist threat. As a result it has introduced new legal concepts, such as "enemy combatant" and "rendition", which were previously unheard of in international law and stand contrary to the basic legal principles that prevail on our continent. Thus, across the world, the United States has progressively woven a clandestine "spider's web" of disappearances, secret detentions and unlawful inter-state transfers, often encompassing countries notorious for their use of torture. Hundreds of persons have become entrapped in this web, in some cases merely suspected of sympathising with a presumed terrorist organisation....

February 9, 2007


Abstract:

Cordaid is an international development organization that regroups four Dutch associations; Bilance, Memisa, Mensen in Nood and Vastenaktie. Cordaid aims to reduce structural poverty and strengthen institutions. Cordaid devotes a great deal of attention to sustainable development, including measures to combat desertification.

December 12, 2006


Abstract:

The Foreign Ministry coordinates and carries out Dutch foreign policy at its headquarters in The Hague and through its missions abroad. It is likewise the channel through which the Dutch Government communicates with foreign governments and international organisations.

December 12, 2006


Abstract:

Official website of the Dutch Ministry of Defence.

December 12, 2006


Abstract:

Professional, well-trained and able to operate everywhere. These are principles that characterise the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA). Reacting quickly and appropriately to unexpected and diverse conflict situations is necessary if the RNLA is to carry out its missions well.

September 21, 2004


Abstract:

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) was established by Security Council resolution 827. This resolution was passed on 25 May 1993 in the face of the serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991, and as a response to the threat to international peace and security posed by those serious violations.

June 2, 2011
MICROCON

Abstract:

An increase in asylum applications and refugee populations from conflict zones since the late 1980s has led to considerable public, political and policy concern within the European Union. Somalia has been one of the top refugee-producing countries in the world for more than twenty years given the protracted nature of its conflict. Around 245,000 Somali asylum applications have been lodged in Europe since 1990, after civil war began affecting large parts of country. Estimates of the remaining population vary, but one World Bank estimate put this at 8.9m in 2008. There were approximately 1.5m internally displaced persons in 2009, in addition to a total estimated refugee population of nearly 700,000.

Based upon qualitative research with Somali refugees in two European host countries – the UK and the Netherlands - this paper explores the micro-level experiences and ongoing effects of the Somali conflict on their lives in exile. Challenging predominant macro-level framings of refugees in these settings, it supports a micro-level analysis of their experiences and lives. It analyses their ongoing connections with the conflict in Somalia, and reveals how this can affect aspects of their integration and emotional health while in exile, alongside social problems such as poverty, drug use and divorce....

February 24, 2011
International Peace Research Institute, Oslo

Abstract:

This handbook is intended to serve as a document that provides relevant information on issues that external actors who interact with diasporas in development and peacebuilding will encounter. It does not present simple replicable techniques, tools or instruments; rather, the authors aim to explain the underlying philosophy and aspects of process involved in facilitating participation of diasporas in development and peacebuilding (Pretty et al., 1995: ii). How to best apply these principles will vary from context to context. The document is based on experiences with various diaspora communities in the five European countries (Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway), though many of the examples cited focus on the Somali diaspora and, more generally, on diasporas originating from Africa. A number of those experiences are described in detail in separate text boxes....

November 29, 2010
RAND Corporation

Abstract:

Deradicalizing Islamist extremists may be even more important than getting them to simply disengage from terrorist activities, according to a new RAND Corporation study that examines counter-radicalization programs in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Although there has been much research about the radicalization and recruitment of Islamist extremists, there has been little study until recently about how one deradicalizes those who have been recruited into the Islamist extremist movement. A key question is whether the objective of counter-radicalization programs should be disengagement (a change in behavior) or deradicalization (a change in beliefs) of militants. A unique challenge posed by militant Islamist groups is that their ideology is rooted in a major world religion, Islam. The RAND study indentifies and analyzes the processes through which militants leave Islamist extreme groups, assesses the effectiveness of deradicalization programs and summarizes the policies that could help to promote and accelerate the processes of deradicalization....

September 7, 2010
IKV Pax Christi // Cordaid

Abstract:

This policy paper outlines the organisation and composition of the Dutch armed forces with the aim to improve – within the framework of its core activities – its capacity to protect civilians in areas of armed conflict. As civil organisations, IKV Pax Christi and Cordaid can make a meaningful contribution to the discussion regarding the future of the Dutch armed forces. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently reopened this discussion with the publication of an exploratory document, which set the direction of the armed forces in the build-up to 2030. Cordaid and IKV Pax Christi believe that the Dutch armed forces should be better equipped to protect civilians. The cornerstone of this argument is the recognition of human dignity as the founding principle of the international rule of law. This requires a ‘3D approach’ (Defence, Diplomacy & Development), because economic, political and social development cannot be achieved without security....

April 16, 2010
Demos

Abstract:

The path into terrorism in the name of Islam is often described as a process of radicalisation. But to be radical is not necessarily to be violent. Violent radicals are clearly enemies of liberal democracies, but non-violent radicals might sometimes be powerful allies. This report is a summary of two years of research examining the difference between violent and non-violent radicals in Europe and Canada. The report covers five countries: the UK, Canada, Denmark, France and the Netherlands, focusing on the phenomenon of ‘home-grown’ al-Qaeda inspired terrorism in these countries. It represents a step towards a more nuanced understanding of behaviour across radicalised individuals, the appeal of the al-Qaeda narrative, and the role of governments and communities in responding....