Clouds collecting over Gaza
Column by Rem Korteweg
(02/03/10) The recent assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh in Dubai represents a next step in the escalation between Hamas and Israel since the end of the Gaza War twelve months ago. An analysis of the dynamic makes clear that another large-scale military confrontation in the coming year is likely. The primary reason is that not much has changed since January 2009. Rockets still fall on Israel, Hamas remains committed to Israel’s destruction, the humanitarian hardship in Gaza endures, Palestinian disunity persists, and Gilad Shalit remains captive. Among the most explicit indicators is that commentators close to the Israeli military have hinted at its inevitability. Why is a new military offensive on the horizon?
Vacancy Announcement
Strategic Analyst
The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies is seeking an analyst in the area of international/national security and geopolitical developments. The analyst has at least 7 years of experience in research, leading and financial management of large projects and project acquisition. International research experience, good knowledge of languages and experience with internet-based research applications are recommended. The candidate is communicatively strong, client oriented, a networker, has a well developed analytical capacity, is a conceptual thinker and is result driven.
Send your letter to: Odile Steijger, HCSS, Lange Voorhout 16, 2514 EE Den Haag, indicating it is an application for the function of Strategic Analyst.
The Hague Strategic Forum
The Hague Strategic Forum is an exclusive meeting on developments in the field of peace and security (by invitation only).
To read about previous meetings, click here.
Millennium Project: 'More than the sum of its parts'
‘More than the sum of its parts’ is a three year project that aims to operationalise a comprehensive approach to interventions in fragile states and to enhance the understanding of what works and what does not. This will be done through the establishment of two web-based ‘Communities of Practice’: for Sudan and Burundi.
Regional risk profile
HCSS and DCE Consultants offer you their combined knowledge and experience in national security and risk control to assist you to design and implement a risk profile of your security region.
For more information, click on Regional Risk profile.
HCSS is member of the advisory board of Europe’s World
HCSS has a strategic partnership with the Speakers Academy. Via this organization, our team members can be booked for lectures and day chairmanships.
In the News
Security Jam OnlineA virtual conference featuring online keynote contributions from world leaders and participants like you logging on from around the world. NGOs, civil society, security & defence practitioners, leading political and military figures, think tanks, academics and journalists will interact online, from anywhere in the world, to build concrete solutions together.
New HCSS Publication: Scarcity of Minerals: a Strategic Security IssueThis report analyses whether minerals will be scarce in the future and examines the security and strategic implications. Will states use access to or possession of minerals as a strategic resource? Will relations between states that have access to minerals and those that don’t change due to scarcity? Are future wars about minerals rather than oil, territory or water?
Counterinsurgency and counterterrorism: Are counterinsurgency doctrines applicable to domestic counterterrorism?What can we learn from counterinsurgency for the purposes of domestic counterterrorism? This question serves as the basis for an HCSS report commissioned by the Netherlands Coordinator for Counterterrorism, NCTb. Please access the report here (Dutch only).
The Hague Strategic Note: Venezuela and its Impact on Regional StabilityOne of the least recognized neighbours of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This Hague Strategic Note discusses whether the policies of Hugo Chàvez are a source of regional instability and if they pose a challenge to Dutch interests. The Strategic Note covers six main issues: The Chàvez political agenda, domestic developments in Venezuela, Venezuelan military developments, regional developments, international developments, and the bottom-line for Dutch interests.
Threat Analysis Economic CrisisIn the report Threat Analysis Economic Crisis (in Dutch), the Thinktank National Security provides an update on the consequences of the economic crises for national security and crisismanagement in the Netherlands.
Future Issue - The ArcticIn the past, the vast, mostly frozen ocean that forms the Northern-most region of the globe elicited little, if any attention among policymakers or the general public. However, this has changed dramatically over the past few years. The Arctic has suddenly become subject to a plethora of policy memoranda, newspaper editorials, international declarations, industry conferences, planning studies, military expeditions, and advocacy reports. Beyond any doubt, the ‘new Arctic’ is en vogue.
Future Issue - Economic CrisesWhat impact do economic crises have on security? In the last State of the Future we noted that the discussion in the foresight community started shifting from a focus on the crisis itself to a focus on its medium- and long-term consequences, including global power shifts and international security. In this Future Issue, HCSS takes a look at what the scholarly and expert communities think about the consequences of economic crises on international security.
Upcoming Events
BalkanBorrel
(02/18/10 - 02/18/10)Reason to celebrate?
Kosovo: 2 years after the declaration of independence.
Interested in having a word with the Dutch ambassador in Kosovo? Wanna know whats really going on in Kosovo? Then this BalkanBorrel is for you!
Past Events
Security Jam
(02/04/10 - 02/09/10)A virtual conference featuring online keynote contributions from world leaders and participants like you logging on from around the world. NGOs, civil society, security & defence practitioners, leading political and military figures, think tanks, academics and journalists will interact online, from anywhere in the world, to build concrete solutions together.
For a history of earlier events, please see our past events archive.
Security table
Utilising the latest serious gaming techniques at our security table, we are able to provide training, policy and decision support in the field of national security, crisis- and conflict management. Read more on our Security Table website.
Security Foresight
The Security Foresight team of The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies analyses the fast-changing environment in which your company operates today and offers insights in how to anticipate for the challenges of tomorrow. If you want to know more, please visit our Security Foresight website.
Commentaries & Publications
China heeft ze, wij hebben ze nodig
(Michel Rademaker: commentary, Jan '10)The consequences for Europe of the global crisis
(Rob de Wijk: article, Oct '09)Think twice before you go
(Christa Meindersma: article, Oct '09)Megacrises en Fragiele Staten
(Rob de Wijk: article, Sep '09)Energy and the crisis - More or less secure?
(Heiko Borchert, Karina Forster: essay, Jul '09)Accepting the outstretched hand: how to resolve fifty years of occupation?
(Christa Meindersma: commentary, Mar '09)
