They are from within us: CVE brokerage in South-central Somalia

ABSTRACT

This article explores how societal actors in Somalia take part in a transnational politics of countering/preventing violent extremism (CVE/PVE) through a political sociological approach to militarisation. We argue that the transnational politics of CVE represents an extension of global militarism by some states, institutions, donors and brokers. CVE works to adapt global militarism and to reconfigure the global-local relationships that sustain it. We explore the roles and influence of local ‘CVE brokers’ in deradicalisation efforts in South-central Somalia. They inadvertently merge the counter-terrorism approach to Somali people, values and territory with non-military means. We show that their key practices – co-ordination, translation and alignment – advance, but also disrupt, alter and transform CVE policy objectives.     

Making a Cold War in the Near East: Turkey and the Origins of the Cold War, 1945–1947

During the post-war negotiations in the years of 1945 and 1946, the Soviets launched a bitter war of nerves against Turkey in order to establish a military base in Istanbul and share control of the Straits. It was crucial for Britain that the USSR be prevented from gaining any influence in Turkey. However, as Britain was in no position to support Turkey financially, American authorities encouraged by London and Ankara took over the responsibility for Turkey. This articles examines the Great Powers rivalry over Turkey and Turkey’s response to it. It argues that regional factors other than US–Soviet confrontation, such as Turkey’s security search against the Soviets, also played a crucial part in starting the Cold War in the Near East.     

Better law‐making and the interinstitutional (dis)agreements: Some comments

This work argues that there is no univocal interpretation of what regulatory policy is and pursues. Taking the strategy of the European Commission as a starting point only, it addresses more specifically the Union legislature's perspective, which, in a democratic decision‐making process, cannot compromise its autonomy. In the unique constitutional universe of the European Union, the “Better Law‐Making” agenda pursues an important additional objective: facilitating the very process of adopting legislation by means of interinstitutional conflict prevention mechanisms and through a common approach to interpretation and implementation of primary law. That is the main purpose of the Interinstitutional Agreements on the quality of legislation, which place them in the position of a sort of soft constitutional law.