May 22, 2012

Security

What does security really mean in 2011? How should we prioritize defense, versus diplomacy, development and citizen efforts? How does the threat of terrorism change the game? And what does peace really look like?

Our work on security is led by our student Security Campaign Team. Find out more about their priorities for 2011-12 below.

Our vision is that every young person in the United States exercises their power to bring about a peaceful, healthy, just and sustainable world. Our mission is to create an intellectual foundation among students  in the United States about peace and security issues, equip those students with the skills and resources to address those issues and mobilize them to act on behalf of creating the kind of peace and security that they and the global population desire.

Our focus is on US engagement, its history and what the role of the United States should be in trying to achieve a more peaceful, healthy, just and sustainable world. We recognize the complexity of the issue, and its relationship and issues, such as foreign assistance, health rights, environmental protection and many others. We intersect with and integrate with work on these issues constantly, recognizing that our ability to connect issues and connect people is the only way that we will ever be able to move forward.

Whether it be trying to avoid a nuclear apocalypse, building bridges of understanding between different peoples, or struggling to end all US wars and occupations, we empower students to realize their power and act on behalf of a better future. We hold as a core value that no unjust action happens within a vacuum and thus what affects one, affects all. Therefore, it is our responsibility as global citizens to correct that injustice by whatever non-violent means we find appropriate.

Take Action:
This fall the Security Team is focusing on the following priorities:

  • US engagement in Iraq and Afghanistan
  • Eliminating nuclear weapons
  • US defense spending

Get involved! Join the conversation on our blog. Host an event or run a campaign on your campus. Speak to your decision-makers. Find our more on our Take Action! page. We accept applications for our Security Campaign Team on an ongoing basis. Find out more on our Opportunities page.

 

Read more on this topic ...

The International Criminal Court and the case of Northern Uganda: Recent Developments

For some time, there has been a great deal of confusion surrounding the International Criminal Court’s case against the Lord’s Resistance (LRA) in Northern Uganda. Let me attempt to clear up some of that confusion. On October 13th of 2005, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC unsealed five arrest warrants for Joseph Kony, the LRA's leader, and his four commanders. Kony and the others were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including the crime of forcing children under age fifteen into combat. UNICEF estimates that the LRA forced … [Read more...]

Welcome to the UN arms trade agreement initiative!

On October 26, 2006, the General Assembly Disarmament and International Committee of the United Nations, known as the First Committee, overwhelmingly voted to accept the principle of designing an Arms Trade Treaty. This vote represents good news for millions of innocent African innocent civilians, victims of easily accessible weapons such as the AK-47 Assault Rifle (caliber 7.62). Media reports indicate that more than 75 wars of our times use AK-47 Assault Rifle, with 70 to 100 millions of AK-45 Assault Rifle available in the world. The AK-47 Assault … [Read more...]

Know Your International Institutions: Part I

The OSCE The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is not a “sexy” international institution, like the UN, the IMF, the WTO, NATO, or even the African Union. It seldom grabs headlines. When its parliamentary assembly meets, there are no riots, no smashed storefronts. There is no Model OSCE —as far as I know of. The OSCE, a little organization with a long name, strange history, confusing structure, small budget, and unorthodox practices, is mightily unglamorous. But don’t take this to mean unimportant. In reality, the OSCE is … [Read more...]

Religion & International Engagement

Did you know that the American Jewish World Service and the American Society for Muslim Advancement were founding members of the Save Darfur Coalition?  Have you heard there’s an Evangelicals for Darfur campaign? It’s true! The philanthropy focus of many religious groups is starting to go global. I just encountered a really amazing pan-evangelical print ad, signed by Christian leaders from across the nation and addressed to the President of the US.  It is as follows: Without you, Mr. President, Darfur doesn’t have a prayer. We come … [Read more...]

The Bush Administration is Quietly Accepting the ICC

The Bush Administration has shown open hostility to the International Criminal Court (ICC or “the Court”) for most of the past six years, but it has recently, and discreetly, started warming to the fledgling institution. This is a welcome development for proponents of international justice everywhere. Based in The Hague, the ICC is the world’s first permanent, independent judicial body empowered to try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The Court was established in 1998, under the Rome Statute of the … [Read more...]

Trouble in the Horn of Africa

As ever, the Economist is covering parts of the world in depth that you rarely even see in the news briefs section elsewhere.  This time it's the Horn of Africa, which the Economist says is on "the path to ruin" in an article that illustrates how a devastating humanitarian crisis has descended into an even more dire situation that is worrisome on all sorts of levels. The Horn of Africa, consisting of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia in East Africa, is on the edge of a precipice right now that results from a combination of political instability, extreme … [Read more...]

Good News from the Congo?

If you were among the one hundred AID campuses that screened "The Peacekeepers" last year, you've become acquainted with some of the desperate conditions that have ravaged the Democratic Republic of the Congo in recent decades.  The country has been ruled by an evil dictator and racked by multiple bloody civil wars that have even brought neighboring countries into the chaos.  What a relief to find out that things are hesitantly looking up for that country in a week where any good news has been overshadowed by crises in the Middle East. Yesterday, the … [Read more...]

An Update from Washington

It looks like while we've been busy with various AID Conferences and Global Scholar, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a very interesting hearing entitled Islam and the West: Searching for Common Ground.  One of the people providing testimony was Andrew Kohut from the Pew Global Attitudes Project.  The final paragraph sums up the general themes that Mr. Kohut presented in his speech: "As events of the past year in Europe have indicated, there is a broad divide between Westerners and Muslims around the world. Our latest surveys have detailed … [Read more...]

A Letter of Hope from the Middle East

The past week has been filled with disturbing news from the Middle East. In a time of great hopelessness, what a relief to open my inbox to read the message below. It comes from two youth activists in the region, one Palestinian and one Israeli, who are working to create a better future for their people.  Saed Bilbeisi and Elad Dunayevsky are young leaders with OneVoice, a grassroots, non-partisan Israeli-Palestinian group that empowers moderates to stand up against extremism and seize back the agenda for conflict resolution. At a time when extremists … [Read more...]

Getting Ready for Hope Not Hate

From Sabahat F. Adil, AID Summer Intern and Student Leader at the University of Chicago: During the last weekend of June, I attended the 31st ICNA-MAS Convention in Hartford, Connecticut, titled “Living Islam, Loving Humanity.” It brought together thousands of people for a weekend of lectures by well-known speakers from both the United States and abroad. Sponsored by two large American Muslim organizations, many Muslims convened at this national event, one intended to help Muslims understand challenges and, simultaneously, celebrate faith. While I … [Read more...]