About the Peace and Security project

The Peace and Security Programme:

• Provides constant up-to-date analysis of key conflicts including in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Burma and Colombia, military occupation of Iraq and Palestine.
• Monitors relations between nuclear weapon states like Pakistan and India, Iran and Israel and progress towards disarmament.
• Pioneers research on the new security infrastructure put in place through, for example, the European Space Agency and projects being funded by the European Security Research Programme
• Works closely with and currently hosts the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases (NO-Bases) which brings together 500 local campaign organisations on five continents
• Co-ordinates a group of scholars, activists and UN insiders promoting active involvement of civil society in UN reform efforts, and pushing for greater human rights coherence across the UN

The Peace and Security Programme has a multi-faceted and holistic approach, working closely with Alternative Regionalisms given their joint focus on European Union policy, and with the Drugs and Democracy Programme which calls for human-rights based approaches to resolving conflicts in drug-producing areas, including Burma, Afghanistan, and Colombia.

“TNI has provided extremely useful research material and concrete help
in organizing international conferences -- providing government and
civil society contacts and resource persons of real authority and
expertise.” (Achin Vanaik)

Case study: Revealing and confronting the bases of empire

Whilst people are aware of the implications of US bases in Iraq, most don’t know that the US has an incredible 900 military bases in more than 60 countries. Including the UK, France, NATO and Russia, there are more than 1,000 foreign military bases worldwide. From 2004 to 2008, TNI played a key role in pulling together research on these bases and helping to link up local campaigns struggling against the negative social and environmental impacts of military bases.

• In March 2007, TNI helped co-ordinate the first NO-Bases international conference in Manta, Ecuador, which brought together 300 activists from 40 countries. Newly elected Ecuadorian President Correa announced that he would not renew the lease of the Manta base in 2009, marking a significant victory for the movement
• In August 2007, TNI launches a Google Earth application, which maps 800 military bases enabling viewers to see photos of the bases from the air. The application is hugely popular and has been downloaded over 10,000 times
• TNI’s Wilbert van der Zeijden is appointed coordinator of the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases

History

TNI has been working on peace and security issues since its inception. It was founded by the Institute of Policy Studies, which in the 1960s published readers (Vietnam Reader and Intervention and Revolution) that became seminal texts for the anti-Vietnam War movement.

In 1982, TNI fellow Mary Kaldor and TNI associate Dan Smith, published Disarming Europe, examining proposals for disarmament, non-alignment and new forms of defence, which lay the groundwork for ongoing work on nuclear disarmament.

In the 1980s, TNI -- with IPS -- was also actively involved in opposing US intervention in Central America as well as exposing the South African apartheid regime’s efforts at destabilising the frontline states.

As early as 1997, TNI was warning that the US was itching to launch a new war on Iraq. TNI was also one of the first institutes to undertake thorough research on the impact of the US war on drugs, highlighting the human and environmental costs for Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Afghanistan.

TNI fellows Phyllis Bennis, Achin Vanaik, Praful Bidwai, Mariano Aguirre, Jochen Hippler and Walden Bello are deeply respected worldwide for their analyses of conflicts. Achin Vanaik and Praful Bidwai have been key intellectual resources for the nuclear disarmament movement and are leading activists on the issue in South Asia. Phyllis Bennis, Jochen Hippler and Mariano Aguire have built a solid reputation in relation to the work on Palestine. Jochen Hippler has deep knowledge of Afghanistan, Pakistan and the greater Muslim world. Walden Bello has been key to building the bridges between the anti-globalisation and anti-militarist wings of the new social movements – bringing to it an analysis of militarisation as a dimension of globalisation.

As the war on drugs and war on terror continue, albeit with different names, the need for ongoing research and alternative proposals for human-rights based security will be vital.