Editor's note
(volume 2, issue 1)
It is a pleasure to welcome you to CEJISS 2:1. Before turning to the editorial of this issue, I would like to take the opportunity to inform you of some recent developments concerning CEJISS. Owing to the growth in our readership and continued exposure in academic and policy circles worldwide, we have made some administrative adjustments; brought several new people into the CEJISS Administrative, Editorial and Advisory Boards, and are in the process of up-dating our webpage to continue to provide our readers easy access to the contents and archives of CEJISS, and to further advance our webpage to act as a source for more general research in the areas of International Relations and Security Studies. I invite you to review our webpage (www.cejiss.org) and make comments and suggestions. We would like to maintain transparency in our decision making and are very receptive to your ideas and concerns.
CEJISS’s readership has now reached over 5000 people in more than 60 countries. It is presently available in the US Library of Congress; the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI); the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies; the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty library; and a multitude of other research centres, think-tanks, university, private and public libraries, and institutes around the world.
In December 2007 CEJISS held a series of meetings designated to identifying our objectives for 2008, and the best means to achieve them. After much discussion, we arrived at three main objectives:
1) To maintain the highest possible quality in the article selection and presentation of the journal in hard and electronic formats;
2) To keep CEJISS free in both hard and electronic formats;
3) To extend our activities to include conferences, seminars and other special activities to increase the interaction between our authors and the interested public.
All three objectives are attainable and I would like to extend many thanks to the members of our three boards for assisting in further developing CEJISS, in reviewing incoming contributions, in language editing, in your advice and hard work preparing additional activities. I would especially like to mention the generous support provided by the Metropolitan University Prague (formerly: University of Public Administration and International Relations) from which CEJISS is able to sustain its activities and continue to provide its readers with free copies of the journal in both forms.
While 2008 is full of promise for CEJISS, I unfortunately cannot say, with certainty, the same for the international relations and security CEJISS focuses on. It seems that 2008 will be a year of immense changes to the political configuration of international society. With a number of countries having already had, and several others about to face elections, 2008 will likely be recorded as one of the pivotal years of the post-Cold War period.
It is a year in which many contentious issues will be expressed, in ballot boxes, political chambers and in some extreme cases, on city streets. So far this year there has been elections in the Czech Republic, the Russian Federation, Armenia, Cyprus, Spain, Kosovo, Serbia, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Taiwan. Later, this November, Americans will also head to the polls in an election that may very well reprioritise US foreign affairs and with it, international relations itself. These elections and their results are important indicators of the direction the above states may venture in the future; however they only capture part of the international political picture. While it is true that several of the above elections resulted in sustained political violence amid charges of ballot tampering, cronyism and corruption, the majority demonstrated the depth of international democratisation, which while still imperfect, is occurring, providing people with the freedom to dissent and generally take civilian ownership over their societies.
It is on the later point that I wish to dwell, for at the time of this writing, many people’s inherent rights to life, liberty and security are constricted by their own states, which are fearful of granting their population the very basic freedoms that many take for granted.
Writing and living in the Czech Republic has provided many insights into the struggle for democracy and human rights, and it is my firm belief that the historical experiences of the Czech people can act as a beacon of hope for others still living in fear for expressing their thoughts and attempting to reconfigure their society to be more reflective and in sync with the demands of the 21st century citizen. This is coupled with the symbolism 2008 represents for the Czech Republic as it is marks the 90th anniversary of the founding of the first Czechoslovak Republic, the 70th anniversary of the Nazi invasion, the 60th anniversary of the communist takeover and the 40th anniversary of Prague Spring. In the atmosphere of celebrating the successful transition to democracy while remembering the tragic costs of dictatorship, it is also important to think of those whose freedoms have not yet been won. While the struggle for democracy in Europe may have largely ended with the collapse of the USSR, the international struggle continues.
The articles in CEJISS 2:1 do not directly deal with issues of democratisation. Instead, each contribution deals with associated issues. Firstly, Yulia Zemlinskaya explores the phenomenon of ‘Refusniks’ in the Israeli Army. These are soldiers who disagree with their government’s Palestine policy and refuse to follow orders even though this could land them in prison for insubordination. This is deeply tied to the question of democracy and seeks to explain the social implications of mass insubordination within Israeli society. The right to dissent is integral to democracy; however dissent among soldiers’ poses many challenges to the security of the state. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the situation in Israel and ultimately shows the potential influence individuals have on the contours of their state.
Secondly, Atsushi Yasutomi assesses programmes of disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) in post-conflict states. It is argued that in order to provide civilian control of societies that have been plagued by conflict, adequate measures must be taken to avoid the return to violence and ultimately set post-conflict states on the path to stability and responsibility. Thirdly, Milos Balaban, while more oriented to geopolitics over the coming decades, makes a compelling case for the return of multipolarity as a defining feature of future international relations. This article addresses a multiple of concerns and potential conflicts that may arise in the coming decades and presents alternative views over governmentalities within the shifting international environment.
Using a critical discourse analysis approach, our fourth contribution, by Ibrahim El-Hussari, is concerned with evaluating George Bush’s Iraq policy through the deconstruction of Bush’s 10 January 2007 Address to the Nation speech. This article demonstrates and critically evaluates the interaction between decision makers and the public within democratic societies. Fifthly, Jana Hynkova-Dvoranova investigates the EU’s Lisbon Treaty and the impact this treaty has on enlargement. The discussion in this article theoretically addresses some of the problems associated with the Lisbon Treaty and reviews decision making processes connected to qualified majority voting. This is an essential read for those concerned with future developments in the EU.
Finally, Gautam Acharya, employing a comparative analysis, reviews the legal case for aviation security with particular emphasis paid to airport security. This article looks at laws developed and deployed in the US, UK and India to demonstrate a legal gap in securing airports and providing a legal deterrent against so-called sky criminals.
In addition to our main research articles, CEJISS 2:1 includes 5 Comment & Analysis articles covering: the Czech presidential elections; potential changes to US foreign policy following the 2008 elections; post-WWII political trials in Czechoslovakia; energy security; and the current situation in Kosovo. I sincerely hope that you enjoy the contributions made to CEJISS 2:1 and look forward to hearing your feedback.
Mitchell A. Belfer
Editor in Chief
Central European Journal of International and Security Studies
