by Charlie Edwards | Jul 23, 2008 | Climate and resource scarcity, Conflict and security, Cooperation and coherence, Global system, Influence and networks, UK
A propos my post below – Brown has said that the NSF core group will be made up of 12 men and women. But who could they be? Join in the fun and send us your thoughts.
Some help: Brown suggested that the 12 publicly appointed members would reflect the broad range of the subject areas in the national security strategy. Taking into account the fact that Brown will nominate a Chair that leaves 11 places.
My national security top trumps below:
Chair: (Most likely to be a retired or serving senior civil servant – possibly in the resilience space?)
1. International terrorism Baroness Manningham-Buller of Northampton
2. Weapons of mass destruction Paul Cornish
3. Conflicts and failed states Clare Lockhart
4. Pandemics – Professor Lindsey Davies
5. Trans-national crime – Misha Glenny
6. Climate change – Nick Stern
7. Competition for energy – Nick Butler
8. Poverty & Governance – Paul Collier
9. Defence & Armed forces – General Sir Rupert Smith
10. Demographic changes – Adair Turner
11. Globalisation David Held
by Charlie Edwards | Jul 23, 2008 | Conflict and security, Cooperation and coherence, UK
Tucked away in a Written Ministerial Statement yesterday comes news of progress on the UK’s national security forum:
Core group: The forum will have a core group of 12 publicly appointed members reflecting the broad range of the subject areas in the national security strategy. It is likely to include people with a range of experience and expertise in these issues (see below);
A register of associates: and in addition to this core group the Government will create a register of up to 100 expert associates will be who could be called upon to provide advice in specific areas.
Purpose: The purpose of the forum will be to provide expert advice to the National Security Committee (Cabinet Committee on National Security, International Relations and Development (NSID)).
Interestingly the NSF will be set up as a non-departmental public body, for the moment however, the Government will be establishing an interim forum in the early Autumn with members appointed on advice from the Cabinet Office. The Chair of the interim body will be announced shortly.
Role: The forum will be invited to focus on the published strategy to inform the annual updates, although it will be able to commission its own research subject to agreement of its programme by NSID.
The national security forum will be supported by a new national security secretariat in the Cabinet Office.
Alongside that, a horizon scanning unit will be established which will co-ordinate the security-related horizon scanning currently undertaken in a number of Government Departments, with the intention of giving it an overarching framework and a more coherent output.
The Government will also create (in consultation with select committees) a Joint Committee on the national security strategy comprising the Chairs of the key departmental Select Committees with an interest in national security, and other Members of Parliament and Peers with particular interests or experience.
The National Risk Register will be published shortly – its purpose will be to:
give the public information about risks to the UK from natural disasters, accidents and malicious threats over the next five years so that those who wish to can prepare for the consequences.
And there’s more after the jump.
(more…)
by Mark Weston | Jul 23, 2008 | Africa, Economics and development
I was doing a little research for my upcoming book on West Africa yesterday, and came up with the following factoid: since 1960, the top five countries on the United Nations’ Human Development Index (that is, the countries with the best quality of life in the world – Iceland, Norway, Australia, Canada and Ireland) have had 44 changes of government following peaceful democratic elections. The total for the bottom five countries? Two. Yes, in a total of two hundred and forty years, there have been just two peaceful handovers of power that have respected the will of the people. One in Sierra Leone, one in Mali. Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau and Niger have had none. Doubters of the economic value of democracy, take note.
by Alex Evans | Jul 23, 2008 | Global system
Lots of discussion in the US about whether FDIC – the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which makes sure depositors get their cash back if banks go bust – can handle the banking bust that appears to be in the post. Nouriel Roubini points out that the collapse of IndyMac earlier this month used up fully 15 per cent of FDIC’s reserves.
As a result of that, FDIC will need to raise additional capital by hiking the premiums that banks have to pay, so financial services sector analysts are fretting about the additional costs this will imply for banks. What bothers me, though, is the fact that FDIC has five years in which to replenish its reserves. As an unnamed source put it to the FT:
The FDIC says it feels confident with $53bn … That’s incredible. The last crisis, in the ’90s, there were 550 institutions that failed. So far, there have been five. It can be a long season.
