Concrete Meccanos: Precast Constructions after the Second World War in the Netherlands

Estudio de soluciones prefabricadas de hormigón no estandarizadas en los Países Bajos tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

The Universality of Civil War Definitions: A Study of How Regional Considerations Impact Civil War in Somalia, Colombia, and Angola

Civil war is a socially intimate phenomenon. The viability of the conflict hinges on recruitment for the cause, military strategy, community support, and a variety of other conditional factors. Despite this dependence on local society, many researchers approach civil war from a global perspective, attempting to discover universal truths about this kind of conflict. This capstone project focuses on restricting the operating parameters of civil war research projects to the span of a single continent, hoping to achieve deeper insight by focusing the research using a more culturally sensitive set of parameters. By using cultural data to guide civil war research, conflict indicators can tailor conflict prevention to escalating violent scenarios.

Transcending Cultural and Language Differences: Ethical Codes of Conduct for Translators and Interpreters in Afghanistan

This project examines what an ethical code of conduct would look like in Afghanistan through analysis of historical, cultural and linguistic aspects found within its regions, as well as an examination of ethical codes of conduct for translators and interpreters in other countries. While numerous ethical guidelines and codes of conduct for translators and interpreters exist throughout global communities, it seems that creating a successful standardized ethical code of conduct in Afghanistan may be difficult to achieve given cultural and linguistic complexities. An ethical code of conduct for translators and interpreters in Afghanistan should include particular focus on: cultural sensitivity and courtesy, impartiality, conflict of interest, options for withdrawal, as well as reflect the importance of Pashtunwali.

Care for the old rather than sleepwalk into war in East Asia. CEPS Commentary, 23 June 2014

In view of the demographic dynamics of East Asia, in this commentary Wolfgang Pape makes a plea for a kind of ‘geriatric peace’ in the region rather than further territorial disputes and expensive military build-up.

How should the EU respond to Russia's war in Ukraine? CEPS Commentary, 3 September 2014

President Putin has chosen to escalate the conflict in south-eastern Ukraine, thereby ignoring both the sanctions and the diplomatic advances of the EU and its partners in response to Russia’s belligerence towards its neighbour over the last six months. Ahead of the NATO Summit in Wales on September 4-5, calls are growing for EU member states to provide arms and more intelligence to Ukraine’s beleaguered army. But it is far from certain that the EU will summon up the collective courage to do so. Beyond sanctions, what other options does the EU have to alter the Kremlin’s calculus?