You are cordially invited to a benefit for EPS

Friday, November 2
An evening with Linda Bilmes
at the Manhattan home of Alan Harper

Ms. Bilmes will give an informal talk on

The Battle of Iraq's Wounded
The Long-term Costs of Providing Veterans Medical Care and Disability Benefits

Requested donation for this event, including wine and hors d'oeuvres, is $250.
Spaces are still available.
Please email Thea Harvey (theaharvey@epsusa.org) if you would like to attend.

The Board of Economists for Peace and Security extends hearty congratulations to US Vice President Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change on their receipt of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

In awarding the prize for work on climate change, the Nobel committee makes a vital statement about the dangerous link between climate and conflict. 

Among the many costs of climate change will be war.  This is already manifest in the genocide in Darfur: a struggle over resources, refugees and living space in an ecology under stress.  As the climate crisis deepens, similar conflicts and the horrors they bring could become far more widespread.

The work of Al Gore and the IPCC has focused the world's attention on the need for urgent action to control climate change. It thus stands in the highest tradition of preventing war, building security and working for peace. As an organization devoted to these causes, EPS is proud to offer our salute.

The ASSA/AEA (Allied Social Science Associations/American Economics Association) meetings will be held in New Orleans, January 4 - 6, 2008. EPS is organizing three sessions this year:

• Friday, January 4 at 10:15am - The Plight of the Soldier, chaired by Thea Harvey, EPS Executive Director
  • The All-volunteer Force and the Long War: When and How should we Reinstitute Conscription?  Lawrence Korb, Center for American Progress
  • The American Soldier:  Carrying the Entire Load for the Bush Administration?  Major General Paul Eaton, United States Army (retired)
  • The Effect of Activation on the Post-Activation Earnings of Reservists.   David Loughran, RAND Corporation; Jacob Klerman, Abt Associates
  • Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan: Impediments to Securing Disability Benefits and Medical Care. Linda Bilmes, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
• Friday, January 4 at 2:30pm - A Roundtable on Climate Change, Hurricane Katrina and Related Issues, chaired by James Galbraith, EPS Chair
  • Paul Krugman, Princeton University
  • Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University
  • Howard Kunreuther, University of Pennsylvania
  • Marcellus Andrews, Barnard College
• Saturday, January 5 at 2:30pm - The Future of the Defense Budget, chaired by Michael Lind, New America Foundation
  • Five Years of War: Reassessing the Economic Cost of Conflict in Iraq. Joseph Stiglitz, Columbia University; Linda Bilmes, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
  • A Cost/Benefit Analysis of Large Military Budgets. Barbara Bergmann, American University
  • Weapons Systems that Don't Work for Threats that Don't Exist.  Winslow Wheeler, Strauss Military Reform Project, Center for Defense Information
  • The Next Peace Dividend. Richard Kaufman, Bethesda Research Institute

In addition, we will hold our usual events:

• Table in the Exhibit Hall. Booth #439 - right next to the coffee area
• Saturday, January 5 at 5:30pm - Annual Membership Meeting. All are welcome to come and hear the annual report
• Saturday, January 5 at 6:30p -: Annual Dinner, in honor of Paul Krugman
• Sunday, January 6 at 10:00am - Annual Fellows Meeting

Watch this space for locations and more information as the time nears.

Vol 2, No 2 - Symposia: Water, Trade, Insurgency of the Economics of Peace and Security Journal is now online.

One of the benefits of membership in EPS is a 25% discounted subscription to the Economics of Peace and Security Journal. Regular one-year subscriptions are $40 per year; for EPS members the one-year subscription is $30.

The Journal is a peer-reviewed online publication hosted by EPS-UK. Published twice yearly, it raises and debates all issues related to the political economy of personal, communal, national, international, and global peace and security. Past contributors have included Joseph Stiglitz, James Galbraith, and Lawrence Klein. The Journal's website also includes book reviews submitted by members and subscribers.

For more information or to subscribe to the Journal, please visit: http://www.epsjournal.org.uk/

To become a member of EPS (and to qualify for the subscription discount) please visit: http://www.epsusa.org/membership/membership.htm

The British American Security Information Council (BASIC) has released a study by EPS-UK members J. Paul Dunne, Sam Perlo-Freeman, and Paul Ingram on The Real Cost behind Trident Replacement and the Carriers.

Ian Davis, Co-Executive Director of BASIC, said: “Our report outlines the extent of the pain caused by decisions to go ahead with these sacred cow projects. It is not too late for the government to delay or abandon them. The money would be better spent on a ‘comprehensive security’ package, including measures to reduce Britain’s carbon emissions and oil dependency, increased peacekeeping, and conflict prevention, overseas development aid and nuclear non-proliferation.  Such targeted spending would provide real security benefits as opposed to feeding grand illusions”.

The report's authors calculate that the annual opportunity cost of replacing Britain’s Trident nuclear submarines and building two new aircraft carriers is £5bn over the lifetime of the projects. They also highlight the purpose of the systems – as force projection rather than genuine security development. The decisions to go ahead with the carriers and the replacement submarines have not accounted for the opportunity costs: the need for other more appropriate defense equipment, and that of public spending pressures elsewhere. 

The full text of the report is available at: http://www.basicint.org/nuclear/beyondtrident/cost.pdf 

EPS in the news: James Galbraith was recently interviewed for the San Francisco Gate on his presentations to universities in Mexico City on current economic conditions in the US and the world. Dr. Galbraith was asked what the impact will be of the mortgage crisis, along with Bush administration's out-of-control debt. He replied: "Basically, what's going to be affected is the value of the dollar." But he added that he does not believe the US Congress is going to do any serious budget-cutting or belt-tightening anytime soon; Galbraith noted,: "Military expenses are going to hold steady due to the presence of the United States in Iraq. Far from decreasing, the [related] marginal costs like those of the return of the troops, will have to be dealt with.... they will mean an increase [in government expenditures].... "

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=15&entry_id=21029

EPS recently appeared twice on "Background Briefing," a unique radio program featuring international and national news, expert guests, policy makers and critics with analysis and insight on national security, foreign and domestic policy, political, cultural and social issues. This program goes far beyond the headlines and deep under the radar to bring forward truths unheard in the American media.

Linda Bilmes appeared on the show on September 30, discussing the costs of the war in Iraq, and James Galbraith on September 23 addressed increasingly dire economic indicators.

You can listen to the interviews at http://www.ianmasters.org/archives.html

"Arms, War and Terrorism in the Global Economy Today: Economic Analyses and Civilian Alternatives" is a volume published by Bremer Schriften zur Konversion that presents papers of two joint seminars of EPS and the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE) that took place in Rethymon, Crete, Greece, complemented by papers from the Second International Conference on Defense, Security, and Economic Development in Larissa, Greece in 2004.

Contributing authors include Michael Intriligator, Fannie Coulomb, Jacques Fontanel, Jurgen Brauer, Gulay Gunluk-Senesen, J. Paul Dunne, Luc Mampaey, Claude Serfati, Christos Kollias, Clark Abt, and Lucy Law Webster, as well as many other notable economists.

The book is available from the publishers, LIT Verlag, for €24.90 at http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-0045-1.

The Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) has just posted several new resources meant to facilitate the work of journalists, academics, students, and policy analysts.

They have updated the online Security Policy Libraries, adding 900 links to full-text articles on terrorism and homeland security, US defense strategy, military transformation, and the Chinese military.  The libraries now link to more than ten thousand documents, all full-text and categorized. You can access them via the PDA home page www.comw.org/pda (left column) or at http://www.comw.org/infogate/

They have also posted a resource compilation on US Neoliberal and Neoconservative Security Policy: Views, Criticism, and Alternatives.  This, too, is available at our home page (right column) or directly at http://www.comw.org/pda/0709neosecuritypolicy.html

Finally, given the interest in the recent report to Congress by General Petraeus regarding Iraq, they have collected relevant background reports and articles here: http://www.comw.org/warreport/index.html#petraeus

We all know that politicians get donations. We may suspect that this money may influence the way that they vote. Now you can see the relationships for yourself. Maplight.org is a groundbreaking public database that brings together all campaign contributions given to legislators with how every legislator votes on every bill. Putting this information together illuminates connections between money and politics in ways that were never before possible.

For instance, for HR 5684, the US-Oman Free Trade Agreement, special interests in favor of the bill (including pharmaceutical and aircraft companies) gave senators an average of $244,000. Lobbyists opposed to the bill (anti-poverty and consumer groups) gave only $38,000 per senator.

Try the video tour to get an overview of the many ways you can view their data. http://www.maplight.org/

The UN unveiled another portal website this month. The new Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education website provides educational materials intended for young adults, late middle school, secondary school and early college students. The goal of the site is to provide teachers and students from late middle school to early college with resources to raise awareness about the proliferation of weapons, the differing views about the role these weapons play in maintaining security or a culture of violence, their impact on the environment, and efforts underway to help prevent the violence associated with weapons. It also gives teachers a basic overview of the issues and concepts that students will need to understand, and engage in discussions on, the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction and the complex issues associated with the trade of conventional weapons and to contribute new ideas on what should be done to reduce the threats they might pose.

The site includes several different classroom toolkits, as well as other resources. http://www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/dnp/

Recent images of protesting Buddhist monks have drawn attention to the repressive regime in Myanmar/Burma. The US government has had sanctions in place against Burma since 1997. A loophole exists, though, for a few companies "grand-fathered in." A major source of income for the military dictatorship comes from natural gas, controlled by the Burmese regime in partnership with the US multinational oil giant Chevron, the French oil company Total and a Thai oil firm. Offshore natural gas facilities deliver their extracted gas to Thailand through Burma's Yadana pipeline. The pipeline was built with slave labor, forced into servitude by the Burmese military. (See September 2003 NewsNotes for more information.)

According to Marco Simons, US legal director at EarthRights International: "Sanctions haven't worked because gas is the lifeline of the regime. Before Yadana went online, Burma's regime was facing severe shortages of currency. It's really Yadana and gas projects that kept the military regime afloat to buy arms and ammunition and pay its soldiers." http://www.alternet.org/rights/64310/

Chevron's statement about its involvement in Myanmar can be read at http://www.chevron.com/news/press/Release/?id=2007-10-02

The Center for Defense Information announces the release of the 2007 Military Almanac, an up-to-date, fact-filled, comprehensive guide to US military, defense and policy issues. The book includes detailed information on military forces, personnel, budgets, deployments and security arrangements for the United States and other global forces; is a helpful guide for press, researchers, and policy-makers; features easy-to-read charts and graphs suitable for re-printing in publications and reports; and compiles data from various sources including governments, think tanks, and other open sources, to provide a comprehensive picture of US and global military forces.

To preview some of the charts:

• How many active duty and reserve military personnel are in each state? How many Department of Defense civilian employees are in those same states?  http://www.cdi.org/PDFs/Military%20Manpower%20Presence%20by%20State.pdf
• A state-by-state breakdown of the military casualties (killed and wounded) from Iraq and Afghanistan shows that California and Texas have borne the largest burden in absolute numbers. http://www.cdi.org/PDFs/OEF%20and%20OIF%20Casualties%20by%20State.pdf
• How do the military services break down by race and ethnicity? http://www.cdi.org/PDFs/Active%20Duty%20Personnel%20Demographics.pdf 

These data and far more can be found in CDI's 2007 Military Almanac. Ordering information can be found at http://www.cdi.org/PDFs/OrderFormCDIMilitaryAlmanac.pdf

While various parties in Washington use complex methodologies to come to convenient answers on the question of civilian casualties in Iraq, the Congressional Research Service quietly distributed a new report on Capitol Hill, "Iraqi Civilian Deaths Estimates," dated September 5, 2007.  The report, which has received very little public attention, cites the available data and analysis.  The numbers are gruesome, and they are not encouraging. 

Estimates for the grand total of civilians killed from the start of the war vary from the "often regarded as fairly authoritative" estimate of the Iraq Body Count at as many as 76,771 to the band of 426,369 to 793,663 (neither number is a typo) estimated in a survey released in 2006 by The Lancet, a British medical journal.  Some rush to discount the Lancet's statistical survey; however, it is notable in the CRS report that the chief scientific adviser in the UK Ministry of Defense described The Lancet's work as "close to best practice" and "robust."

The CRS report also summarizes the publicly available data for the first eight months of 2007.  The findings do not support General David Petraeus' assurances to Congress earlier this month that the level of violence against civilians has decreased perceptibly for July and August.  (See page 6 of the CRS report.)

Find the six page CRS report at http://www.cdi.org/PDFs/CRS%20on%20Civilian%20Casualties%202007.pdf

Another very useful data book is Securing the Bomb 2007, an annual assessment of progress made by the US government and other partners to keep nuclear weapons and materials out of terrorist hands.

Visit www.nti.org/securingthebomb to download a copy of the report, read the news release and watch a slideshow depicting examples of secure and unsecured materials.

The report outlines several areas of progress, but concludes that the pace of work still does not match the threat. There are troubling indications that the threat of nuclear theft and terrorism remains high in many parts of the world.

• In Russia in 2006, a senior general who was the deputy chairman of the group charged with law and order in Russia's closed nuclear cities was fired - for organizing smuggling in and out of those cities.
  
• In Pakistan serving military officers cooperated with al-Qaeda in two plots to assassinate President Musharraf - raising questions about the reliability of the military officers who guard Pakistan's nuclear stockpile.
  
• Some 140 research reactors around the world still use highly enriched uranium (HEU) as their fuel - some with no more security than a night watchman and a chain-link fence.
  
• The seizure of nearly 80 grams of stolen HEU in Georgia in early 2006 added to the growing list of cases of theft of potential nuclear bomb materials.

Printed copies of Securing the Bomb 2007 are also available and can be ordered at www.nti.org/securingthebomb

Now in its thirty-first edition, the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook serves as an authoritative chronicle of international efforts to control or eliminate the world's most deadly weapons, over the course of the previous calendar year. It is designed as a handy reference tool for diplomats, researchers, educators and the interested public. It comprises succinct accounts of the year's developments, explanations of the voting in the First Committee, an index and extensive appendices.

The 2007 version is now available. You can order hard copies at https://unp.un.org/details.aspx?pid=17203
or view the entire book online at http://disarmament.un.org/e-yearbook.html

The film is titled "Picking up the Pieces" and can be viewed at http://www.irinnews.org/filmtv.aspx#

In recent years, theory and empirical research in Political Science and in Economics have made major progress in identifying and analyzing the causes and consequences of conflict. In view of this progress, Economics of Governance http://www.springerlink.com/content/1435-8131/ invites contributions on Causes and Consequences of Conflict for a special issue on this topic.

The issue will be edited jointly by Johannes Münster (WZB and Free University of Berlin) and Stergios Skaperdas (UC Irvine). Contributions will be subject to a standard refereeing process.

In 2006, the journal published a special issue on related topics. This issue is available at http://www.springerlink.com/content/p15783r04683/

Call for Papers: The International Sociological Association invites submissions of papers for a conference to take place July 14 - 17, 2008 in Seoul, Korea. The conference topic is Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution in a Globalized World. All those who wish to participate in one or more sessions shall send the chairperson of the thematic session in question a paper proposal with a title and brief abstract (10-15 lines). You are encouraged to present your paper proposal(s) as soon as possible, in any case, no later than December 31, 2007.

Submissions should be sent to the session organizers:

• International Military Cooperation, Joseph Soeters  (famsoeters@tele2.nl) and van Dijk (A.v.Dijk.10@NLDA.NL)
• Military Families and Current International Deployments of Armed Forces: Different Strategies to Cope with Stressing Situations, Christopher Dandeker (christophe.dandeker@kcl.ac.uk) and Marina Nuciari (nuciari@econ.unito.it)
• Social, Professional and Political Aspects of Asymmetric Warfare, Giuseppe Caforio, (gcaforio@fastwebnet.it)
• Peacekeeping Experiences in Asia and Africa, Ljubica Jelusic (ljubica.jelusic1@guest.arnes.si) 
• New Missions and New Structures - Challenges, Chances and Risks in the Constabularization of the Militaries, Karl W. Haltiner (k.haltiner@gmx.ch)
• Building and Sustaining Peace, Bandana Purkayastha (bandanapurkayastha@yahoo.com)
• Korean Military in Transition, Mahn Geum Ohn (mgohn@kma.ac.k)
• The Military in Asian Context, Doo-Seung Hong (dshong@snu.ac.kr)
• War, Militarization, and Women: Constructing Feminist Critical Discourses, Chin Sung Chung, (chungcs@snu.ac.kr)
• The Military Profession in Transition, Lindy Henicken (lindy@sun.ac.za) 
• Public Opinion and Security Issues (West and far East Compared), Sabine Collmer collmers@marshallcenter.org
• Military Operations Other than War, Rialize Ferreira [Ferrer@unisa.ac.za]
• Conscription and all-volunteer forces: change in manning format and the impact on civil-military relations, Tibor Szvircsev Tresch (tszv@zugernet.ch)
• Gender and the Defense Sector Reform, Helena Carreiras (Helena.Carreiras@EUI.eu)
• Democratic Civilian Control of the Armed Forces in Asia, Hänggi Heiner (h.haenggi@dcaf.ch) Geneva Center for Democratic Control Over the Armed Forces
• On Military Organizing, Joseph Soeters, Erik de Waard

Message from the UN Secretary-General on the International Day of Peace, September 21, 2007:

"Peace is one of humanity's most precious needs. It is also the UN's highest calling. It defines our mission [at the UN]. It drives our discourse. And it draws together all of our world wide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development.  

"This work for peace is vital. But it is not easy. Indeed, in countless communities across the world, peace remains an elusive goal. From the displaced person camps of Chad and Darfur to the byways of Baghdad, the quest for peace is strewn with setbacks and suffering.

"September 21, the International Day of Peace, is an occasion to take stock of our efforts to promote peace and well-being for all people everywhere. It is an opportunity to appreciate what we have already accomplished, and to dedicate ourselves to all that remains to be done.

"It is also meant to be a day of global cease-fire: a twenty-four hour respite from the fear and insecurity that plague so many places. Today, I urge all countries and all combatants to honor this cessation of hostilities. And I ask people everywhere to observe a minute of silence at 12 noon local time.

"As the guns fall silent, we should use this opportunity to ponder the price we all pay due to conflict. And we should resolve to vigorously pursue ways to make permanent this day's pause.

"On this International Day, let us promise to make peace not just a priority, but a passion. Let us pledge to do more, wherever we are in whatever way we can, to make every day a day of peace." 

Writing recently in the Armed Forces Journal, Col. Douglas Macgregor (ret.) discusses Washington's War. "The human and material cost of America's occupation of Iraq is reaching a climax. The ongoing "surge" of ground combat troops into Baghdad and its surroundings is producing higher US casualties, exacerbating intersectarian violence and draining the last reserves of American patience...

"The US needs a new national military strategy, a strategy designed to enhance America's role as the world's engine of prosperity, making the American way of life attractive, not threatening, to others. However, for a new, more effective national military strategy to emerge that can rationalize the structure and content of the armed forces for operations in the aftermath of Iraq, both policymakers and the flag officers who command our forces must reorient their thinking to a strategy that exalts economy of force in expeditionary operations and rejects plans to optimize the Army and Marine Corps for any more misguided occupations. This is a strategy that deliberately limits the commitment of US military resources to attainable goals and objectives consistent with US strategic interests and avoids the kind of open-ended ideological warfare that nearly destroyed Western civilization in the 20th century."

Read the entire article at http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2007/10/2865287

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and The Nonproliferation Review are pleased to announce the Doreen and Jim McElvany 2008 Nonproliferation Challenge Essay Contest, featuring a $10,000 grand prize and a $1,000 prize for the most outstanding student essay (students are eligible to win the grand prize).

We are looking for the best new ideas on how to address contemporary nonproliferation challenges from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, including those involving both state and non-state actors.

Entries should not exceed 10,000 words (including endnotes) and must be the original, unpublished work of the author(s) and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The submission deadline is March 31, 2008.

Complete contest rules and instructions can be found at http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/npr/contest/index.htm

The School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University is seeking an established scholar to fill a chair endowed by the Simons Foundation of Vancouver. The successful candidate will have a strong record of teaching and research in one of the social science disciplines with a focus on international relations, international law and international criminal justice as the foundation for human security.

The Chair will be held in the School at the SFU Vancouver campus and will create new curriculum on international law and human security, conduct a vigorous program of research and foster broader public understanding through conferences and symposia.

Applications should include a letter of application with a statement of interest and research and teaching ability, curriculum vitae, and list of publications. Applicants should also provide the names, addresses and phone/fax/e-mail of six referees.

All materials should be sent to:

Dr. John Harriss, Director
School for International Studies
Suite 2400
Simon Fraser University
515 West Hastings St.
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6B 5K3
Or e-mailed to: intst@sfu.ca

Applications will be reviewed beginning November 1, 2007, until the position is filled. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

The 2007 Routledge-GCP&S Essay Prize. Global Change, Peace & Security (http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/14781158.asp) is a scholarly journal that has, for nearly twenty years, addressed the difficult practical and theoretical questions posed by a rapidly globalizing world. It is committed to promoting research that explores the relationships between states, economies, cultures and societies. Global Change, Peace and Security is a peer-reviewed journal published by Routledge (UK) and based at La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia.

GCP&S invites entries for the inaugural Routledge-GCP&S Essay Competition. This competition is designed to encourage outstanding new contributions to research on practical and theoretical questions posed by a rapidly globalizing world. It seeks to attract new research into the international dimensions of political, economic and cultural life, and into the contradictions of an increasingly integrated yet fragmented world. Of specific interest are entries that look at events and developments that reverberate beyond the confines of a particular country, and those that are concerned with the sources and consequences of conflict, violence and insecurity, as well as the conditions and prospects for conflict transformation and peace-building.

The winning essay will be refereed with a view to publication in Global Change, Peace and Security. The author will receive the Routledge-GCP&S Competition winner's certificate as well as US$500 prize money.

The competition is open to those enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree, or who have graduated within the previous four years. Previously published research articles, or those that are being considered for publication, will not be acceptable. Essays currently being assessed as part of a degree will also not be accepted.

Essays must be between 6000-8000 words in length. The style must conform strictly to the guidelines set out on the journal's website and be accompanied by the author's name, their contact details, and details of their institutional affiliation if applicable. For guidelines refer to http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/authors/cparauth.asp.  Please send entries (in English and as email attachments only) to gcps@latrobe.edu.au by no later than Friday, November 9, 2007.

For more information contact:
Dr. George Myconos, Editor
Global Change, Peace & Security
Centre for Dialogue
La Trobe University
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
tel: 61-3- 9479 1419
g.myconos@latrobe.edu.au

The Jerusalem 2050 Project at MIT is pleased to announce the launch of the Just Jerusalem Competition (http://www.justjerusalem.org). Co-sponsored by the Department of Urban Studies and Planning and the Center for International Studies at MIT, the Competition's goal is to generate new approaches to, and potential solutions for, the many complex, seemingly intractable problems that the residents of Jerusalem face on a daily basis.

By looking at future possibilities for a pluralist, just and sustainable city shared by all its residents, they hope to encourage new ways of thinking about the many difficult issues and hardships faced by Jerusalemites, regardless of their faith or ethnicity. Submissions will be considered in a number of disciplinary categories, and from individuals or teams anywhere in the world

At least one prizewinning entry will be selected in each category of submission, with a total of 5 awarded. Prizewinners will be given the opportunity to spend up to an academic semester in residence at MIT as Visiting Fellows, with all expenses paid, including travel, housing, and stipend. In the case of team submissions, no more than three individuals per winning entry will be hosted as fellows.

Guidelines for submission and more information are at http://www.justjerusalem.org/. Deadline for entries is December 31, 2007.

"Arms, War and Terrorism in the Global Economy Today: Economic Analyses and Civilian Alternatives" is a volume published by Bremer Schriften zur Konversion that presents papers of two joint seminars of EPS and the European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE) that took place in Rethymon, Crete, Greece, complemented by papers from the Second International Conference on Defense, Security, and Economic Development in Larissa, Greece in 2004.

Contributing authors include Michael Intriligator, Fannie Coulomb, Jacques Fontanel, Jurgen Brauer, Gulay Gunluk-Senesen, J. Paul Dunne, Luc Mampaey, Claude Serfati, Christos Kollias, Clark Abt, and Lucy Law Webster, as well as many other notable economists.

The book is available from the publishers, LIT Verlag, for €24.90 at http://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/3-8258-0045-1.

The Economics of Peace and Security Journal (www.epsjournal.org.uk). This online journal hosted by EPS-UK raises and debates all issues related to the political economy of personal, communal, national, international, and global peace and security. The scope includes implications and ramifications of conventional and non-conventional conflict for all human and non-human life and for our common habitat. Special attention is paid to constructive proposals for conflict resolution and peacemaking. While open to non-economic approaches, most contributions emphasize economic analysis of causes, consequences, and possible solutions to mitigate and resolve conflict. The journal is aimed at non-specialist readers, including policy analysts, policy and decision makers, national and international civil servants, members of the armed forces and of peacekeeping services, the business community, members of non-governmental organizations and religious institutions, and others. Contributions are scholarly-based, but written in a general-interest style.

Issues of the journal generally are theme-based and contributions are by invitation only; however, readers are invited to write to the editors (editors@epsjournal.org.uk) with proposals for a specific contribution or theme-based symposium (2 - 4 papers). Short letters of less than 500 words commenting on the published pieces are welcome.

The first issue is based on the ECAAR Review 2003, "Conflict or Development" (http://www.epsjournal.org.uk/Vol1/No1/issue.php). Volume 1, No. 2 is entitled "Peacemaking and Peacekeeping." These two issues are available free of charge as an introduction to the journal.

Annual subscription rates for future issues are as follows:

• Standard £22/$40/E€34;
• EPS members £16/$30/E€25;
• Unwaged/Developing countries £11/$20/E€17;
• Institutional £55/$100/E€85.

Please visit http://www.epsusa.org/events/07conf/program.htm to review the conference and follow the updates.

Are We Safer? Five Years After the September 11th Attacks: Assessing the US Security Situation and Alternatives for Moving Forward. An Anthology of National Security Essays - September 2006, published by the Security Policy Working Group.

• Pyrrhus on the Potomac: How America's Post-9/11 Wars Have Undermined US National Security. Carl Conetta, Project on Defense Alternatives http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Pyrrhus%20On%20The%20Potomac.pdf
• Terrorism or All-Hazards? Broadening Homeland Security. Anita Dancs, National Priorities Project http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Terrorism%20Or%20All-Hazards.pdf
• America's Post 9/11 Military: Can Congress Reform Our Shrinking, Aging, Less Ready, More Expensive Forces? Winslow T. Wheeler, Center for Defense Information http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Post%209-11%20Military.pdf
• Funding for Defense, Military Operations, Homeland Security, and Related Activities Since 9/11. Steven Kosiak, Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Funding%20For%20Defense,%20Military%20Operations.pdf
• National Security Budgets to Make America Safer. Cindy Williams, MIT Security Studies Program http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/National%20Security%20Budgets%20To%20
  Make%20America%20Safer.pdf
• Fighting the “Good Fight:” An Alternative to Current Democratic Proposals For a New National Security Strategy. William D. Hartung, World Policy Institute, Arms Trade Resource Center http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Fighting%20The%20Good%20Fight.pdf
• Is the War on Terror “Worth it?” David Gold, New School University http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Is%20The%20War%20On%20Terror%20Worth%20It.pdf
• Special Threat: US Nuclear Weapons Policy under the Bush Doctrine. Michael D. Intriligator, Economists for Peace & Security http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Special%20Threat.pdf
• Terrorism in Context: Assessing Risks and Solutions. David Colt, Economists for Peace & Security http://www.proteusfund.org/spwg/pdfs/Terrorism%20In%20The%20Context
  %20of%20Other%20Threats.pdf

Fact Sheets: Periodically, we release these two-sided fact sheets designed to give an accessible, graphic look at one specific issue of concern to our members and constituency.

Global Arms Trade 2004 examines the world's supplies of conventional weapons and small arms. http://www.epsusa.org/publications/factsheets/globalarmstrade.pdf

Military vs. Social Spending: Warfare or Human Welfare compares US and global military spending with the costs of achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals. http://www.epsusa.org/publications/factsheets/milexMDG.pdf

Conflict or Development? This book has a regional focus on Africa, the site of most of the world's current armed conflicts. In its pages some of the leading economists of the day analyze and reflect on the relationships among military spending, domestic and foreign policy, security, and human welfare. Features include country studies, sections on business and conflict, and "Trends in World Military Expenditure." Written in a general-interest style, with informative maps, tables, and graphs, the series is designed to inform the debate among policymakers, activists, journalists, academics, students, and citizens worldwide.

You can order Conflict or Development by emailing theaharvey@epsusa.org.

Conflict or Development can be a valuable teaching tool in economics, political science, and international relations courses. If you are interested in teaching this book, please contact Thea Harvey (theaharvey@epsusa.org) for a copy to review.

Data Resource webpage offers links to data sources for:

• International military expenditure and conflict indicators
• US military expenditure and capabilities
• Western Europe
• Russia

http://www.epsusa.org/network/data.htm. If you know of a data source that you feel should be added to our list, please contact Thea Harvey at theaharvey@epsusa.org.

Basing their calculations on the studies published by Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, the American Friends Service Committee has calculated that the war in Iraq is costing $500,000 per minute. AFSC has launched a national project to highlight the economic cost of the war and demand that Congress shift war funding to support human needs here and real solutions in Iraq.

There is a defund/refund petition to sign http://support.afsc.org/site/PageNavigator/DefundRefundPetition and an excellent fact sheet showing the economic costs of the war and alternative uses for those funds http://www.afsc.org/cost/AFSC_CoW_FAQ_v2.pdf

Congress has recently taken great strides toward holding wartime contractors accountable. The United States Senate voted September 27 to establish an independent and bipartisan eight-member Commission on Wartime Contracting.  Led by freshman Senators James H. Webb (D-VA) and Claire C. McCaskill (D-MO), the bill passed without dissent. The provision was approved as an amendment to the FY2008 Defense Authorization bill (H.R.1585 and S.A. 2999).

Representative John Tierney (D-MA) has introduced a counterpart bill in the House of Representatives (HR 3706). You can read the text at http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:h.r.03706:

This bill will help to alleviate the burden placed on taxpayers due to waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement of wartime contracts. If you would like to call or write your Representatives to ask them to support "The Commission on Wartime Contracting Act" so that wartime contractors can be held to account for their misconduct, visit http://ga6.org/pogo/leg-lookup/search.tcl

November 1 - 3, 2007. The European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy presents the EAEPE 2007 Conference: Economic growth, development, and institutions - lessons for policy and the need for an evolutionary framework of analysis in Porto, Portugal. Registration and program info is available at http://eaepe.org/eaepe.php?q=node/view/250

November 2 - 4, 2007. The Peace Science Society (International) will hold its 41st North American Meeting in Columbia, South Carolina. The Department of Political Science at University of South Carolina will serve as host. Zaryab Iqbal will serve as local coordinator. Call for papers is at http://pss.la.psu.edu/2007-conference_files/2007-conference.htm. The deadline for submissions is June 15, 2007.

December 10 - 11, 2007. Third Annual Households in Conflict Network Workshop at the Institute of Development Studies, at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. This workshop will focus on the relationship between micro-level conflict processes and institutions. Professor Scott Gates, Director of the Center for the Study of Civil War at PRIO, Oslo, will deliver the keynote speech. More information is available at http://www.hicn.org/events.html.

Giveline is a new way to support Economists for Peace and Security when you shop online. Giveline has over a million best-selling products, and every purchase you make generates a significant donation. We invite you to explore the store by clicking this link: http://www.giveline.com/default.asp?v=V013334298. Free shipping is available. Use discount code NCD07 during checkout.

Now you can support EPS when you travel, too! Giveline has partnered with a leading provider of fundraising travel packages that include cruises, golf vacations, adventure and fantasy trips and more. To see the vacation packages offered and the pricing discounts offered exclusively to Giveline customers, visit http://giveline.com/productbestsellers.asp?V=&p=&mc=MC010

If you have enjoyed this issue of EPS NewsNotes, or if you wish to support our mission, please consider making a donation to EPS. You can do so securely online through our website or by sending a check to:

Economists for Peace and Security
at the Levy Economics Institute
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If you have any questions call (845) 758-0917, or email info@epsusa.org

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