Jorrit Kamminga
Encyclopedia
Jorrit Kamminga is the Director of Policy Research at The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). ICOS is an international security
and development
think tank
founded in 2002 with offices in Kabul
, London
, Ottawa
, Rio de Janeiro
, Brussels
and Paris
, and field offices in the Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar CitySee ICOS's website for more information
He recently was one of the Afghanistan experts that testified before the Public Hearing on the Dutch Police Training Mission in Afghanistan at the Dutch Parliament
(24 January 2011).[]
He is currently a visiting scholar
within the Department of Sociology
at the London School of Economics
(LSE). His stay at LSE is part of his enrollment in the PhD programme "La Europa de las Libertades" in the Faculty of Constitutional Law
, Political Science
and Administration
at the University of Valencia.
In 2002, Mr Kamminga received a Masters degree in International Relations
from the University of Groningen
, The Netherlands, after the completion of a final thesis
on the linkages between international terrorism
and the global drug problem. See the website of the State University of Groningen for an overview in Dutch of Mr. Kamminga's past activities. During this period, Mr. Kamminga worked at the Supply Reduction and Law Enforcement Section (SRLES) of the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP, now UNODC
) http://www.unodc.org at its Headquarters in Vienna
.
Following his studies, he worked for more than two years at the political section of the Netherlands´ Embassyhttp://spanje.nlambassade.org/ in Madrid
. Part of his portfolio were Spain’s bilateral relations with Morocco
, Algeria
and Cuba
, and the policy issues Gibraltar
, Western Sahara
, ETA
and international terrorism and Spain’s regional politics.
Mr. Kamminga has been working with ICOS
since 2003. He has been working extensively in Kabul and southern Afghanistan (Kandahar and Helmand provinces), organizing events, conducting field research
and delivering food aid and medical supplies. In March 2007, Mr. Kamminga briefed both military and civilian staff at NATO’s Headquarters http://www.nato.int about the security and development situation in southern Afghanistan.
As spokesperson and expert, Mr. Kamminga contributes regularly to various current affairs and political programmes including Al Jazeera
, Channel One (Russia)
, BBC Radio 5 Live
, The World Today
, BBC Mundo
, CBC
, CTV Television Network
, France 24
, Islam Channel
, Voice of America
, Press TV
, and Deutsche Welle
. He has been interviewed on several occasions by Reuters
, Associated Press
, EFE
, El Mundo
, El País, Bloomberg, The Guardian
, Independent
, Berliner Zeitung
, Politiken
, Klassekampen
, Rzeczpospolita
, et cetera.
Mr. Kamminga has written opinion pieces for El País, the International Herald Tribune
, The Washington Quarterly and all major Dutch newspapers such as NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant and Trouw. Mr. Kamminga has been living in Spain since 2002, first in Cordoba then in Madrid, and now in Valencia.
Mr Kamminga is Member of the Advisory Board of Chronoscoop Film, a company specialised in film
and photography
based in Groningen in the Netherlands.
In 2008, Mr Kamminga appeared on The Islam Channel to discuss the significance of France
’s largest military loss in Afghanistan
to date. In July 2008, he spoke to Al Jazeera
about, in response to an article written by the former US counter narcotics official Thomas Schweich
. In August he spoke to Radio Netherlands about the Taliban’s.
He also wrote an Op-Ed for the Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos detailing the current need for Spanish troops to be re-deployed to the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, 15 July 2009 Kamminga appeared on France 24
to discuss the relationship between aid agencies and governments and militaries involved in Afghanistan.
Security
Security is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
and development
International development
International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...
think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
founded in 2002 with offices in Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and field offices in the Afghan cities of Lashkar Gah and Kandahar CitySee ICOS's website for more information
He recently was one of the Afghanistan experts that testified before the Public Hearing on the Dutch Police Training Mission in Afghanistan at the Dutch Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
(24 January 2011).[]
He is currently a visiting scholar
Visiting scholar
In the world of academia, a visiting scholar or visiting academic is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university, where he or she is projected to teach , lecture , or perform research on a topic the visitor is valued for...
within the Department of Sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
(LSE). His stay at LSE is part of his enrollment in the PhD programme "La Europa de las Libertades" in the Faculty of Constitutional Law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
, Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
and Administration
Administration (government)
The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to jurisdiction.-United States:In United States usage, the term refers to the executive branch under a specific president , for example: the "Barack Obama administration." It can also mean an executive branch agency...
at the University of Valencia.
In 2002, Mr Kamminga received a Masters degree in International Relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
from the University of Groningen
University of Groningen
The University of Groningen , located in the city of Groningen, was founded in 1614. It is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands as well as one of its largest. Since its inception more than 100,000 students have graduated...
, The Netherlands, after the completion of a final thesis
Thesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
on the linkages between international terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and the global drug problem. See the website of the State University of Groningen for an overview in Dutch of Mr. Kamminga's past activities. During this period, Mr. Kamminga worked at the Supply Reduction and Law Enforcement Section (SRLES) of the United Nations Drug Control Programme (UNDCP, now UNODC
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
) http://www.unodc.org at its Headquarters in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Following his studies, he worked for more than two years at the political section of the Netherlands´ Embassyhttp://spanje.nlambassade.org/ in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Part of his portfolio were Spain’s bilateral relations with Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
, and the policy issues Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
, Western Sahara
Western Sahara
Western Sahara is a disputed territory in North Africa, bordered by Morocco to the north, Algeria to the northeast, Mauritania to the east and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its surface area amounts to . It is one of the most sparsely populated territories in the world, mainly...
, ETA
ETA
ETA , an acronym for Euskadi Ta Askatasuna is an armed Basque nationalist and separatist organization. The group was founded in 1959 and has since evolved from a group promoting traditional Basque culture to a paramilitary group with the goal of gaining independence for the Greater Basque Country...
and international terrorism and Spain’s regional politics.
Mr. Kamminga has been working with ICOS
The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS)
The International Council on Security and Development is an international think tank that focuses on Afghanistan and other conflict zones such as Iraq and Somalia. ICOS is a project of the Network of European Foundations' Mercator Fund...
since 2003. He has been working extensively in Kabul and southern Afghanistan (Kandahar and Helmand provinces), organizing events, conducting field research
Field research
Field research is the collection of raw data in natural settings. It helps to reveal the habits and habitats of various organisms present in their natural surroundings...
and delivering food aid and medical supplies. In March 2007, Mr. Kamminga briefed both military and civilian staff at NATO’s Headquarters http://www.nato.int about the security and development situation in southern Afghanistan.
As spokesperson and expert, Mr. Kamminga contributes regularly to various current affairs and political programmes including Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
, Channel One (Russia)
Channel One (Russia)
Channel One is the first television channel to broadcast in the Soviet Union. The channel was renamed Ostankino Channel 1 in 1991, after the Soviet Union broke up and the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation. According to a recent government publication, the Russian government controls 51%...
, BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is the BBC's national radio service that specialises in live BBC News, phone-ins, and sports commentaries...
, The World Today
The World Today (BBC World Service)
The World Today is BBC World Service's high profile, Sony Radio Academy Award winning, early morning news and current affairs programme, which as of the 27th March 2011 will be broadcast from 0300 to 0830 daily. It consists of news bulletins on the hour and half hour, serious international...
, BBC Mundo
BBC Mundo
BBC Mundo is part of the BBC World Service's foreign language output, one of 33 languages it provides.- History :The BBC Mundo was broadcasting between 14 March 1938 and 25th February 2011...
, CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, CTV Television Network
CTV television network
CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
, France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
, Islam Channel
Islam Channel
Islam Channel is a UK-based, free-to-air, English language, Islamic-focused satellite television channel funded by advertising and donations. It was reported in 2008 that UK government research found that 97.3% of Muslims watched the channel...
, Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
, Press TV
Press TV
Press TV is a 24-hour English language global news network owned by the Iranian government. Its headquarters are located in Tehran, Iran, with bureaux in Beirut , Damascus , London , Seoul and Washington DC ....
, and Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle
Deutsche Welle or DW, is Germany's international broadcaster. The service is aimed at the overseas market. It broadcasts news and information on shortwave, Internet and satellite radio on 98.7 DZFE in 30 languages . It has a satellite television service , that is available in four languages, and...
. He has been interviewed on several occasions by Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, EFE
EFE
EFE is a Spanish news agency created in 1939 by Spain's former minister of the press and propaganda Ramón Serrano Súñer and Manuel Aznar Zubigaray....
, El Mundo
El Mundo (Spain)
El Mundo is the second largest printed and the largest digital daily newspaper in Spain and one of the newspapers of record in that country, with a daily circulation topping 300,000 readers for the printed edition and 24 million unique web visitors per month for the...
, El País, Bloomberg, The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, Berliner Zeitung
Berliner Zeitung
The Berliner Zeitung, founded in 1945, is a German center-left daily newspaper based in Berlin, published by Berliner Verlag. It is the only East German paper to achieve national prominence since unification. In 2003, the Berliner was Berlin's largest subscription newspaper—the weekend...
, Politiken
Politiken
Politiken is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus.The newspaper comes third among Danish newspapers in terms of both number of readers and circulated copies ....
, Klassekampen
Klassekampen
Klassekampen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, which styles itself as "the daily left-wing newspaper".Klassekampen was founded in 1969 with a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist platform. Until recently, it was owned by The Workers' Communist Party...
, Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita is a traditional name of the Polish State, usually referred to as Rzeczpospolita Polska . It comes from the words: "rzecz" and "pospolita" , literally, a "common thing". It comes from latin word "respublica", meaning simply "republic"...
, et cetera.
Mr. Kamminga has written opinion pieces for El País, the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
, The Washington Quarterly and all major Dutch newspapers such as NRC Handelsblad, de Volkskrant and Trouw. Mr. Kamminga has been living in Spain since 2002, first in Cordoba then in Madrid, and now in Valencia.
Mr Kamminga is Member of the Advisory Board of Chronoscoop Film, a company specialised in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
and photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
based in Groningen in the Netherlands.
In 2008, Mr Kamminga appeared on The Islam Channel to discuss the significance of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
’s largest military loss in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
to date. In July 2008, he spoke to Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera is an independent broadcaster owned by the state of Qatar through the Qatar Media Corporation and headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
about, in response to an article written by the former US counter narcotics official Thomas Schweich
Tom Schweich
Thomas A. "Tom" Schweich is an American politician and lawyer who has served as Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan. While in that position, he was given the rank of Ambassador by U.S. President George W. Bush. In the 2010 election in Missouri, Schweich won the race...
. In August he spoke to Radio Netherlands about the Taliban’s.
He also wrote an Op-Ed for the Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos detailing the current need for Spanish troops to be re-deployed to the southern and eastern parts of Afghanistan.
On Wednesday, 15 July 2009 Kamminga appeared on France 24
France 24
France 24 is an international news and current affairs television channel. The service is aimed at the overseas market, similar to BBC World News, DW-TV, NHK World and RT, and broadcast through satellite and cable operators throughout the world. During 2010 the channel started broadcasting through...
to discuss the relationship between aid agencies and governments and militaries involved in Afghanistan.
External links
- International Council on Security and Development (ICOS), ICOS
- The Washington Quarterly, "Poppies for Peace: Reforming Afghanistan’s Opium Industry" (Winter 2006-2007, Volume 30 Number 1)
- International Herald Tribune, "How to beat the Opium Economy" (November 30, 2006)
- Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos, Grupo de Estudios Estratégicos (GEES)
- El País, "La nueva estrategia mundial contra la droga" 25 March 2010
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), http://www.unodc.org
- University of Valencia, http://www.uv.es
- London School of Economics (LSE), http://www.lse.ac.uk
- London School of Economics (LSE) Department of Sociology, http://www2.lse.ac.uk/sociology/Home.aspx