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Following the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in the Pentagon Papers case, the U.S. Government has been disempowered from restraining private news organizations in advance of their publication of classified information. Following that judicial ruling, news organizations that have come into the possession of information that the Government has classified for national security reasons contact the appropriate Government officials and discuss their intent to publish the information. At that point, the parties begin a process of negotiation. This Article spotlights and analyzes a noteworthy example of such a negotiation from 2009, when The Washington Post came into possession of a classified U.S. Government assessment regarding ongoing military operations in Afghanistan, which the Post intended to publish, either in whole or in part. First, this Article reviews the facts and adjudication of the original Pentagon Papers case, as it set the stage for similar negotiations in the future. Second, this Article summarizes the details of the Afghanistan Assessment Negotiation. Third, it discusses why this particular case is worth studying through the lens of negotiation methodology. Fourth, this Article analyzes the case based on principles of negotiation developed in negotiation literature. Fifth, it assesses the overall success of the negotiation and its significance as an example of adherence to interest-based principles in negotiations between the Government and news media in a post-Pentagon Papers context. This analysis aims to provide a valuable example of negotiations between the news media and the Government for further consideration and discussion by lawyers, news editors and reporters, and negotiators alike. This Article is based partially upon general research on the subject, but is derived primarily from resources specific to this particular negotiation. Much of the analysis in this Article was drawn directly from the author's personal interviews with the two key participants involved in this negotiation: Washington Post Investigative Journalist Bob Woodward and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs Geoff Morrell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes how Senator Molan sees Australia's future unfolding over the next century, including likely opportunities and challenges ahead. While Australia is now the world's 14th most economically powerful nation, it has only been able to focus on its economic development because, heretofore, it has not had to provide for its own defence. With United States' power diminishing and China's power increasing, Australia's historic grand strategy is becoming unsustainable both militarily and economically. To craft a way forward for the next century, Australia needs develop a national security strategy and should do so urgently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholarly efforts to predict the future character of the U.S.-China relationship abound. Few however looks to leaders’ beliefs as valid explanatory variables. In this paper, we argue that state leaders’ belief systems are key to understanding both the states’ intentions and policy choices. We analyze China’s national defense white papers (1998-2015) published to date as the source material to gauge the core collective beliefs of three generations of Chinese leadership. The operational code framework is employed to conceptualize and measure these beliefs. Our results identified important crossgenerational changes in a few belief indicators. In the Xi Jinping era, for instance, the political world is seen as less friendly and cooperative strategies are viewed less favorably. In terms of tactics, the policy tools “threaten” and “promise” are viewed as significantly more useful by the current leadership than by past Chinese leaders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Currently, the standard method for identifying biological agents of potential threats to national security and public health, such as pathogens, virus, and toxins, mainly rely on microbiological cultivation. This method is time-consuming and it requires sophisticated equipment and well-trained personnel, which are often unavailable in remote areas or at point-of-need. Therefore, an alternative rapid, simple, and sensitive method for detecting bio-threat agents is in crucial need. We report a paper-based Vertical Flow Immunoassay (VFI) device that can overcome these limitations. The VFI device utilizes a nanoporous nitrocellulose membrane encapsulated in a stainless steel filter holder. As the sample is pushed through the membrane, which is pre-functionalized with capture antibody, a sandwich assay is formed and colorimetric signal is generated to reflect the presence of target antigens. Through theoretical analyses of antigen-antibody binding process inside a porous membrane, we identified two critical factors – membrane pore size and sample flow rate that can be optimized to improve the assay sensitivity. Then, the effects were demonstrated through experimental studies using Burkholderia pseudomallei (the causative agent of melioidosis) as a model pathogen. The B. pseudomallei VFI was based on an immunoassay targeting the B. pseudomallei surface capsular polysaccharide (CPS). The experimental results agreed well with the theory showing that increasing the flow speed (up to 1.06 mm/s) and reducing the membrane pore size (down to 0.1 µm) could improve the sensitivity by at least 5 times. The VFI's limit-of-detection for CPS spiked in buffer solution was determined to be 0.02 ng/mL. The developed VFI shows great potential as a point-of-care tool for detection of bio-threat agents in a variety of clinical and resource-restricted conditions. Graphical abstract fx1 Highlights • Paper-based vertical flow device was developed to detect bio-threat pathogens. • Limit-of-detection for B. pseudomallei surface capsular polysaccharide was 0.02 ng/mL. • Sample flow rate and membrane pore size was studied in theory and experiment. • Multiplexing diagnostic of melioidosis and anthrax was demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of rapid, sensitive, and visual detection of nitroaromatic explosives is of great importance for homeland security and human safety. Herein, three novel fluorescent nanoporous polymers (FNPs), HPP-1–HPP-3, were first prepared by Heck reactions of octavinylsilsesquioxane with ethene derivatives containing bis-, tri-, or tetrakis- bromophenyl groups. Based on highly sensitive detection of explosives, including p -nitrotoluene (NT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 4-nitrophenol (NP), 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) and picric acid (PA), and high selectivity for detecting TNT and PA, by HPP-2 dispersion in ethanol, a fluorescent paper sensor was developed by a new fabrication process, i.e. , vacuum filtrating of HPP-2 dispersion in ethanol, followed by washing and natural drying. The resultant paper sensor was found to be sensitive to explosives in the solution, solid and vapor phase with a rapid response time of < 10 s by visually observing the fluorescence quenching phenomenon. Moreover, this paper sensor is recyclable with desirable fluorescence resuming ratio, which is higher than 75% after 10 times recycle detection. This developed paper sensor is promisingly applied for rapid, on-site and visual sensing of explosive residuals. The remarkable fluorescence and reusability of this sensor could be expanded to other fluorescence detection of residuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemosensing, an interdisciplinary scientific domain, plays a pivotal role ranging from environmental monitoring to healthcare diagnostics and (inter)national security. Metal‐organic gels (MOGs) are recognized for their stability, selectivity, and responsiveness, making them valuable for chemosensing applications. Researchers have explored the development of MOGs based on different metal ions and ligands, allowing for tailored properties and sensitivities, and have even demonstrated their applications as portable sensors such as paper‐based test strips for practical use. Herein, several studies related to MOGs development and their applications in the chemosensing field via UV‐visible or luminance along with electrochemical approach are presented. These papers explored MOGs as versatile materials with their use in sensing bio or environmental analytes. This review provides a foundational understanding of key concepts, methodologies, and recent advancements in this field, fostering the scientific community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is an overall assessment of the security situation in Afghanistan that includes both traditional and non-traditional aspects. The paper highlights the deteriorating internal security that is bolstering Pashtunisation in Afghanistan and causing the forced displacement of non-Pashtuns. The implication of this grim development in India's neighbourhood has severely impacted the peace and security of the Central Asian Region, Russia, China, Iran, India and Pakistan. The victory of the Taliban has resuscitated myriad terrorist groups who want to establish Islamic Caliphate in neighbouring countries, therefore leading to the gradual Talibanisation of the Asian region. The paper also delves into how the departure of foreign forces has created a power vacuum in Afghanistan that has led to the revival of a New Great Game with the addition of regional actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study inquiries into the evolution of the concept of Security in the Chilean Defense White Papers published in 1997, 2002 and 2010. This work consists of a conceptual critical analysis of the texts in a comparative perspective. It focuses on five variables: definition of Security; definition of Defense; referent object; sectors of Security; definition of Threat. The results bring into light a process to narrow the reach of the military instrument; an increasing political interest to separate Security from Defense; an inorganic intend to incorporate Human security; and the displacement of Threat as an articulating axis of Defense planning. As a main conclusion, the concept of security evolves significantly according to the Chilean Defense White Papers. The relevance of this issue rests upon the fact that the conceptualization of security delineates the employment of the instruments of defense. The contribution of the study consists of disaggregating the evolution of the concept of Security to further understand the political modifications to the parameters of action of the military instrument in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research paper explores the nuanced perspectives of South Asian nations, primarily India and Pakistan, on the global efforts toward nuclear disarmament. Against a complex regional security landscape, historical conflicts, and evolving nuclear doctrines, this study employs a qualitative research design, drawing on document analysis and existing literature. The findings reveal divergent views between India and Pakistan, often shaped by intricate factors of security considerations, regional dynamics, and domestic political influences. The paper discusses the implications of South Asian stances on global disarmament efforts. It proposes potential pathways for fostering dialogue and cooperation in pursuing nuclear disarmament in the region. Through an in-depth examination of South Asian perspectives, this research contributes valuable insights to the broader discourse on nuclear disarmament. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization and the increasing interconnectivity of the international system has brought about changes in the nature of state relations and newer trends in security threats within the international system. Security threats that hitherto did not exist are now made manifest with the aid of globalization particularly as a result of advancement in information, communication and transportation technologies. Cyber-crime, transnational crimes, money laundry, human trafficking, terrorism financing, proliferation of small arms and light weapons amongst several other security threats now characterize the global system. This paper therefore attempts to interrogate globalization as a driver for insecurity. It is the position of this paper that national and international security dynamics have changes because of globalization. It is desk research and relies basically on secondary data. The paper therefore recommends the need for states to adopt security strategies that are in line with global trends so as to address security challenges. It also recommends the application of technology in addressing national security challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares immigration reforms across democratic and autocratic states. Mobilising two large-scale datasets, it first challenges the prevailing notion that political regime types inherently dictate immigration policy outputs. The analysis shows that although immigration is central to political debates worldwide, reforms are not that frequent and, when enacted, their restrictiveness does not consistently differ by regime type. Instead, restrictions focus on border controls and openings on entry and integration policies regardless of the political regime in place. The paper then mobilises case studies from around the globe to delve into the policy dynamics underpinning immigration reforms across regimes. It shows that while all migration states grapple with the multifaceted challenges that immigration raises, autocratic politics offers a broader toolkit to resolve the trade-offs between cultural, rights-based, economic and security issues. This creates unexpected opportunities for open immigration reforms under autocratic politics, a dynamic I call the 'illiberal paradox' as a counterpart to the 'liberal paradox' observed under democratic politics. To advance theory-building across the democracy/autocracy divide, the paper concludes by arguing that the liberal and illiberal paradox concepts are not exclusive to democratic or autocratic regimes, respectively, but are valuable analytical tools to understand immigration politics across the political regime spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australia's new government is committed to delivering the next defence white paper in 2015. The two previous white papers took a predominantly risk-management approach to Southeast Asia, generally ignored the strategic opportunities in the region, treated it as a stand-alone region largely unrelated to developments in East Asia and failed to link Australia's policies in Southeast Asia with the broader goal of helping to ensure greater strategic stability in Asia by putting constraints on Chinese assertiveness and encouraging its peaceful rise. After offering a summary of recent Australian defence thinking on Southeast Asia, this paper outlines why managing China is the key variable when it comes to strategic stability in the region. It then examines how China's strategy and behaviour can be shaped and influenced by events and relationships in Southeast Asia, and offers some suggestions as to the role Australia can seek to play in Southeast Asia that relates to Canberra's China-focused objectives and strategic stability in Asia more broadly If that can be achieved in the 2015 defence white paper, Australia - which is often criticized for being preoccupied primarily with managing the relationship with its superpower ally the United States - will demonstrate to itself and Asia that its heavy reliance on the ANZUS treaty is no barrier to strategic creativity in Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of deepening civil-military integration of the space industry and escalating competition among major powers, the rapid development of LEO mega-constellations has led to significant changes concerning space safety and security governance. Increasingly crowded outer space, aggravated by the emergence of mega-constellations, has posed severe challenges to space operational safety and national security. Therefore, there is a practical urgency to establish space traffic management mechanisms to cover safety and security issues. This paper envisions three pillars of space traffic management while proposing appropriate implementation measures for regulating the construction of LEO mega-constellations. Adopting a global forward-thinking approach, these proposals offer comprehensive guidelines for effectively integrating diverse stakeholders engaged in space activities, with the collective objective of striking a balance between commercial private interests, national space interests, and the broader concerns of humanity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid progress of deepfake technology, the improper use of manipulated images and videos presenting synthetic faces has arisen as a noteworthy concern, thereby posing threats to both daily life and national security. While numerous CNN based deepfake face detection methods were proposed, most of the existing approaches encounter challenges in effectively capturing the image contents across different scales and positions. In this paper, we present a novel two-branch structural network, referred to as the Self-Attention Deepfake Face Discrimination Network (SADFFD). Specifically, a branch incorporating cascaded multi self-attention mechanism (SAM) modules, is parallelly integrated with EfficientNet-B4 (EffB4). The multi SAM branch supplies additional features that concentrate on image regions essential for discriminating between real and fake. The EffB4 network is adopted because of its efficiency by adjusting the resolution, depth, and width of the network. According to our comprehensive experiments conducted on FaceForensics++, Celeb-DF, and our self-constructed SAMGAN3 datasets, the proposed SADFFD demonstrated the highest detection accuracy, averaging 99.01% in FaceForensics++, 98.65% in Celeb-DF, and an impressive 99.99% in SAMGAN3, surpassing other state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods. • A novel two-branch CNN structure is proposed for deepfake face discrimination. • The self-attention mechanism is utilized to enhance the accuracy of discrimination. • FaceForensics++, Celeb-DF and our self-built dataset are used in evaluation in terms of detection accuracy. • Forged face images/videos from various generating methods are included in our evaluation datasets. • Comprehensive experiments demonstrate the superior performance of our proposed method in discriminating deepfake face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractWhile human rights are an integral part of liberal democratic rule, the extent to which public opinion in democracies prioritises human rights in other countries relative to other competing foreign policy priorities is not clear. This is particularly the case when a country that systematically breaches human rights also poses a serious security threat and there are incentives to improve relations with the regime in power. To assess whether and how the public values human rights vis-à-vis national security in foreign affairs, this paper utilises survey questions that capture the public’s relative preferences between the two in South Korean public opinion regarding relations with North Korea. It provides evidence that when a democratic government attempts to improve relations with a regime committing grave human rights violations, public opinion in the democracy deprioritises human rights in favour of reducing military tension. The findings shed light on the trade-off that exists in attempts to improve relations with a regime that is both a security threat and a systematic violator of human rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the author is to investigate a slightly obscure topic: the practice of interwar military justice in Hungary and its related questions, with an emphasis on matters concerning the peculiarities on how to implement them. The bill - which came into effect in 1930 - was born amidst uncommon historical conditions, since the Trianon Peace Treaty basically degraded Hungary into a quasi-numb entity. It is without a doubt that the decade-long consolidation - and its achievements - that came after can be regarded as one of the most prominently successful periods of the era's political history. The historical pressure, the necessity of being able to defend ourselves along with the importance of national security demanded that our army remained intact, despite the prohibitions that surrounded its existence. This called for ensuring that the legal environment was modernized enough to be capable of supporting this goal. The system of regulations inherited from the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was subjected to scrutiny and as a result ended up as a state-of-the art framework that even surpassed the European standards it aimed to match. This paper, putting emphasis on the most important dogmatic junctions, will further review these regulations - substantive or procedural contents alike -. After a brief diversion towards taking a glimpse into the historical situation, we will introduce the system of sanctions and punishments pertaining to military personnel, and proceed with the regulations related to their implementation, which in turn will offer a glimpse into the contemporary philosophy that surrounded military justice and procedure. In accordance, further regulations containing provisions regarding infrastructure, personnel, accommodation, and institution security in general would emerge. The author of the article provides a summary of the most important current relevant legal provisions. It touches upon the military justice system and its subsystems, introduces the more substantive procedural rules, and concludes with an argument on practical implementation. It will also raise the theoretical question on a future independent regulation which would take place in accordance with the reforms of the Hungarian military and the national strategy on defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyperspectral anomaly detection can separate sparse anomalies from the low-rank background component under an unsupervised behavior due to sufficient spectral information. Therefore, hyperspectral image anomaly detection technology has great application potential and value in public security and national defense. Currently, most existing models attempt to detect anomalous targets with a sparsity prior, without further considering the visual saliency of the targets themselves. To tackle this issue, this paper proposes a saliency-guided sparse low-rank tensor approximation model, called SSLR, to detect anomalous targets from hyperspectral remote sensing images in an unsupervised manner. Specifically, we first explore the saliency information of each pixel for regularizing the sparse anomaly matrix. We then suggest a three-directional tensor nuclear norm to obtain a low-rank background to characterize the background component. We solve the SSLR optimization problem by an efficient alternating direction method of multipliers framework. Experiments conducted on benchmark hyperspectral datasets demonstrate that the proposed SSLR outperforms some state-of-the-art anomaly detection methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last twenty years, the EU has made increasingly greater efforts to boost defence cooperation among MS. To strengthen the EDTIB and avoid duplication of capabilities, the EU has encouraged "European preference" in arms procurement and MS' defence collaborative projects, also by seeking to expunge defence offsets from the single market. Against this backdrop, on 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. What impact has the war in Ukraine had on EU defence cooperation? Has the war impacted MS in a similar fashion or unevenly, reinforcing defence integration dynamics for some, while kickstarting disintegration for others? Two years on, a thorough analysis of the impact of the war on EU defence cooperation is still missing. This paper fills this gap by exploring three levels of analysis – arms collaboration, arms procurement, and offsets – and by comparing pre-invasion evidence with data from the post-invasion period. The analysis suggests that the Russo-Ukrainian war has negatively impacted EU defence cooperation, potentially increasing both fragmentation and non-EU dependencies. However, although MS' threat perception and their ability to reap industrial benefits remain important to explain EU defence cooperation, integration or disintegration dynamics do not neatly map onto the geographical or size divides identified by the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tensions between China and Taiwan have been heightened significantly lately. This paper is aimed at investigating the cross-Strait relations from Taiwan's perspective concerning, in particular, Taiwan's economic policy toward China. Indeed, China has long been Taiwan's largest trading partner; yet, political relationship between the two has fluctuated over time. On the one hand, China has been an attractive market for Taiwanese businesses, but one the other hand, there have also been economic and security concerns about Taiwan's dependence on China. This paper shows the connections between political and economic factors which jointly affect Taiwan's economic policy toward China. It argues that there may be a general equilibrium—a median voter—but it has often been distorted by the institutional constraints in Taiwan's political process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do childhood experiences of wartime violence affect individuals' preferences for nuclear proliferation? This paper argues that individuals who experienced severe war violence during childhood are more likely to value the security-enhancing aspects of nuclear weapons. These individuals are more concerned about being exposed to additional wartime violence, so they view nuclear weapons as a deterrent against large-scale invasions. By utilizing the geographic variation of violence intensity during the Korean War, this paper compares the pre-war and post-war cohorts who resided in severely damaged regions and relatively safe areas. Within the pre-war cohort, I find that individuals who resided in war-torn areas are more supportive of nuclear proliferation than those who were exposed to less violence. This regional difference, however, is not substantial in the post-war generation. The results suggest that direct exposure to wartime violence during childhood increases public demand for nuclear weapons when confronted with security threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper spotlights lessons for health security intelligence across the 'Five Eyes' countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and recent worldwide patterns related to climate change have highlighted the crucial supporting role intelligence analysis may play in comprehending, planning for, and responding to such global health threats. In addition to the human lives lost, the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed serious national security concerns, notably for economic, societal, and in some cases, political stability. In response, a greater emphasis must be placed on intelligence. The paper has three goals. First, it outlines the major thematic areas where key 'Five Eyes' intelligence communities' (ICs) skills were tested in supporting the management of COVID-19: 1) the origins of SARS-CoV-2, 2) disinformation campaigns, and 3) early warning systems. The article then explores how such factors have impacted ICs' ability to provide decision-making support during COVID-19. Finally, the article discusses how 'Five Eyes' ICs may strengthen capacity in the three crucial areas. The 'Five Eyes' ICs must act swiftly but methodically to assess the security-based analytic lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic to maximize preparation for the next inevitable pandemic, whether caused by a natural disaster, climate change, or state or non-state threat actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The military institution is structured in a manner that is meant to promote smooth flow of orders and instructions for implementation. Perhaps this is premised on the fact that time and disciplines are two critical variables that drive the military culture. Thus, this paper finds that in the theatre of operations, poor supply of equipment and lack of basic force projection and protection indices for soldiers could result in open or 'passive obedience' where troops' morale are either dampened or become an endless test on their patriotism and an albatross in their quest to defend the territorial integrity and citizens of their nation. This paper argues that for the best possible outcomes of combat efficiency to be gotten from field combatants, there must be an availability of the basic requirements that would aid the field combatants in attaining their strategic objectives. Furthermore, the paper drives the position that failure in the preceding areas will only portend extensive threats to the country's national security. The paper relied mostly on secondary sources available in extant literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presented an exhaustive survey on the security and privacy issues of drones. These security concerns were thoroughly dissected, particularly the aspect of cybersecurity, which was classified into nine levels. These levels include emerging issues, communication-based attacks, sensors, hardware, hardware-based attacks, software attacks, and physical attacks on the drone itself. Furthermore, we discussed the other non-cybersecurity challenges of drones, such as terrorism, mid-air collisions, illegal surveillance, smuggling, electronic snooping, and reconnaissance, alongside proffering possible solutions. Many of the discovered aspects of drone cybersecurity issues were then quantitatively analyzed using a multi-criteria decision-making problem-solving technique. The questionnaire responses from the general public, experts, and stakeholders in the aviation industry were analyzed. The findings revealed variations in cyber-attack techniques such as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), denial-of-service (DoS), hacking, jamming, spoofing, electronic snooping, eavesdropping, advanced persistent threat (APT), reconnaissance, hijacking, man-in-the-middle attack, and so on. However, the majority of the participants in the survey, which constitute 70%, were unaware of the existing drone cybersecurity challenges. The remaining 30% were aware of the current drone security issues. Meanwhile, both parties are looking for an immediate solution that will fully provide an atmosphere of prospects in the drone industry. Following that, we presented our experience with drone security and privacy, as well as potential future research directions. This paper is unique in that it discusses the various types of drone cyber-attacks and non-cyber-attack scenarios that threaten the socio-economic system, aviation industry, national security, as well as public security and privacy concerns. It also offers solutions to the cyber-attack and non-cyber-attack cases that have been investigated. As a result, the findings of this study could be used to create, develop, and implement more secure cloud systems to safeguard drones from cyber and non-cyber-attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines China's national security review regime of foreign investment and compares it with that of the United States. Over the years, China has gradually established a comprehensive legal framework for national security review of foreign investment. Recent efforts were made to refine the public enforcement mechanism of the review in tandem with a new "pre-establishment national treatment plus negative list" system under the 2020 Foreign Investment Law. The United States also enacted the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 to enhance its national security review regime. By analyzing the law and practices of China and the United States, this paper finds that the national security review regimes of the two jurisdictions have functional convergences despite some formal divergences caused by diverse political-economy landscapes. Their functional convergences are highlighted by China's local practices, such as the de-facto national security screening in the name of anti-monopoly review. There are many factors affecting China's national security review regime for foreign investment, including the ongoing (and escalating) US-China competition (or conflict) at the international level and the evolution of state or party capitalism at the domestic level. These research findings will not only contribute to the existing comparative law scholarship but also benefit multinational enterprises that seek to enter Chinese and the US markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of national security threats on a nation's economic growth and fiscal policy based on a case study of the Korean peninsula. I construct four measures of provocations using a newly-assembled list of North Korean provocative events going back to 1960. The results show that the overall impact of North Korean provocations on South Korea's short-run economic growth is negligible. Since inter-Korean relations have gone through four phases, this paper also estimates the impact of provocations over each subperiod. Provocations had a significant impact on South Korea's economic growth during 1960-1970 and 1992-1997 when inter-Korean tensions were high, but the effects took on different signs. While provocations decreased South Korea's economic growth during 1992-1997, it had a positive impact on South Korea's macroeconomy before 1970. This paper provides evidence that the effect of national security threats may vary with the responses from the government and political factors such as the relation between the targeted country and the country that inflicts the threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author surveys the review of Japan's defense programs and several other key defense-related documents the Liberal Democratic government initiated in 2013. She focuses on the pivotal points of Japan's Defense White Paper and on the current state and prospects of military cooperation between the U.S. and Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political power and state institutions, primarily in the sense of interweaving and reduction of their political power, is a research topic that has been going on for thousands of years. Many have studied the intertwined corridors of these political phenomena, but they have never been able to fully explore this topic. In this paper, their causal relationship is analyzed, with a special emphasis on the tendency of political power and state institutions to become alienated, in which these “servants of the people” are transferred over time to lords, which is why this paper starts from the position that political power wants to subordinate state institutions. The scientific importance is primarily contained in the effort to further enrich the scientific fund in the field of political theory and the state. The aim of the research is much more ambitious and is contained primarily in the intention to point out all the positive and negative repercussions that arise from the complex relations between the political power and state institutions, with the intention of pointing out these social anomalies and to increase the degree of democratization, but also functionality of society as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The war of the future represents an increasingly difficult concept to model through the implementation of emerging and disruptive technologies in a Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity (VUCA) context. The study of wars is essential in conflict prevention and peace building. In our paper we analyze the determining parameters of the contemporary operational environment against which we estimate possible directions of evolution of this phenomenon. The technological approach to war allows the identification of indicators of the development of emerging and disruptive technologies in an ethical framework and reinforces the strategies of forming a security culture through the mass education of citizens. The results of the research and the conclusions formulated can also constitute priorities for the strategies to strengthen the resilience of the national security and defense infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today’s globalized world, social and labor disputes have become a significant concern for individuals and organizations. This paper aims to explore the prevention and resolution of such conflicts, focusing on both international practices and the specific experience of Kazakhstan. By examining the literature, research methodology, and analytical reports, we will gain insights into effective strategies and approaches to addressing social and labor conflicts. This article is optimized for SEO and provides valuable information for individuals, organizations, and policymakers seeking to navigate the complexities of social and labor disputes. International experience is a valuable source of knowledge and practice for improving government regulation and conflict-prevention mechanisms. The article examines strategic documents and economic indicators based on qualitative research by OECD countries on the prevention of the adverse consequences of social conflicts. The study examines a number strategic documents and programs for conflict prevention and resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how climate change and the environment have been incorporated into Spain's security documents and policymaking. We have examined forty-plus documents issued by Spain's National Security Department to identify the evolution of the climate and environmental discourse. A keyword filter helped to single out the eleven most environmentally relevant documents, which have been qualitatively analysed to better understand the context in which environmental language is used. In our work we identify how both common practices of security analysts and policy-makers different level policies have been strongly influenced by environmental knowledge, and, therefore, incorporated new considerations into security policies as well as. Our findings suggest that climate is not the only challenge incorporated into security documents. Other environmental issues such as desertification, access to water, energy transition or loss of biodiversity are also included, which implies that they are part of a broader concept of national security more in line with the new challenges of the twentity-first century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My goals in this paper are to elaborate further an approach to civil-military relations going beyond control to include effectiveness; and, to argue that outsourcing by the Department of Defense (DoD) results in opportunity costs making very difficult the implementation of the national security strategy of "great power competition." The current acquisition authority for outsourcing impedes DoD accessing cutting-edge technology generated by "startups." In an earlier era of strategic competition, the main US response was to create the National Aeronautics and Space Agency with a new acquisition authority – "other transaction authority" (OTA). In the National Defense Authorization Act of FY 2018 Congress stipulated that OTAs should be the preference for DoD in science and technology and prototyping, and education in OTAs be provided. This education has not been implemented. Consequently, a key element of the US great power competition strategy, which is the acquisition of new technology, goes wanting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper offers a comparative study of Israel and Singapore to understand the national security policies of geographically smaller states. These states are militarily powerful, geographically small, and in close proximity with much larger potential adversaries. These states are also different in terms of their relationship with that much larger state as well as their independence narratives. Israel remains in a state of conflict with Iran through Syria and through terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Israel was created through war. On the other hand, Singapore has a complicated relationship with Malaysia based on suspicious cooperation. Malaysia also allowed Singapore independence given differences in the voting behavior of Singaporeans. Both states share a military strategy of preemption or prevention. Since these states are geographically small, striking first may offer Israel and Singapore a better chance at avoiding annihilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past 40 years, China has witnessed the world's largest urbanization process. In light of its natural and cultural conditions featuring resource scarcity, frequent natural disasters, rich cultural heritage and regional disparities and dynamics, this process aggravates the complex and severe problems faced by urban areas, including resource and environmental damage, security risks and cultural degradation. To address these issues, a shift in national and regional urban spatial layouts from improving economic competitiveness to balancing protection and development as well as security and development is needed. Related theories and research methods should also be adjusted accordingly. Therefore, given China's specific conditions and regional spatial layouts, the paper introduces the "national spatial planning theory," which aims to create a sound living environment. The core concept is "precise adaptation," which ensures the adaption of urban development to natural and cultural conditions. It is the first theory that proposes to develop the national urban spatial layout based on the analysis of ecological environment. It also suggests shifting the focus from eco-environment to security and culture as urbanization progresses and problems change constantly. In addition, a method framework and technical system of "precise analysis, adaptive distribution and dynamic evaluation" is formulated to build an adaptive urban spatial layout on the basis of quantitative analysis of the capacity of spatial resources. The practices of regional planning processes on varying scales in the past 20 years are to illustrate the specific applications of the theoretical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though security issues are structural elements of the EU legal order since a while, it is undisputed that the reorientation of the EU's approach towards a more assertive stance in defending its values and interests has determined a relevant reshaping of the way in which the Union and its Member States interact in security matters - the EU-Member States security nexus. The present paper aims to identify both the reasons and the legal implications of this phenomenon, moving from a reconstruction of the doctrine elaborated by EU institutions to support this new approach, that is, the Strategic Autonomy Doctrine (SAD). Building on the assumption that the Union is now facing evolving threats, requiring a stronger capacity to protect the supranational interests and values, the paper argues that the reshaping of the EU-Member States security nexus has led to the creation of a buffer zone, where EU's and Member States' prerogatives for the protection of both (supra)national security and sovereignty are significantly blurred. This, in turn, produces significant consequencces for the EU constitutional framework, namely a hybridization of both the supranational competences and legal instruments concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We need energy. But what are potential solutions to achieving net zero? This paper presents a Christian perspective and overview of nuclear energy in the UK, and other countries, within the context of government policies to achieve net-zero emissions while ensuring national security. The growth of renewables is well-known but nuclear energy’s positive contribution is often unrecognised in our energy mix for producing electricity. Nuclear provides clean, low-carbon baseload electricity and has its place alongside variable renewables in tackling climate change. Besides large reactors, small modular reactors (SMRs) are being considered within energy strategies. Beyond electricity generation, future nuclear plants offer cogeneration. Furthermore, nuclear plants do not create the air pollution associated with fossil-fuel emissions. This paper encourages people to become more informed about the place of nuclear energy by looking at an evidence-based approach and encourages discussion in an open, honest, and respectful way about its merits in protecting people and our planet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though security issues are structural elements of the EU legal order since a while, it is undisputed that the reorientation of the EU’s approach towards a more assertive stance in defending its values and interests has determined a relevant reshaping of the way in which the Union and its Member States interact in security matters – the EU-Member States security nexus. The present paper aims to identify both the reasons and the legal implications of this phenomenon, moving from a reconstruction of the doctrine elaborated by EU institutions to support this new approach, that is, the Strategic Autonomy Doctrine (SAD). Building on the assumption that the Union is now facing evolving threats, requiring a stronger capacity to protect the supranational interests and values, the paper argues that the reshaping of the EU-Member States security nexus has led to the creation of a buffer zone, where EU’s and Member States’ prerogatives for the protection of both (supra)national security and sovereignty are significantly blurred. This, in turn, produces significant consequencces for the EU constitutional framework, namely a hybridization of both the supranational competences and legal instruments concerned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intelligence services are important sites of contestation, often the foci of reform and calls for greater transparency. Yet, while growing attention has been paid to intersectionality, gender equality reform, and progress in other areas of international affairs, little of this same transparency and attention has been paid to diversity in the intelligence sector. This paper seeks to bridge the gap, comprising a systematic review of the literature on diversity in the intelligence sector to improve our understanding of what is known and what can be known about the history and current make-up of the intelligence sector—and those who "do intelligence work". By identifying strengths and gaps in the literature and setting an agenda for future research within these "secret institutions", this paper argues that the lack of transparency, data, and knowledge on the interplay of gender, race, and sexuality, among other aspects of diversity in intelligence, is deeply troubling. It hampers our knowledge of how the sector may be "gendered" or otherwise experienced, as well as how this particular area of the security sector may or may not be integrating gender and other perspectives into their work. This paper finds that diversity in the intelligence and national security sectors is both an asset and a liability to be managed. Diversity is seen as a source of intelligence gathering and analysis strength, as well as a potential threat to hegemonic masculinity in intelligence practice. Further, language and processes for promoting diversity in intelligence can reinforce stereotyped knowledge of marginalized groups that ultimately hamper calls for greater representation, diversity, inclusion, access, and opportunities in the intelligence sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the global interconnected economy, China-made information-collecting technologies such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance cameras have become popular products for routine video-based surveillance. Hikvision and Dahua are the two largest global suppliers of CCTV cameras, with both companies supplying their products to over 200 countries. Despite their popularity, national security concerns are commonly cited when adopting these cameras, citing manufacturer links with the Communist Party of China (CPC), cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and sales recorded in the Xinjiang region, that has records of human rights violations. This paper is structured in three parts: first, we explore the predominance of China-made information-gathering technologies in Australia; second, we summarise common national security concerns usually associated with China-based technology manufacturers; and third, we propose regulatory measures to regulating China-made CCTV cameras in Australia. The paper suggests that while state and Federal decision-makers are free to remove Chinese CCTV surveillance cameras, they should avoid overt politisation. Overall, a stronger focus should be placed on evaluating cybersecurity risks of Internet of Things (IoT) information-collecting technologies and considering their timely and effective regulation from the perspective of individual and national interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's defense white papers have long been dismissed as lacking substance and offering little useful information on China's real strategic intentions and military capabilities. Nevertheless, since 1998 Beijing has continued to issue defense white papers on a regular two-year frequency. Indeed, in recent years it has accorded greater importance to these documents. This paper argues that China's defense white papers warrant more attention than they have received so far. An examination of the making of the white papers, the functions designated for these documents and their evolving content and structure reveals not only the different nature and purpose of the Chinese white papers compared with their counterparts in Western countries, but also important changes and continuities in China's strategic outlook and its evolving perceptions of the role of the use of force in the context of the country's re-emergence as a major player in international affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article offers a discursive analysis of the Conservative green paper for international development, published as part of the closely fought election campaign of 2010 that culminated in a UK coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. The article examines the paper in comparison with the discursive shifts represented by the first Department for International Development (DfID) white paper, published by the outgoing Labour administration in 1997. In contrast with the optimistic and globalist developmentalism that characterised Labour's development discourse, the green paper sounds a more cautious note, using empire to focus on Britain's leadership role in poverty alleviation rather than on global progress, and brings back the full force of developmentalism only at the point where it seeks to legitimate spending on security concerns as a development concern. The article then moves on to examine the green paper's most explicit discursive move, the signalling of a 'post-bureaucratic age'. This move towards increased information provision to promote transparency and accountability is likely to signal greater control by powerful donors in securitised times, albeit with a potential re-scaling of responsibility for poverty alleviation to the poorest local communities. Finally, the article looks briefly at information technologies in relation to the transnational spatiality of civil society, arguing that attention needs to be paid to the more embodied forms of transnational association encouraged by the green paper, and to the selection and impacts of information, which need to be seen in the discursive context of wider Conservative constructions of the 'big society'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long understood as the key document in Britain's Cold War history, the Duncan Sandys Defence White Paper of 1957 nevertheless has a largely forgotten context: home defence. This article argues that understanding this context allows important new conclusions to be drawn concerning the drafting, presentation and the reception of the document and the deterrent strategy it expounded. It argues that the Paper failed to establish a new doctrine for civil defence which reconciled the policy with the wider deterrent strategy. In doing this, the Paper presented a muddled policy to the public: one which failed to justify the reductions in civil defence provision but which stressed the destructive power of thermonuclear weapons. This had the effect of encouraging the critics of the government's nuclear strategy to flag up the absence of adequate civil defence measures and highlight the 'admission' that there was no defence against the hydrogen bomb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this white paper the Chinese government assesses the security environment; defines, and elaborates on, its national defense policy including its commitment to the policy of no first use of nuclear weapons at any time and under any circumstances; and describes the defense situation and activities in 2006. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rampant terrorism poses a serious threat to the national security of many countries worldwide, particularly due to separatism and extreme nationalism. This paper focuses on the development and application of a temporal self-exciting point process model to the terror data of three countries: the US, Turkey, and the Philippines. To account for occurrences with the same time-stamp, this paper introduces the order mark and reward term in parameter selection. The reward term considers the triggering effect between events in the same time-stamp but different order. Additionally, this paper provides comparisons between the self-exciting models generated by day-based and month-based arrival times. Another highlight of this paper is the development of a model to predict the number of terror events using a combination of simulation and machine learning, specifically the random forest method, to achieve better predictions. This research offers an insightful approach to discover terror event patterns and forecast future occurrences of terror events, which may have practical application towards national security strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents separate research papers that cover different topics related to international relations and geopolitical dynamics, some of which are, paper by Michael Beckley, which focuses on the concept of "peaking powers;" paper by Tyler Jost explores how China's national security institutions and their information flow influence the likelihood of miscalculations in international crises; and paper by Victor D. Cha, which discusses China's use of economic coercion.

This paper critically discusses the Hanoi Metro and its role in contemporary urban development processes in Hanoi. It aims to disentangle the complex interplay between the state's urban development goals, local mobility patterns, and Sino-Vietnamese relations that influence discourses surrounding the Hanoi Metro. This paper argues that the Hanoi Metro project demonstrates that mobility infrastructures serve as an arena for state-society negotiations in Vietnamese cities. Rooted in the state's vision of modernity, the metro is promoted as offering an alternative to individual motorized transport, improving urban traffic and mobility for all residents. However, controversies regarding corruption, safety, and Chinese involvement in the financing and construction of Line 2A have negatively affected public perception of the project during its construction period. The potential impact of the Hanoi Metro on urban mobility in a setting dominated by motorbikes is discussed using the mobilities paradigm, with a focus on local mobility practices and experiences. The findings are linked to broader discussions on Chinese investment and historically-rooted notions of modernity and civilization in the context of the long-term development goals of municipal authorities and rising anti-Chinese sentiments in Vietnamese society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Space exploration is essential for global security and technological development, yet political leaders often disregard its importance. This policy paper demonstrates the role of space exploration in global security and technological development and the necessity for political support, as space exploration is costly, relying primarily on federal funding. Political support is motivated by political circumstances. When winning the space race was an important demonstration of power, political support was at its highest. However, political interest in spacefaring faded after the Cold War ended, and funding decreased. Political disinterest has global consequences. Space hazards constitute a severe global threat to planetary defense and come in different forms, such as space rocks, artificial space debris, and space weaponization. These hazards threaten satellites in orbit with a significant role in global operations, including communications, surveillance, and navigation. Additionally, near-Earth objects such as asteroids or comets seriously threaten global security. A catastrophic impact of a near-Earth object could threaten life on Earth and even become an extinction event. The national space program also plays an important role in mitigating climate change, a significant current threat to global security. Therefore, setting the right direction for the space program and ensuring sufficient funding for spacefaring is essential to global security. Using qualitative secondary analysis and the causal explanation method, this policy paper analyzes political support by comparing NASA's budget and national space policies over several decades and how funding affects technological advances and development. The paper concludes by generating policy recommendations to establish the optimal conditions for a national space program to thrive and fulfill its role in maintaining global security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burkina Faso and Mali have been grappling with multiple security threats including jihadist challenge, military coup d'état, violent extremism, and poor governance. These complex security problems have escalated into national conflicts, state failure, internal displacements, and forced migration. This paper examined the changing patterns of the drivers and enablers of these security threats and how these forces feed into the protracted challenges of forced migration and population displacements. Using qualitative methods and documentary evidence, the paper found that poor governance, lack of state-building measures, and socio-economic exclusion of local populations contributed to the worsening crises of forced migration and population displacements in Burkina-Faso and Mali. The paper emphasised the human security perspectives hinged on good governance principles through effective leadership in Burkina-Faso and Mali particularly in the areas of industrialization, employment creation, reduction of poverty, and provision of adequate security for the people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defense ministries regularly frame climate security in their national security strategies. Recently, "civil" ministries also begun mentioning climate security. However, they do not mean the same thing. This article develops four indicators to assess the commitment of climate security framings to an understanding of climate security as either human/environmental or national security issue. It applies the indicators to fifty submissions of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) by civil ministries and seventy defense publications. The paper finds that NDC commonly refer to climate changes' anthropogenic origins and biophysical impacts but rarely to indirect consequences such as migration or conflict. In contrast, military administrations rarely mention anthropogenic origins but warn more often than NDC of indirect consequences. This shows that a civil domestic discourse on climate security has emerged, more attuned to human security and environmental security and more conducive to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The paper argues that organizational theory can explain these differences in securitization: defense and civil ministries frame climate security differently so that it falls in line with their respective mandates and established organizational features. The article concludes with a checklist for assessing framings of climate security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political economy impacts and influences a state's military strategy. This article focuses on how the integration of the US political economy in the Indo-Pacific drives US Navy officers and the broader national security state to establish the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP). Investigating the strategic thought of senior Naval officers shows that they think far beyond military threats and engage with the United States and the Indo-Pacific political economy. Even as the US Navy competes with China's military, its FOIP strategy benefits corporate elites in both China and the US, whose cooperation creates a mutually supportive economic relationship. This argument leads to the finding that the US hegemony in the region is a strategy that avoids a bipolar 'New Cold War' of an entirely de-coupled US and China. The FOIP supported by the US Navy continues to integrate China into regional and global economies, even as it attempts to push back against China by gathering allies and partners. The emphasis on international political economy highlights how the region is a network of 'patchwork' relations, where states rely on one another for economic prosperity. Through investigating speeches and strategic papers from US Naval officials, this paper demonstrates how the US competes and cooperates with China in the context of relations in the region that are in constant flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]