Search

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]

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]

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]

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]

In this article the author discusses military policy in Great Britain. At issue is an examination of a British government report on military matters released during a period of continuing developments in national security. The author urges an expansion of Great Britain's strategic forces and considers aspects of deterrence and coercion in place of more traditional military actions. The article asserts that there is a need for a clear understanding of the motivation of Great Britain's potential adversaries.

In 2000 the Howard government formed a consultative committee to review defence policy and gauge public opinion on defence issues. It concentrated on the impact of budgetary stringency and dramatic strategic change and supported increased defence spending on equipment to cater for high-level threats. Was there a thorough review? Inconsistencies occurred in the reports developed from the review and statements made by senior policy-makers while it was being conducted. The way the review was undertaken points to conceptual tensions in Australia's strategic culture and serious problems with entrenched interests in the services. Unless these challenges are addressed, a thorough review of defence policy cannot be undertaken. The review process itself needs to be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the UK's future Indo-Pacific policy by looking into the newly published Integrated Review (IR) and comparing it with the French and German policy papers. The "Indo-Pacific tilt" is one of the most highlighted themes in the IR, but a reading of the review suggests that the UK remains Euro-Atlantic centered when it comes to defense and security policy. It is only after the internal and external security issues are addressed that the UK pursues its "global interest" through diplomacy and trade. Hence, while the geopolitical and economic importance of the Indo-Pacific is acknowledged, and the stance of the UK towards the region appears more ambitious and confident than that of France and Germany, it remains a question as to the degree to which the UK may commit to the Indo-Pacific. The UK defines China as a "systemic competitor" rather than a "threat," suggesting that while the challenges China poses may be comprehensive and profound, they are not taken as immediate and urgent. This designation is peculiar. On the one hand, it differs from the US policy, which sees China (and Russia) as threats to its national security. On the other hand, compared with the European counterparts, the UK is the only one that calls out China, expressing a stronger will to counter China when necessary. Therefore, it is suggested that the post-Brexit UK is likely to side with the US in the US-China-EU triangular relations. Being very much a middle power, however, the UK's space for maneuver is limited. It pledges to compete against China and seek the latter's cooperation simultaneously, but such a stance requires power and will that the country may be lacking. The deployment of HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Indo-Pacific, for instance, has been described as an expression of the UK's commitment to the rules-based international order. Yet Prime Minister Johnson's emphasis on not antagonizing anyone and the decision that the Carrier Strike Group will not sail through the Taiwan Strait indicates a concern about China and consequently difficulty implementing the "co-opetition" strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principles and formalities of modern U.S. Defence planning stem from the 1960s and have largely served well. This paper, however, is about the special challenges that arise when major changes have been needed, some even transformational in character. It discusses how changing realities, independent studies and analysis, events, leaders, and political processes have led to changes not easily instigated within normal processes. Several examples are discussed for the period 1976-2016. Today, the United States and allies again face major challenges that require major military changes. Those have not yet been decided, much less accomplished. The paper draws on lessons from earlier periods to identify obstacles to and mechanisms for change. The last section focuses on defence analysis, which has sometimes been an obstacle but can be part of the solution. The paper urges a new ethic for analysis and the analysts who perform it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on an analytical framework that combines strategic culture theory with narrative analysis, this paper explores the recent evolution of Iran's ballistic missile programme (BMP) (2015–2019). Iran's strategic culture attributes a key role to the BMP but nevertheless allows room for manoeuvre in Iran's security policy, which explains multiple and sometimes contradicting visions of the BMP. We demonstrate that Iran's approach towards the programme is enveloped by political discourses, which shift with the direction of Iran's international relations and domestic politics. We distinguish two competing narratives – 'revolutionary' and 'moderation' – and demonstrate how they define the opportunities and constraints of Iran's military behaviour in different ways. Finally, we demonstrate a move towards a more confrontational approach, reflected in the consolidation of the 'revolutionary' narrative. This article contributes to a more fine-grained understanding of Iran's policy towards its BMP, which remains central to Iran's strategic culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States military Civil Affairs community desires to increase its relevance to future operations and missions of the U.S. Army as part of the joint force. To do so, it must adapt to the changes and challenges of the dynamic and uncertain operational environments in which the joint force operates. One key component of these environments concerns the ability of the joint force to reestablish and maintain security in the wake of crises and catastrophes. This paper demonstrates that the concept of security itself has evolved and continues to do so in ways that require fundamental changes in the ways and means that the Civil Affairs community goes about its security tasks. Prominent among these changes is the fracturing of the concept of security into specialized forms, especially Human, Environmental and Informational Security. This paper provides some possible adaptations that the Civil Affairs community can make to accommodate these changes in the security environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors have over 50 years' experience of working on defence in Central and Eastern Europe. They have been intimately involved in trying to reform over 10 national defence organisations including Ukraine. During this work, they often faced intractable resistance and scepticism or conversely, apparent unbounded support, but following this, a complete lack of any actual implementation work by officials. This paper addresses some of the findings and observations identified by the authors that appear to cause these responses and the consequent failure of reform. A new research approach has been taken by using the business and culture tools from Schein, Hofstede and Kotter to try and unravel the underlying causality of that failure. The second part of the paper produces a new process for change based upon the research conclusions to help other advisers and consultants working on reform in the post communist defence arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper engages with the security dynamics underlying the use of drones and their impact on security subjects – individuals and groups that are the ultimate recipients of specific security policies, regardless of whether these have beneficial effects on them. Using Mark Duffield’s distinction between the insured Global North and the non-insured Global South, this paper discusses how drones generate a radical dissociation between the intervener and the intervened that ultimately produces new security environments at the margins of the international system. These new security environments are defined by the articulation between space, technologies and bodies: bodies of invisible subjects; bodies that are uninsurable. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Explores the changes affected by the National Security Council paper 68 or NSC 68, which assessed the political-military strategy of the United States under the administration of President Harry Truman. Restoration of American military power; Rationale for US national security for much of the Cold War; US Army's balanced-force approach; Arguments for a new military structure.

The paper’s main argument is that Israel’s security policy, which traditionally focused on defending its territorial integrity against regular Arab armed forces, was, by the 2010s, transformed into one that focuses on facing a variety of state- and non-state-based threats. Neo-realist explanations could neither account for the contested nature of the security debate during this period, nor the inconsistent evolution of the policy. The present study aims to solve this conundrum by introducing an alternative approach known as 4th generation strategic culture research. The paper is comprised of four parts. First, the origins and evolution of strategic culture are reviewed, with emphasis placed on the commonly accepted weaknesses that, to date, have prevented it from being used as a testable theoretical concept, and subsequently as an explanatory factor for security policy changes. The second part presents the “modernist constructivism” approach that bridges the gap between traditional constructivism and hypothesis-driven research design. Next, the paper introduces the emerging fourth generation in strategic culture literature, followed by a conceptual framework designed to resolve the inherent weaknesses of the more traditional approaches. Finally, this conceptual framework is applied to analyse the transformation of Israel’s security policy between 1982 and 2014. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – This paper aims to propose a model, based on strategic simulation and scenario planning, to improve the decision-making process in the Brazilian defence area. Design/methodology/approach – Participants are disposed in three levels: decision-makers team – which goes beyond the Ministry of Defence (and military services) alone and includes other representatives of the executive and legislative branches; political and strategic advisory team – civilian representatives with a broad understanding of the national and international contexts that can contribute to developing insights and shaping the forces that may contribute to the nation’s future; and experts database— experts in fields of interest to national defence, comprising representatives of several sectors and broad areas of knowledge, including scholars, scientists, politicians, military, industry, among others. Findings – The planning and preparation of national defence strategies require a long-term approach, which is multidisciplinary, participatory and contextualized to the geopolitical and institutional frames of the country. Research limitations/implications – However, despite many policy papers intentions, defence issues have always been considered a matter for the military arena due to the country’s cultural background. Practical/implications – Because decisions about defence have long-range impacts and political implications, policy-makers should shape them bearing in mind a complex and politically shared foresight process. Social/implications – This proposed planning process enables a participatory engagement with some civil organizations and individuals as well as amplifies their commitment in national defence issues. Originality/value – The proposal is innovative in South America, considering that it encompasses integrated simulations on participatory foresight processes as well as broadened the civilian–military dynamic relationship and the diverse viewpoints in defence implications analysis to include a wider share of the Brazilian society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the strategic dimensions concept and content analysis of nine key defence white papers published between 1957 and 2010 to assess which factors most influence declaratory policy. The paper also notes that the development of defence policy has been accompanied by the “muddling through” vs. decisive choice debate which reflects the tensions within policy between the thesis of strategy and the antithesis of fiscal parsimony. The paper maintains that defence policy is ultimately contingent upon external threats and it is these, rather than the desire to economise, which are the key policy drivers. It concludes that this extrinsic factor will determine the outcome of the next SDSR and though this is not necessarily incongruent with the desire to economise, events may prove otherwise. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Studies on the democratic control and legitimacy of Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) have thus far mostly focused on formal institutions. However, a comprehensive analysis requires including the ‘sociocultural infrastructure’ in which such formal institutions are embedded. Students of democracy have argued that the public sphere is a crucial dimension, if not a precondition for all mechanisms of democratic control in general. This paper investigates whether and in which ways Europeans participated in transnational European communication on humanitarian military interventions (1990–2005/2006). The paper analyzes a full sample of 108,677 newspaper articles published in leading newspapers of six EU member states, and the US as a comparative case. It demonstrates that the ‘national’ arenas of political communication are intertwined and allow ordinary citizens to make up their minds about common European issues in the highly controversial and normatively sensitive realm of humanitarian military interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper analyses the separate roles and functions of the police and the military in the context of the current security environment in the Caribbean, which now includes such diverse factors as trans-national organised crime, corruption, links between politics and crime, natural disasters, oil dependency, high levels of public debt and the chronic marginalisation of large sectors of the population. Some have argued that the Caribbean is unlikely to be invaded, and that the military can therefore be merged into the police as a cost-saving measure. This paper argues, by contrast, that the rapidly-evolving challenges require that the roles, functions and training of the police and the military be kept separate and distinct, and that the policy community needs to understand why the purpose and architecture of the training has to be appropriate for the different missions of the respective organisations. This argument is supported by a model of discipline which defines the different organisational and individual roles and functions. It is further argued that it is essential that the police forces of the Caribbean continue to move further from their former quasi-military roles, functions and attitudes, and become fully modern police services. The paper accepts that there will continue to be a need for specialist units in the police services that will have paramilitary roles and functions, but concludes that these specialist units should not define the normal role and function of mainstream policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Could a growing transatlantic rift regarding the use of military force outside Europe propel the political break-up of Canada? The first part of the paper argues that, in addition to its liberal-democratic values, Canada's bicultural national identity accounts for much of its Atlanticist international security policy. The second part of the paper examines the prevalence of this Atlanticist strategic culture in the face of two contemporary cases of transatlantic (dis)unity, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, in order to assess the potentially disruptive nature of transatlantic discord on Canada's political unity. It finds, somewhat counter-intuitively, that transatlantic unity - rather than disunity - could more probably generate national unity crises in Canada in the event of continuing 'out-of-area' military operations undertaken by NATO allies. This is mainly because of a growing tendency among Quebec's sovereignist political elites' to mobilise Quebecers' distinct attitudes regarding overseas military expeditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Editors of the journal Cold War History have the pleasure to present this paper as the winner of the Best Paper Award at the last Graduate Conference on the Cold War, jointly organised every year by the University of California, Santa Barbara, the George Washington University, Washington DC, and the London School of Economics and Political Science, London. It is not often that a paper, as was the case with this one, won unanimous endorsement from prominent Cold War scholars from all three institutions, present at the Conference. The last Conference was organised in April 2009, at LSE, in London and the host of the next one to be held on 22-24 April 2010 will be the George Washington University. By continuing with the practice we inaugurated last year, we wish to underline our commitment to promoting and encouraging new and substantive research of the Cold War by young scholars. As the colonial system collapsed quicker than anticipated in the post-Second World War period, the Soviet Union found itself unprepared, and it hurriedly tried to build the institutions necessary to conduct an active foreign, economic and military policy in the newly emerging states. The development of the Sino-Soviet split triggered a Chinese challenge to this Soviet push for influence, with Beijing portraying the USSR as another white, imperialist power that valued relations with the West over the cause of national liberation. Moscow was consequently forced to adapt its policy, particularly by taking a more militant approach, in order to neutralise the Chinese threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the European Union started its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), it left the elaboration and implementation of decisions having defense implications for the Western European Union (WEU) for the next six years. NATO partners Norway, Iceland, and Turkey were invited as “associate members,” enabling them to participate in the activities and regular meetings of the WEU Council. This paper argues that the WEU arrangement could serve as an example for an interim arrangement for areas of mutual interest. After an examination of past practice on CFSP and European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), the paper formulates possible future options not only in the security field but also in energy, justice, and home affairs in combating organized crime, a new “economic zone,” and the implications of the EU Neighborhood Policy, where institutional and practical arrangements might serve as milestones in the negotiating process without detracting from the ultimate objective of full membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the re-establishment and development of the Three Capital Guards (san ya ... ) military system: the Palace Command (dian qian si ... ), the Metropolitan Cavalry Command (ma jun si ... ), and the Metropolitan Infantry Command (bu Jun si ... ) during the reign of Emperor Gaozong ... (r. 1127-1162) of the Southern Song dynasty (1127-1279). Previous studies all focused on Northern Song's (960-1127) Three Capital Guards and their capabilities, and Southern Song's Three Capital Guards were neglected. The author considers this topic an important issue in Song military history. This paper is divided into four parts. The first part traces the corruption of the Three Capital Guards system during the reign of Emperor Huizong ... (r. 1101-1125) and Qinzong ... (r. 1126-1127). The second part analyses the rising power of General Yang Yizhong ... and his Shenwu Central Army (shenwu zhongjun ... ). Yang rebuilt the Palace Command, and commanded this capital guard for nearly thirty years under Emperor Gaozong. The Shenwu Central Army is regarded as the predecessor of the Palace Command. The third part focuses on the process of rebuilding the Three Capital Guards. The last part evaluates the role played by the Three Capital Guards in important political and military affairs during Gaozong's reign. Finally, the author concludes that the significance of the Three Capital Guards system reconstituted under Gaozong is that it is an "internal-oriented," not an "external-oriented" defense system. This is the main difference of the Three Capital Guards between the Northern Song and the Southern Song dynasties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The build-up of Japan's military apparatus in the 1990s and 2000s has been often regarded by security analysts as indicative of a departure from the country's Cold War strategic posture. Japan appears to be engaged in a process of militarisation that is eroding the foundations of its 'exclusively defence-oriented' policy. In the case of the archipelago's naval strategy, such assessments overlook the longstanding significance of a core feature of its defence policy, namely the surveillance of maritime crossroads delivering the wealth of the country. The paper reassesses the evolution of the Japanese strategy since the Cold War by examining the development of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defence Force's submarine force, one of the key components of the defensive shield for these crossroads. The paper argues that with the changes in the security environment of the 1990s, Japan already fielded a mature force with state-of-the-art submarines, and that the rise of a new naval competitor aiming at controlling key strategic points along Japan's sea lanes reconfirmed the critical importance of submarine operations to Japanese national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper argues that a significant change in Japanese post-Cold War security policy has occurred, as compared to its Cold War security policy. Instead of relying solely on power-based realist variables, this paper argues that a significant change is taking place because of the shift in Japan's security identity from a 'peace state' to an 'international state'. What this refers to is that Japan sees itself as playing a more active role in military-strategic affairs in the post-Cold War period due to the normative structure shift within Japan in relation to the practices and role(s) in the regional and international security environment. To show change in Japan's security identity and its resultant security behaviour, norms in three areas that define and shape its security policy are contrasted - Japan's definition of national security; its contribution, in military terms, to regional and international security affairs; and the level of agency (control) Japan has in its security policy. The international-state security identity is increasingly recognised by the members of Japan's security policy-making elite and is used to formulate Japan's security policy in the post-Cold War period. It is also gradually being accepted by the larger Japanese society and has become a permanent feature of Japan's security discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Al-Qaeda is commonly described as a highly flexible and adaptable non-state network, making it difficult for states to combat. Although these features are associated with networks in theory, they are not inherent to networks in practice, and rely largely on organisational learning. A network that fails to learn is not likely to adapt successfully. This paper explores the learning implications of al-Qaeda's transnational network structure, focusing on decentralisation and reduced hierarchical control following the loss of its Afghanistan base. Drawing from organisational theory research, the paper uses an exploration–exploitation framework to offer hypotheses about how learning is evolving. It suggests a wider space for exploration, rendering a dispersed, decentralised al-Qaeda more innovative, balanced by a weakened ability to exploit resources and expertise. Networked al-Qaeda militants are described as ‘innovative improvisers’ with high creative potential but low professionalism. By delving into the mechanisms of learning, the paper builds knowledge of what specific circumstances affect al-Qaeda's purported agility as an actor. Further research is recommended on how states might respond to innovative improvisers. Such research should extend beyond popular proposals for ‘networked’ national security to innovation and learning in their own right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews the security challenges from several perspectives, the first and perhaps most important being the geo-strategic reality that Taiwan will always be only 90-odd miles from mainland China. This irreversible fact means that Taiwan will always be in the shadow of growing mainland power. The paper then briefly comments on how PLA modernization, largely focused on the 'Taiwan issue' does pose real challenges. The paper addresses some of the issues surrounding how the ROC is addressing its defense, and contrast, unfavorably, the lack of ROC military focus compared to what is going on in the mainland. The paper also makes an attempt to assess opportunities from a security perspective. The key question is opportunities for what? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature of warfare is changing, with a far greater threat to international security posed by terrorists, in particular al Qaeda. This paper sets out to expose the deficiencies in perusing traditional concepts of deterrence that served the West well during the Cold War, but which are no longer relevant. It exposes the differences in approach either side of 9/11, setting out the challenges and proposing modern, well-orchestrated strategies, which will be successful in a contemporary context. This paper advocates a new concept of 'detercion', as one method by which the West may bring about the defeat of global terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses Finland's defense policy. Three circles of national security interest; Basing of Finnish defense policy and development plans on Defense White Paper of 2001; Transformation of Finnish national defense based on the Defense White Paper of 2004.

The recent domestic constructivist studies characterize Japanese security policy as a serious anomaly to realism and a crucial case vindicating their approach to the larger study of world politics. The present paper challenges this view. It advances a postclassical realist interpretation of Japan's core security policy in the past quarter century. Japan's military doctrine expressed in the 1976 National Defense Program Outline (NDPO) is consistent with postclassical realism's predictions, as opposed to neorealism's predictions, which focus on the dynamics of the regional security dilemma and the question of financial burden resulting from military build-up. In addition, postclassical realism offers a more compelling theoretical guide for understanding Japan's core security policy than defensive realism or mercantile realism. This paper backs up its argument with the empirical evidence that Takuya Kubo, the author of the NDPO, himself intentionally based the NDPO on a postclassical realist line of thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the failure of a small Peninsula Shield Force (PSF) to protect Kuwait in the lead up to the Gulf War in 1991, Sultan Qaboos, the ruler of Oman, proposed to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that it develop a large-standing army of 100,000 troops. Although Oman was not wholly successful in achieving its objective during the main negotiation period up to 1995, it did manage to contribute to small shifts in GCC security policy during periods of conflict. Nevertheless, it took the Arab Uprisings in 2011 to achieve a fundamental re-orientation of GCC security policy which favoured higher numbers of PSF troops. This paper analyses the factors which facilitated and constrained Omani policy during the 20-year period and argues that Oman is only able to further its security interests when they are framed in a way that are conducive to the overriding political interests of the GCC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Egypt plays a pivotal role in the security of the Middle East as the doorway to Europe and its military expenditure reflects its involvement in the machinations of such an unstable region, showing considerable variation over the last 40 years. These characteristics make it a particularly interesting case study of the determinants of military spending. This paper specifies and estimates an econometric model of the Egyptian demand for military spending, taking into account important strategic and political factors. Both economic and strategic factors are found to play a role in determining military burden/spending, with clear positive effects of lagged military burden, suggesting some sort of institutional inertia, plus negative output and net exports effects. The strategic effect as a result of the impact of Israel’s military burden is mostly positive and significant, though its impact is reduced when the impact of important strategic events are taken into account. The military spending of Egypt’s allies Jordan and Syria generally seems to have had no effect on Egypt’s spending. These results are consistent over a range of econometric techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The present article is based on a number of key assumptions as well as a conceptual system of military security, which is anchored in the theoretical system of security studies. Since these two disciplines are relatively young, there is a need to analyze them for the purpose of determining the basic theoretical apparatus in the field of security studies. This article presents an original definition and description of the fundamental nature of security as well as a general description of military security. It includes the vital domain of the subject's own activity leading to the maintenance of the proper level of security. The paper contains original definitions of such basic categories as security, state security and military security. Indeed, much of the content is based on theories used in previous research, but these have served merely as "bricks" that are used to fill in the already existing theoretical structure. Thus, through a specific redesign, a structure compatible with the basic tenets of security studies has been devised, also taking into account recent results of other sciences that cover military affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the new (2013) Japan's National Security Strategy and its relationship with the actual changes in the regional and global strategic landscape. The connections between the new Japanese perspectives on the subject and the recent U.S decision to focus its military Power in the Asia Pacific region will be specially stressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The new president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, who resisted the civilian-military rule (1964–1985) in her youth, has been engaging civil society and congress in security and defence issues for the production of the first national defence white paper. Her performance in this area is a good indication of the state of democracy in post-transition Brazil. Using the literature on third wave democracy transition and consolidation, this piece examines how previous presidents dealt with the main security and defence issues in order to identify change and continuity early in the Rousseff administration and also what sort of challenges the new president must rise to. As part of Latin America, Brazil lies in a largely demilitarized, but at the same time extremely violent region of the world. As an emerging soft power, Brazil has recently made defence a bigger issue in the national political agenda but still struggles to deal with its dark history of human rights abuses in the civilian-military dictatorship. Rousseff has shown an awareness of civilian-military issues, but it is still unclear whether she has enough political capital and whether that will translate into the required political support to democratically define the role of the armed forces in Brazil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to describe the consolidation of the militarization of public security in Mexico, during the first four years of the administration led by President Felipe Calderon (2006-2012). Although this is not a new state response to the challenge of organized crime, during the second-generation transition government, the involvement of the armed forces has reached a peak, spreading to the sphere of the states through the designation of military men as public security secretariats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A murky line separates the tactics and objectives between counterterrorism, counterinsurgency, United Nations Peacekeeping, and international civilian policing. Deploying the wrong national security model at the wrong time can escalate or prolong violence rather than mitigate it. However, prior to 2001, very few criminal justice scholars compared state security models on any level. This paper examines all four state security models in a comparative framework. It is divided into three sections. The first section defines each national security model and provides examples. The second section examines the differences or similarities that exist between the models. Finally, the third section addresses why it is critical to understand the security context and model integration in order to achieve long-term national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent debate in the UK has questioned the United Kingdom’s understanding of strategy. This paper examines the nature of strategy in the context of UK security, particularly its recent attempts to craft a National Security Strategy and conduct a Strategic Defence and Security Review. Using a combination of official sources, published literature and interviews with officials closely involved in the process it suggests that there is much that is logical in the NSS and SDSR and that it represents a more realistic security strategy than hitherto attempted. However, it also highlights that flaws in the process and UK thinking have led to a number of inconsistencies and concludes that, lacking a true National Strategy, if strategists do not provide realistic feedback to policy-makers then political ambition will continue to outstrip ways and means and so UK security strategy will be exposed to potential failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strategy has become a term so widespread that it has lost virtually all value. Its meaning has expanded so that it no longer applies solely to the application of military power. Even for those who seek to apply the discipline of strategy to matters that affect national, regional or even global security, the impact of transnational factors and the increasing imperative to act as part of a coalition or alliance suggest that strategic theory is increasingly different from practice. Multilateral responses challenge the clear articulation of ends, ways and means, and the act of intervention changes the context in ways that are often impossible to anticipate. This paper explores oblique decision-making, and its role in addressing complex problems for which scientific processes seem ill-suited. It challenges the assumption that shortage of resources and inadequate analysis of the theatre of operations are at the heart of our difficulties with strategy. Greater problems result from failures to clearly articulate the purpose for which we are employing military, and other instruments of power, and from identifying ends for which the prescribed ways and means are mismatched. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, security studies have been polarized around a single concept: national security, interpreted as the fundamental condition of each and every nation state's security. However, the multiple attempts of guaranteeing the territorial integrity of the states exclusively through military power have not managed to improve the human condition of it's citizens. As a response, the international community correlated the economic development with military security and human rights, thus creating the concept of human security. This paper identifies and analyses the patterns through which the main traditional actors (states and international governmental organizations) get involved in granting the security of humans and communities during conflict situations. Regarding the states directly drawn into conflict, the main mean through which they can bring a plus of human security is by respecting the norms of International Humanitarian Law. The contribution of the third party states in ensuring the security of individuals and communities affected by conflict consists in: humanitarian assistance, host nation support, non-combatant evacuation or peace operations. As for the international governmental organizations, they often act as forums for political consultations and debates for finding viable solutions. By them, one can achieve the limitation of the conflict's development or even the immediate cessation of violence and repression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper draws upon the findings of the AIDS, Security and Conflict Initiative (ASCI) to reach conclusions about the relationship between HIV/AIDS, security, conflict and governance, in the areas of HIV/AIDS and state fragility, the reciprocal interactions between armed conflicts (including post-conflict transitions) and HIV/AIDS, and the impact of HIV/AIDS on uniformed services and their operational effectiveness. Gender issues cut across all elements of the research agenda. ASCI commissioned 29 research projects across regions, disciplines and communities of practice. Over the last decade, approaches to HIV/AIDS as a security threat have altered dramatically, from the early anticipation that the epidemic posed a threat to the basic functioning of states and security institutions, to a more sanguine assessment that the impacts will be less severe than feared. ASCI finds that governance outcomes have been shaped as much by the perception of HIV/AIDS as a security threat, as the actual impacts of the epidemic. ASCI research found that the current indices of fragility at country level did not demonstrate any significant association with HIV, calling into question the models used for asserting such linkages. However at local government level, appreciable impacts can be seen. Evidence from ASCI and elsewhere indicates that conventional indicators of conflict, including the definition of when it ends, fail to capture the social traumas associated with violent disruption and their implications for HIV. Policy frameworks adopted for political and security reasons translate poorly into social and public health policies. Fears of much-elevated HIV rates among soldiers with disastrous impacts on armies as institutions, have been overstated. In mature epidemics, rates of infection among the military resemble those of the peer groups within the general population. Military HIV/AIDS control policies follow a different and parallel paradigm to national (civilian) policies, in which armies prioritize command responsibility and operational effectiveness over individual rights. Law enforcement practices regarding criminalized and stigmatized activities, such as injecting drug use and commercial sex work, are an important factor in shaping the trajectory of HIV epidemics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the slums of Haiti, where pistol and machete wielding gangs dominated the populace through murder, intimidation, extortion, and terror, a UN peacekeeping mission managed to established law, order, and government control. The United Nations Mission for the Stabilization of Haiti (MINUSTAH) succeeded by 'taking on' the gangs in a series of military and police 'search and arrest' operations in 2006-07. The achievement was made possible by thorough 'intelligence preparation of the environment'. This paper tells the story of the 'intelligence-led' military-police-civil operations and how they transformed the Haitian slum of Cite Soleil from a foreboding place inaccessible to police for years to one in which the UN workers could safely walk its streets. The functions, structures, problems and challenges of the mission's intelligence capability are described, especially the work of the Joint Mission Analysis Centre (JMAC). Human intelligence proved to be key, while technologies helped considerably. Within the United Nations, intelligence remains a controversial and sensitive matter but the Haiti mission provides a valuable model of how to gather and use actionable intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates to what extent the improving Sino-Indian relations coincide with a mitigation of military threat perceptions. A critical review of the demilitarisation of the border, the military strategies with respect to the Indian Ocean and nuclear arms programmes, reveals that the two countries are still locked in a military security dilemma. Distrust still results in military balancing. The outcome is a complex and multi-level military balance of power that might not bring about peace but enhances stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author for three years designed, co-delivered and quality assured the Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context programme, an important and complex element of the UK National Security Strategy required by the MoD and Cross Government partners. To date little empirical research has been conducted in this field. This paper reflects upon the value and challenges of this flagship International Security Cooperation Education programme and provides a firm basis for enhancing future work. The intent is to be informative, though-provoking and intellectually challenging and thereby to contribute to the capacity building of defence and security leadership, management and command in transitional democracies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American foreign policy is often extolled in terms of exporting "freedom" to the rest of the world—extending God's gift to humanity (according to President Bush's Second Inaugural). But just what notion of "freedom" undergirds this project? According to the National Security Strategy, the freedom being globalized is a negative, non-teleological notion of freedom that primarily underwrites the expansion of free markets. But such a liberal, nonteleological notion of freedom is just the notion of freedom that is rejected by the orthodox (Augustinian) theological tradition. So the theological invocations that cloak this foreign policy can only be, technically, heretical. This paper takes Augustine's theology as a mode of cultural criticism, offering a contemporary rendition of Augustine's critique of empire in The City of God by interrogating the discourse of freedom associated with the Bush Doctrine as well as a critique of Hardt and Negri's alternative as it is laid out in Empire and Multitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major political changes which took place in the Central and Eastern Europe in the last decade of the 20th century exerted an important influence on the security and defence environment of the countries in the region, triggering the need for a radical defence reform aimed at adapting the role of the military factor in the national security system and developing modern armed forces. One of the results of these reforms has been the implementation in these countries of new defence planning systems. The focus of this paper is a comparison between the Romanian Planning Programming Budgeting Evaluation System and the Hungarian Portfolio Defence Planning System, highlighting the common areas and the main differences between the two defence planning systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes the characteristics of the social policy of the Ministry of Defence and the System for individual social service as part of the management of human resources for defence and security with the purpose of their enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite calls over the years for the Asia-Pacific region, or some subset of it, to develop a regional security regime, no deliberate action to achieve this has been taken. This paper considers the possible ends of a regional security regime and the means towards achieving them. The ends themselves would differ according to whether any regime focused on security, traditionally and narrowly conceived, on comprehensive security or on human security. No matter which approach is taken, if the regime is to be successful in any sense beyond that of rhetoric, some of the region's cherished norms such as non-intervention as that is currently interpreted will have to be at least modified, if not completely scrapped. Even if the region collectively decides it needs a security regime and can agree on its ends, there are many alternative ways of achieving the ends and the processes of working out detailed rules will be difficult and time-consuming. None of this is to say that establishing a regional security regime will be impossible. It is to say that it will involve a lot of work, and a lot of compromise by state policy-makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 1990s Japan's defense policy has been under incremental significant change, revealed mainly in the legislative field. This paper explores the extent to which Japan's defense policy is changing in military terms. Analysis of Japan's latest security posture in Iraq (2003-2006) brings to light changes in Japan's overall defense policy in terms of defense priorities and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neoinstitutionalists applying the logic of rational choice institutionalism have leavened our understanding of public agency design and evolution in the domestic and national security policy domains. This paper seeks to advance theory building in empirically grounded ways by assessing the explanatory power of an important theoretical perspective (rational choice institutionalism), in an understudied “hybrid” policy domain where domestic and national security aims interact (domestic environmental policy and national security policy), and in an organizational type (the U.S. military) that has drawn scant attention from students of bureaucracy in political science, public administration, or public management. Analysis of three major efforts to green the U.S. military suggests that the patterns of politics accompanying agency evolution involving hybrid policy domains differ from domestic and national security domains in ways that limit the generalizability of rational choice institutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper argues that it was the flawed design of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) rather than the conventionally ascribed reasons of security, international status, or domestic imperatives that provided the necessary incentive for India to conduct nuclear tests in 1998 before the treaty foreclosed such an option altogether. The mandatory nature of the entry-into-force (EIF) clause of the CTBT was a departure from other international agreements in that membership was not voluntary. This suggests that any regime that impinges on a state's sovereign right to make security decisions on behalf of its people is likely to meet failure by formal or informal defections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]