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The article studies the evolution of the military-political course of the French Fifth Republic. The authors provide a comprehensive analysis of the four editions of the French White Paper, which are the conceptual foundations of the country’s defense and national security strategy. Particular attention is paid to the impact of the domestic political situation, international political and economic processes, as well as membership in the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance on the formation of France’s defense policy. The methodological basis for the study of the French military policy evolution is a systematic approach: a comprehensive study of the Fifth Republic’s defense and national security strategy as parts of the global European security architecture, which consists of closely related components. In addition the authors use the concrete-historical method, as well as induction, deduction, content analysis and comparative analysis of the Fifth Republic’s regulatory and legal documentation in the field of national defense and security, which allowed identifying elements of the specifics and continuity of the military-political course of France. With the help of forecasting, as well as a statistical method based on official data from government departments and research centers, the authors assessed the state of the French Republic Armed Forces. The excessive involvement of the French armed forces in various external and internal military operations, accompanied by a reduction in the number of personnel and deterioration of their equipment, weakens of the combat potential of Paris.

The social aspect of Indonesian Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia/TNI) cannot be separated from the shifting of national defense system paradigm. In terms of civil-military relationship, it can be traced by the rise of civil service contribution such as government and non-government elements in anticipating future threats to the region. The perception of threat from global scope to regional scope as well as national has been interpreted as the threat to national security, which is a democratic government ruled by civilian based on good governance principles is supported by military in tackling the threat to national security and society. This paper will describe some developments of social aspects in the context of the change of the state defense system. This paper will focus on analyzing the efforts of government for achieving accountable governance through assessing socio-political elements of national security. A conclusion will provide an overview in regard to the development of a conceptual model of existing military and civilian integration in the management of the transformation of the national security system to promote democracy in Indonesia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to describe the operational transformation of the Colombian army since the 1990s. Special emphasis is placed on the role of the Fuerza Aerea Colombiana – FAC (Colombian Air Force) in the development of the armed conflict and the strategy against drug trafficking that took place in South America. Between 1999 and 2006, the most important and significant air operations in the country’s history took place, developing an offensive strategy that guaranteed a greater capacity for effective control of the regions. This prevented illegal groups from consolidating themselves on the basis of a “war of movements” that would have allowed them to take control of vast areas of the territory. Partly thanks to these operational results, sufficient incentives and pressure were generated as a result of which, before its demobilisation, the guerrilla group with the greatest impact in the country (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – FARC) moved towards a political agreement with Juan Manuel Santos’s government. Finally, taking into account the current challenges, such as the ongoing post-agreement in Colombia, this paper reflects on the need for a transition in the army from a counterinsurgency force to a multi-mission force that considers the implementation of Human Security as a complement to traditional security. [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 proposes a new model of urban security for city branding in Indonesia, which aims to address the gap in city branding indices lacking safety and security factors. The proposed model, the Urban Defense Index (UDI), measures a region's ability to manage risks and handle security threats in urban areas. The UDI is calculated based on three sub-indices: Threats-Disruptions-Obstacles-Challenges (TDOC), Posture, and Stability, which use objective and subjective measurements. A case study uses the proposed model to measure five Kalimantan cities' urban defense readiness levels. The study found that Stability, Posture, and TDOC are essential factors in determining the level of urban defense readiness in the cities. Future research can address the limitations of the UDI model proposed in this study and expand the UDI model to include other factors that affect urban security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inclusion of Bulgarian Army in operations and missions led by NATO and the European Union requires a new approach by Bulgarian Armed Forces. The development of national adaptive capabilities of engineer units will contribute to the strengthening of the national security and defense of the country and to neutralizing the risks and threats where they arise. To fully leverage the capabilities of the Bulgarian Army requires enhancing engineer capabilities as well. This paper examines the influence of the current security environment to the Bulgarian Armed Forces. It further discusses the importance of the role of military engineering support in the operations. The goal of the paper is to implement a new approach for the development of engineer capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the transformation of the FALINTIL guerrilla organisation into the national armed forces in post-independence Timor-Leste. It focuses on how these former rebels interpret and legitimise their role in a changed socio-political environment vis-à-vis other national security actors as well as the population. By tackling the issue of the evolution of guerrilla organisations into formal security actors, the paper speaks to the recent research trend on the legacies of rebel governance, as well as the field of civil-military relations. Based on a qualitative interview case study, it argues that the behaviour of the state security actors, and their respective understanding of their role within the Timorese state, have been determined by internalised socialisation practices of their past. It becomes clear, that particularly the armed forces struggled with their constitutionally limited role on matters of national defence but strove to expand their role into domestic security affairs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reflects on the complex security situation in the Sahel region, identifying the causes and drivers of conflicts. The main hypothesis underlying the article is that the security situation in the Sahel region is influenced by several different causes and conflict drivers which have cumulative effects, making conflict resolution extremely difficult. The first part of the article identifies the causes and drivers of conflict and classifies them into four main categories. In the second part, the article shows how the causes and drivers are interwoven, creating multiple spillover effects, making the Sahel region one of the most problematic regions in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the Philippines’ evolving and changing grand strategies in confronting China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea. From 2010 to 2016, under the Aquino administration, the Philippines challenged China’s extensive claim over the disputed waters by adopting a hard-balancing approach. In 2016, the succeeding Duterte administration pursued an appeasement policy; in 2018, it shifted to a limited hard balancing policy because of (a) continuing Chinese coercive actions against Armed Forces of the Philippines units in Philippines-occupied land features in the South China Sea and (b) China’s failure to deliver on its promised public investments in the country’s infrastructure building programme. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr initially adhered to his predecessor’s strategy of limited hard-balancing. Seeing no change in China’s stance on the maritime issue, he resorted to a hard-balancing policy. He has vigorously supported the steady modernisation of the Philippine military and strengthened the country’s defence ties with the United States and other like-minded security partners while maintaining cordial diplomatic and economic relations with China. This article argues that the Philippines’ evolving grand strategy has the following elements: (a) Admitting that China’s maritime expansion is the quintessential threat to Philippine national security; (b) pursuing a policy of maintaining the status quo in the West Philippine Sea/South China Sea; (c) acknowledging the urgency to shift the focus of the Philippine military from internal security to territorial defence; and (d) fostering its alliance with the United States and its security partnerships with other American allies and partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article demonstrates that the Danish Armed Forces based its decision to establish the Joint Arctic Command in 2012 on a desire to rationalise and cut defence spending in general rather than in an attempt to strengthen Denmark's military posture in the Artic. We make this argument by employing the concept of strategic culture to make sense of these decisions and to provide an understanding of the overall strategic logic behind Denmark's military presence. Based on eight interviews with key informants involved in the establishment of the new joint command, supplemented with published and other written sources, we argue that cost-cutting arguments weighed heavier than strategic rationales during the process leading up to the creation of the Joint Arctic Command. Using strategic culture as our analytical framework allows us to provide an alternative explanation to that usually found in the literature, in which the establishment of JACO is held to be an index of a stronger Arctic focus in Danish foreign and security policy. This analysis prompts further consideration of what we can expect from the Danish Armed Forces in the years to come. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

War has always been the greatest challenge for armed forces and soldiers. The modern warfare, through its forms and new technologies, challenges the training of leaders and military structures at higher levels, able to operate in all conditions and with all forms and super-technological systems encountered in the modern theatre of war. Contemporary dangers, threats and risks force the decision-making structures to identify solutions to combat them, in line with their level of technology and the field in which they propagate. Modern warfare challenges leaders, commanders, and staff officers of planning, command, and control structures to identify ways to maximize the combined effects of manoeuvre and firepower and to synchronize military actions in the tactical field with the characteristics of modern technologies and with the established strategic objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nigeria has confronted several security conundrums in recent years, including armed banditry, which poses a severe threat to the north-west and the entire nation. North-west Nigeria has been hit by an unprecedented wave of kidnappings, maiming, killings, population displacements, cattle rustling, and disruption of socio-economic activities due to the rise of armed bandits in the region. These events have created a climate of uncertainty that has become a cause for concern for the government and the citizenry. Relying on secondary sources of data, this article examines the causes, manifestations, and dimensions of armed banditry in north-west Nigeria, and its security implications. It provides a survey of both the visible and less-visible actors in the conflict. The article argues that armed banditry in the north-west and other parts of Nigeria transcends pastoralist insurgency, as evident in the dominant narratives, considering the multiplicity of complexly connected causal factors, actors, manifestations, and dimensions that are present in the threats posed by this development. The article also shows the negative impacts of armed banditry on human and national security in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Athenaeum: Polskie Studia Politologiczne is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Security Studies Nicolaus Copernicus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Athenaeum: Polskie Studia Politologiczne is the property of Faculty of Political Science & Security Studies Nicolaus Copernicus University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article examines the impact of the National Security Act of 1947 on signals intelligence (SIGINT)'s organization and activities in the early Cold War. Although mostly a blind spot, the study of how the legislation relates to SIGINT serves to underscore the influence that the armed services exerted on the design and operation of the Intelligence Community (IC). SIGINT activities were impeded by the flaws of the legislation, which failed to unify the armed forces and created instead a decentralized national security apparatus. Although SIGINT was eventually centralized within the Department of Defense, it was to remain outside the Central Intelligence Agency's purview, thus turning the nascent IC into a diarchy led by both the director of central intelligence and the secretary of defense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Armed forces constitute the foundation for the defense and security of their societies. They protect against external threats and, when required, provide coercive power. As a corporate body, they play a prominent role in the ordering of the nation's affairs, in the development of national security policy, and in the allocation of national resources. Their role is guided by a single principle: their subordination to democratically elected political leadership. This democratic control ensures they serve the societies they protect. This article identifies the key elements needed to ensure effective democratic control. It examines the role of the executive in the organization and employment of the armed forces and the legislature in providing oversight and accountability. The tensions in defining competence and responsibility where the political and military worlds and perspectives intersect are alleviated in the process of fusion, collision, or reconciliation at all levels, from policy to operations. Democratic control must reflect societal developments as in the influence of information technology or the impressive "genderization" of defense and security. Two decades of transition in Europe have shown that democratic control is a process in which each country adapts the basic principles to its own circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article's main objective was to characterize the assumptions of civil protection in Poland in the context of the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Poland as of 2020. As a result of the study, it was found that in the document of strategic importance, which is the National Security Strategy of the Republic of Poland in force since 2020, a lot of attention was paid to the issue of the security of the state and its citizens -- the entire first pillar, which is also the main national interest of Poland. Within this pillar, particular importance was attached to the management of national security, state resilience and general defence, the Polish Armed Forces, cybersecurity and information space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In regard to public and strategic modern communication, at least in one respect Considering the armed conflicts near the border of our country, more attention should be paid to national security; thus, all public institutions responsible for national security and defence should focus more on the combat training of subordinate personnel. As a NATO member state and through the role that our country has within the Alliance, in order to prove that we are a strong and respected state, we must constantly make efforts to be able to rise to the level of our partners within the Alliance. In this sense it is necessary to make progress regarding the use of the latest information and communication technologies, the modernization of military techniques and equipment, but also regarding the improvement of the level of physical training. In order to improve the fighting ability of the military, it is necessary to increase the level of their physical training, which can be achieved in the shortest possible time based on the methods and means of training used by the modern armed forces and their implementation in the design of physical training programmes from the very beginning of the military career. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Journal of the Military University of Land Forces is the property of Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Cuestiones Políticas is the property of Revista Cuestiones Politicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The rapid collapse of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in August 2021 was widely anticipated and due to its structural constraints and qualitative decline from 2018-21. This article provides a targeted analysis of ANDSF operational liabilities and qualitative limitations, referencing often overlooked statements by US and Afghan political and military officials, data from official US government reports, and prescient NGO field analyses. The painful ANDSF experience illuminates several principles that must be considered as US policymakers turn toward security force assistance for proxy and surrogate military forces in conflict with the partners of America's emerging great-power geostrategic competitors--China and Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essential prerequisite for success in modern warfare is military superiority over the enemy, which is based on the tactical and technological level of the operating groups of the armed forces and the economic sufficiency of its provision. This definition became the basis for the study of the laws of the causal chain of formation of military superiority over the enemy and the economic prerequisites for its provision. The article highlights the dependence of strategic goals, operational actions, tactics, principles of forming a system of military superiority over the enemy; the peculiarities of formation of military expenditures of countries depending on their geopolitical and economic situation are analyzed; the necessary methodological principles for creating economic and social preconditions for the formation of military expenditures sufficient to ensure Ukraine's defense capability have been determined. The study uses the following provisions: of military affairs; of general tactics; combat statutes of the armed forces; normative legal acts of regulation of relations in the spheres of national security; military economy; ensuring the defense capability of countries; scientific methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Journal of the Military University of Land Forces is the property of Gen. Tadeusz Kosciuszko Military Academy of Land Forces and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Militärgeschichtliche Zeitschrift is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As a consequence of Russia's aggressive actions - initially with regard to the annexation of Crimea, and the beginning of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014 - many European Union countries have revised their current security and defence policies. The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, initiated on 24 February 2022, only strengthened this tendency. For Poland, one of NATO's major eastern flank states, the need to improve the management of national security that corresponds to the challenges and threats that lie ahead has become self-evident. The goal of this article is to look at the assumptions of the defence policy of the Republic of Poland, and to evaluate the country's defence potential based on the implemented modernisation schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Public Administration is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Kaplan argued that the Air Force and its operational arm, Strategic Air Command, resisted adapting this strategy to declared nuclear policies as they shifted from the Eisenhower to Kennedy years. Graduate seminars on the early Cold War would appreciate Kaplan's comparative analysis between Eisenhower and Kennedy on policy and strategy. [Extracted from the article]