The Shi Lang,a vehicle for regional change?

In a succession of disclosures over the summer of 2011, the People's Republic of China acknowledged the near completion of its first aircraft carrier and the initiation of a carrier building program. These revelations have come at a time of increased tension in the South China Sea on top of the wider worries in the region concerning China's overly assertive stance and the pace of its military modernization. This perspective will examine why the status of the vessel and the program have now been made public, in addition to surveying the wider implications this upgrade to Chinese maritime capabilities will have on the stability of the region over the coming years. However, this paper concludes that there is, at present, no reason for the sensationalism nor the threat‐mongering seen in many media outlets, of late. Hastily drawn conclusions based primarily on realpolitik fail to understand the nuances of this issue.     

To Protect and Serve: Civilian Policing and the United Nations Mission in Kosovo

Since the end of the Cold War the process of nation building has become a priority in the attempt to maintain world order and security in the wake of the instability and devastation wrought by failed and war-torn states. The proliferation of nation-building missions has led to their diversification and the need to marshal a vast array of resources in order to attain substantial levels of success. This article deals with a new and important component of peacekeeping and nation-building missions, that of civilian policing. The article outlines the goals of using civilian police officers in nation-building missions and discusses a variety of problems (pragmatic, legal, and cultural) that policing may introduce to such missions. This discussion is focused around the civilian policing component of the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. It delineates the successes and hardships so far experienced during the mission in Kosovo and explores the insights that the mission may provide for similar projects in the future.