The long and winding road … to success? Unit peace operation effectiveness and its effect on mission success

Why does peacekeeping sometimes fail? How can effective peacekeepers increase the likelihood of success of a mission? The two main flaws in the current evaluations of peace operations are that they mainly rely on already concluded missions and that they make use of indicators that do not reveal micro-level dynamics. This article introduces an analytical framework relating the effectiveness of soldiers to their actual impact in their area of operation in a peace operation. The framework is called “unit peace operation effectiveness” (UPOE). Focusing on soldiers in peace operations, this article shows that: different units behave differently; emphasize different aspects of the mandate; and are effective in different ways. Ultimately, this has an actual impact on the end-state of the mission. It relies on and adapts classic security studies works to theoretically enrich the peacekeeping literature. The model is tested in an illustrative case study based on ethnographic work on French and Italian units in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2010.     

The practice and theory of British counterinsurgency: the histories of the atrocities at the Palestinian villages of al-Bassa and Halhul, 1938–1939

This article details two largely unreported atrocities by British forces operating against Arab rebels during the Arab revolt, 1936–9, at the Palestinian villages of al-Bassa and Halhul. It then examines the military-legal system that underpinned and authorised British military forces operating in aid of the civil power, suggesting that the law in place at the time allowed for a level of reprisals and punitive actions, such as happened at al-Bassa and Halhul. The article does not conclude that the law allowed for atrocities but it does argue that it gave a basic form and understanding to an operational method that was brutal and could lead to atrocities. It thus tests the idea in much of the literature on counterinsurgency that the British were restrained and used minimum force when compared to other colonial and neo-colonial powers fighting insurgents.     

Army reconstruction in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2003–2009

Since the peace agreements of 2002–2003 which ended the second war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reconstruction of the army has been an inherently political process, in common with other attempts to carry out security sector reform (SSR). This article briefly sketches out the Congolese army's history, then attempts to fill a gap in the literature on Congolese SSR by detailing what can be found of the actual structure and shape of the present army. The efforts that have been made to reform the army are then examined, followed by a conclusion which examines the major issues and possible ways forward.     

Why did Sudan Lose a small war in Southern Sudan?

ABSTRACT

When on the wrong end of an asymmetry in the projection of hard power, weaker sides countenance the grim arithmetic of avoiding direct and massed confrontations. Invariably, insurgents have over the ages tended to employ indirect tactical methods to render their stronger opponents ineffective. Ultimately – interest asymmetry, regime type, asymmetries of strategy, and external intervention – combine in a complex interplay and pattern, to militate against a strong side. In Sudan, these factors interacted throughout the civil wars to produce regional autonomy and finally an independent South Sudan in 2011. Similar strategic logic had confronted many large African states battling insurgencies in Ethiopia, Angola, Nigeria, Zaire, and apartheid-era South Africa. Oftentimes, weakening public resolve has caused these governments to accommodate, capitulate or withdraw even if they try not to blink. Notwithstanding the regime type, it can be concluded that the majority of strong actors are prone to fail in a protracted, asymmetric conflict. Hence, the notion of linking victory in counterinsurgency to the degree of openness (democratic polyarchies); or closeness (totalitarianism) – is still valid but highly contestable in the case of Africa’s large dysfunctional states.     

基于公开信息源的我国海防研究文献计量分析

采用文献计量学统计分析方法,以CNK《中国学术文献网络出版总库》为主要数据源,检索我国海防相关文献,从海防研究文献增长、文献来源、作者及机构情况、关键词词频以及学科类别与研究层次等方面进行计量分析,揭示不同历史时期海防问题的社会关注度,分析海防研究的现状、热点及趋势。     

普通高校网络工程专业实验室的设计与建设刍议

本文主要针对那些定位于培养工程应用型网络专业人才的普通高校,分析了其对于计算机网络、网络工程与网络技术应用方面的专业实验室的建设需求,并基于此提出了此类实验室的一种设计方案,同时进一步探讨了此类实验室在建设后期与管理方面应当把握的主要问题。本文提出的建设方案和思路,具有一次性投入不高、可扩展性强、易于实施、灵活适应性好、可支持远程开放式实验等优点,因此不失为一种可行的选择。     

做实“精品工程”，打造“精品学校”

学校工作是由一个个细节组成的,切实做好每一个细节,是提高办学质量的关键。多年来,小白杨中学在“精”字上做文章,在“细”字上下功夫,优化过程,彰显内涵。“精品工程”的建设,有力的促进了学校各项工作的蓬勃发展。短短几年间,学校迅速从上百所学校中脱颖而出,独树一帜。     

大班幼儿建构游戏中同伴互动行为分析

采用非参与式观察法对36名大班幼儿建构游戏中的同伴互动行为进行观察,将收集到的344起同伴互动事件进行分析,从互动性别、互动主题、互动方式和互动情绪四个方面探讨大班幼儿在建构游戏中同伴互动行为的特征。并提出如下建议:教师应摒弃性别角色的刻板印象,鼓励女孩大胆体验建构游戏;教师应承认两性差异,给予男孩更多的耐心;幼儿园应定期评估材料的充分性与适宜性,投放充足且丰富的建构材料;教师应鼓励幼儿多进行分享、赞扬的友好互动。     

南宋四川山地滨江防卫型城池营建研究——以重庆多功城为例

南宋抗蒙斗争时期,四川军民凭借严密的山地滨江网状防御体系成功地抵御了蒙军长达数十年的进攻。为分析、总结这一体系中山地滨江防卫型城池的营建特征,以其中一个重要城池——重庆多功城为代表,从历史沿革、选址、地形地貌、平面布局、周边道路、环境和主要建筑特征等方面进行分析,并结合相关史书资料和其他城池研究成果,总结出南宋四川山地滨江防卫型城池的营建特征:选址依山临水,择险而立;防御设施完善坚固;后勤保障得力。     

基于FLAC^3D的岩土边坡施工效应研究

采用FLAC3D对预应力锚索框架梁支护的岩土边坡施工过程进行数值模拟,围绕施工中坡体位移场与应力场的变化以及下级边坡施工对上部已完成的支挡结构受力影响进行研究.结果表明坡体开挖引起的松弛区呈圆弧状,且位移由临空面向坡体内逐渐减小,坡体弹性模量与其变形呈非线性递减关系;预应力锚索框架梁能有效抑制坡体变形,从坡顶到坡脚锚索轴力依次增大,故工程设计中宜对其分别设计,做到“强腰固脚”;下级边坡与上级边坡的支挡结构相互约束,共同承担滑坡推力,形成一种“联合支挡结构”.