NUCLEAR WEAPONS AS THE CURRENCY OF POWER

There are important similarities between the pattern of behavior Karl Marx identified with respect to commodities—a pattern he called “fetishism”—and the pattern of behavior identified in this article with respect to military force. Marx identified money as the mature expression of commodity fetishism; the author identifies nuclear weapons as the mature expression of the fetishism of force. As such, nuclear weapons function as the currency of power in the international system. This article lays out a theory of nuclear fetishism by adapting four themes that are characteristic of the pattern of behavior known as fetishism: materiality, historicality, efficacy, and reification. By applying these categories to the fetishism of nuclear weapons, the author shows that nuclear weapons represent a new social form consistent with, yet distinct from, other fetish objects.     

SAVING THE NPT

For more than forty years, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has provided major security benefits to the international community; however, the treaty is suffering from internal and external pressures, and benign neglect on the part of its members is undermining its authority. To ensure the treaty's continued viability, it is time for member states to start showing the NPT the respect it deserves and to renew their commitments to its fundamental purposes. Achieving this requires remedial action in at least four areas of vulnerability: reinvigorating nuclear disarmament; strengthening nonproliferation; overcoming the NPT's institutional deficit; and fostering a rapprochement between NPT and non-NPT states that does not abandon the goal of treaty universalization. There is still time before the 2010 NPT Review Conference for concerted action to restore the NPT's vitality and for the United States to resume its leadership role on behalf of the treaty and its membership.     

THE EXERCISE OF NATIONAL SOVEREIGNTY

Skeptics of the Bush administration have castigated its strong aversion to formal international agreements in responding to the threat of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), citing unilateral actions as the default alternative. Yet this critique misses the growing emergence of a conscious framework guiding the administration's actions: an emphasis on the exercise of national sovereignty and the corollary principle of sovereign responsibility. Rejecting the paradigm of arms control as the answer to WMD proliferation, the current administration instead advocates a toolkit of alternative mechanisms based on the full exercise by individual nation, states of their domestic authorities and rights under international law, acting in their capacities as responsible citizens of the global community. This paper will examine that philosophical approach and its concrete application through the following policies: (1) the Proliferation Security Initiative; (2) enforcement of national laws and regulations as exemplified by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 and the U.S. proposals for consideration by Biological Weapons Convention signatories; and (3) preemptive warfare to disarm the WMD programs of a threatening state.     

Reforming the notion of national sovereignty by external intervention

In principle, national sovereignty is the right of a nation to govern its internal affairs without foreign interference. In practice, it is defined by one's interpretation of international law, which may permit legal external intervention under some circumstances, ultimately removing a nation's sovereignty. This paper will examine the current system of international law outlined by the United Nations, analyse the ambiguities contained within its Charter and elaborate on how external intervention can be justified. The case-study of recent developments related to Libya will demonstrate that the manner in which international law is interpreted is changing the notion of principles of sovereignty.     

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.     

A Rejoinder to Peter M. Sales

This analytical article asks the question: to what degree did the media contribute to the Rwandan genocide and what might have been done about it? In examining the historical development of mass media in Rwanda, this paper argues that while hate media clearly contributed to the dynamics that led to genocide, its role should not be overstated. While it is commonly believed that hate media was a major cause of the genocide, instead it was a part of a larger social process. The use of violent discourse was at least as important as, for example, the availability of weapons in carrying out the genocide. Put another way, violent discourse was necessary but not sufficient by itself to cause the genocide of 1994. In arguing this thesis, Rwandan history is examined to demonstrate the processes of communication in the formation of destructive attitudes and behaviour. Next, analysis of the methods and content of propaganda campaigns is discussed. Finally, an overview of the requirements and organizations for third parties to conduct international communication interventions is presented in the last section.     

超高速碰撞形成一次碎片云特性

对超高速碰撞数值模拟方法进行了讨论.采用ANSYS/AUTODYN程序的SPH方法,对球形弹丸超高速撞击时弹丸的破碎、碎片云的形成及扩展过程进行数值模拟,其结果与实验结果进行比较,并验证了计算方法和模型参数的正确性.在此基础上采用数值模拟方法,对钨合金、轧制均质装甲及LY12铝三种材料的球形弹丸超高速撞击靶板之后形成的一次碎片云形貌及演化规律进行了研究,并基于量纲分析方法得出了碎片云特征参数(碎片云头部速度、径向最大膨胀速度及膨胀角)随初始撞击条件的变化规律。     

基于变结构方法的空空导弹鲁棒逆控制律设计

为克服动态逆控制严重依赖被控对象精确数学模型且鲁棒性较差的缺点,将动态逆与变结构方法相结合采用双环结构设计了空空导弹鲁棒动态逆控制律.将导弹飞行状态划分成快慢2个回路,慢回路(外环)采用变结构控制,并设计扩张状态观测器,对外环中的不确定性进行估计;快回路(内环)采用动态逆控制.仿真结果表明,所设计的控制律具有较好的动态特性和鲁棒性能.     

中制导虚拟目标的定位参数研究

基于虚拟目标的优化导引中制导拦截弹道轨迹及其能耗与虚拟目标的位置紧密相关,决定该位置的参数包括中末制导交班距离和视场基准角等.首先研究了弹道特性随定位参数的变化规律并提出通过滚转实现视场基准角的负取值,在此基础上得出满足多约束条件的虚拟目标定位参数的设置方法.利用该方法所产生的虚拟目标与相应的优化导引律结合,可以很好地满足中制导的要求.     

论我军国际形象传播的阻隔与认同

推进国际传播能力建设,创新对外宣传方式,加强话语体系建设,着力打造融通中外的新概念新范畴新表述,讲好中国故事,建构和传播中国军队形象的过程中,对外传播先进文化、先进的军事文化,传播好中国声音,以增强在国际上的话语权。文章研究建构和传播中国军队形象的过程中,如何提升中国军队的国际形象,加强对外传播的有效性,用世界听得懂的语言、使用新媒体传播国家军队的先进文化。