A rent‐seeking model of international competition and alliances∗

This paper presents an alternative approach for analyzing international competition and alliances as rent‐seeking contests that are able to capture the impure public good nature of defense spending. Two‐country Cournot and Stackelberg games are considered and comparative static results derived. A three‐country model is investigated, and alliance behavior is explored in the context of this rent‐seeking model. The conjecture that an alliance may become less effective if the allies’ interests become more closely aligned is verified. Finally, the model is generalized, and a Nash‐Cournot equilibrium is computed.     

ADVANCED US CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

The Obama administration has made a great effort to increase the role of advanced conventional weaponry in US national security thinking and practice, in part to help reinvigorate the global nuclear disarmament agenda by reducing the role played by nuclear weapons in the US defense posture. However, such a strategy is fundamentally flawed because increases in US conventional superiority will exacerbate US relative strength vis-à-vis other powers, and therefore make the prospect of a nuclear weapon-free world seem less attractive to Washington's current and potential nuclear rivals. Consequently, it is highly likely that the impact of efforts to increase US advanced conventional superiority through ballistic missile defense and a conventional “prompt global strike” program will ensure that the Obama administration is adopting a pathway to nuclear abolition on which it is the sole traveler for the foreseeable future.     

STRENGTHENING THE SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

On Nuclear Terrorism, by Michael Levi. Harvard University Press, 2007. 210 pages, $24.95.     

The politics of defense revival in Argentina

In marked contrast with previous decades, defense issues in Argentina have started to receive increasing political attention over the last few years. The main goal of this article is to account for this new found interest in defense policy. The article contends that this revival could be accounted for by both the implementation of a neo-developmentalist strategy and a type of control that emphasizes civilian oversight over the armed forces. Both factors have promoted the implementation of policies that favored an increase in the military budget, the reconstruction of the defense industry and the establishment of a new military doctrine. This article evaluates the impact of factors that have not been previously considered by the literature on defense attention in South America.     

Russian military reform: institutional,political and security implications

This critical comment examines the incentives, major priorities, difficulties and first results of the Russian military reform that is being implemented since 2008. The authors conclude that despite numerous drawbacks and barriers to the reformist efforts certain successes can be identified. Particularly, there is a clear shift from the old-fashioned, Soviet-type army to a more compact, mobile, better equipped and combat-ready armed forces that are capable to cope with today's challenges to Russian national security.     

小型侦察无人机任务能力及拒止距离分析

随着无人机技术的快速发展,无人机已在民用、军事领域得到广泛应用.尤其是具有"低慢小"特征的小型无人机,使用方便灵活,成本相对低廉,可用于执行侦察监视、自杀袭击等任务,对日常防空安全、重要目标防护构成严重威胁.分析研究了小型无人机主要威胁样式,重点分析了小型侦察无人机载荷任务能力,提出对该类目标拒止距离需求,可为相关拦截...     

便携式防空导弹制导控制系统仿真可信性研究

概述了防空导弹系统仿真可信性评估流程,以便携式防空导弹制导控制系统数字仿真为例,对多个仿真要素进行了可信性评估,在此基础上对仿真模型进行了确认,研究探索导弹系统仿真可信性评估方法．     

Minimum deterrence and missile defenses: what's new,what's true,what's arguable

Minimum deterrence is a compromise, or halfway house, between nuclear abolition or nearly zero and assured destruction, the dominant paradigm for strategic nuclear arms control during and after the cold war. Minimum deterrence as applied to the current relationship between the United States and Russia would require downsizing the numbers of operationally deployed long-range nuclear weapons to 1000, or fewer, on each side. More drastic bilateral Russian–American reductions would require the cooperation of other nuclear weapons states in making proportional reductions in their own arsenals. In addition, US plans for European-based and global missile defenses cause considerable angst in Russia and threaten to derail the Obama “reset” in Russian–American relations, despite the uncertainties about current and plausible future performances of missile defense technologies.     

浅析武警部队职务防卫权

武警部队作为国家武装力量的重要组成部分,职务防卫权有其特殊的性质。从阐述职务防卫与一般正当防卫的区别着手,针对武警行使职务防卫权的客观需求进行分析,并结合当前武警部队行使职务防卫权的现状,对下一步的立法完善提出建议。     

网络化防空作战C~2结构模型抗毁性

从网络动力学特征的角度,研究网络化防空作战C2结构模型抗毁性问题,针对以往的抗毁性测度指数不适用于C2网络抗毁性研究的现状,考虑C2网络信息融合的时延及战场感知覆盖率等因素,提出的抗毁性测度指标:最大连通片尺寸与网络规模比,最大连通片平均最短路径长度L,网络化效能系数。在指标的基础上对C2网络模型的抗毁性进行研究,并分析不同的空袭策略对防空作战C2网络抗毁性的影响。