Optimal set partitioning,matchings and lagrangian duality

We formulate the set partitioning problem as a matching problem with simple side constraints. As a result we obtain a Lagrangian relaxation of the set partitioning problem in which the primal problem is a matching problem. To solve the Lagrangian dual we must solve a sequence of matching problems each with different edge-weights. We use the cyclic coordinate method to iterate the multipliers, which implies that successive matching problems differ in only two edge-weights. This enables us to use sensitivity analysis to modify one optimal matching to obtain the next one. We give theoretical and empirical comparisons of these dual bounds with the conventional linear programming ones.     

Constraining missile defence†

Assessing missile defence through the prism of offence–defence theory requires primarily an examination of legal and structural constraints on future development. New weapons technology is frequently cited as having the most critical impact on the offence–defence balance. Yet, the method for assessing the introduction of a new weapons technology tends to neglect projected maturity and instead focus excessively on the initial rudimentary capabilities. It is argued here that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO’s) missile defence is set to incrementally become more advanced in terms of quality, quantity and mobility, which is supported by a strategy that is increasingly favouring offence. As the system gradually enhances the offensive advantage vis-à-vis Russia, NATO categorically rejects any legal or structural constraints on future deployments.     

Security,autonomy and defense burdens: The effects of alliance membership in the 19th and 20th centuries

This paper investigates the effect of alliance membership on the defense burdens of major powers in the 19th and 20th centuries. We hypothesize that the reactions of states to alliance membership will be different in the pre‐nuclear and nuclear eras. Possession of nuclear weapons by allies makes the security provided by the alliance more akin to a collective good than is the case in the pre‐nuclear era. States join alliances for two reasons: security and autonomy. The effects of each of these concerns are identified. We include in our model such alliance‐level factors as the power equivalence of the allies and the number of states in the alliance. We also look at state‐level variables such as power position within the alliance. We conclude that the nuclear period generally operates as the free‐rider principle would posit, while models based on “complementarity of effort” are more applicable in the earlier period.     

Individual preferences and the demand for military expenditure*

Whose preferences determine the tradeoff between security and civilian output in deciding upon budget allocations to defence? This paper considers the role that consumer preferences might play in influencing military spending. We propose normative criteria to judge the economic or political efficiency of defence provision at a given time, and test them using Australian survey‐based micro‐data. Our results suggest that the political system has not delivered a simple social‐choice translation of individual preferences into collective outcomes, nor has it delivered results consistent with simple majority‐voting median preferences.     

Book reviews

The Balkanization of the West: The Confluence of Postmodernism and Postcommunism By Stjepan G. Mestrovic, Routledge, London (1994). ISBN: 0-414-08755-4, Price £40.00 hardback, £13.99 paperback.

A Naval History of World War I By Professor Paul G. Halpern, UCL Press, 1994. pp. 624 ISBN 1-85728-295-7. Price £25.00

Arms Watch - SIPRI Report on the First Year of the UN Register of Conventional Arms By Edward J. Laurance, Siemon T. Wezeman and Herbert Wulf, Oxford University Press for SIPRI (1993) ISBN 019-829-1795, Price £25.00 hardback, £16.50 paperback.

A League of Airmen By J. A. Winnefeld, (Ed.), RAND, Santa Monica, ISBN 08330-1503-6, Price $30.00 (Hardcover) $15.00 (Softcover)