Merely ‘Docile Self-Deception’? German Experiences with Nuclear Consultation in NATO

ABSTRACT

Recent nuclear-weapons-related consultation in NATO within the framework of the Defence and Deterrence Posture Review sheds light on historical experiences with nuclear consultation in NATO. In the early years of the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG), which became the main forum for multilateral nuclear consultation in the alliance, developing a nuclear weapons first use doctrine was of particular importance. This process led to the adoption of the Provisional Political Guidelines (PPGs) on the threat to initiate the use of nuclear weapons. With a focus on West Germany as the primary addressee of the NPG, it will be postulated that nuclear consultation functioned and may still be seen as an essential tool to manage the credibility of US extended nuclear deterrence in the framework of NATO.     

What is the global landpower network and what value might it provide?

US national security guidance, as well as the US Army’s operational experiences since 2001, emphasizes the importance of working closely with partner countries to achieve US strategic objectives. The US Army has introduced the global landpower network (GLN) concept as a means to integrate, sustain and advance the Army’s considerable ongoing efforts to meet US national security guidance. This study develops the GLN concept further, and addresses three questions. What benefits can the GLN provide the Army? What are the essential components of the GLN? What options exist for implementing the GLN concept? By developing the GLN concept, the Army has the opportunity to transition the GLN from an often ad hoc and reactive set of relationships to one that the Army more self-consciously prioritizes and leverages as a resource to meet US strategic objectives.     

基于CPSO算法的海空跨域无人航行器集群协同作业路径规划

针对海空跨域无人航行器集群在复杂水域环境下协同作业以追踪水下目标的任务,提出一种基于协同粒子群(CPSO)的协同作业路径规划算法.考虑不同无人航行器集群特性优势,合理分解并分配远距离追踪水下目标任务过程,并利用CPSO算法进行路径规划.在CPSO算法中,首先为无人机(UAVs)集群规划飞行路径,UAV飞行过程中探测水面...     

基于Legendre伪谱法的UGV避障路径规划

针对传统优化方法不易解决含有复杂动力学约束的路径规划问题,提出利用勒让德伪谱法(Legendre Pseudospectral Method,LPM)对地面无人驾驶器(unmanned ground vehicle,UGV)的避障路径规划进行研究。通过建立UGV的动力学模型和障碍物模型,整合了基于LPM的路径约束条件。最后应用以LPM为基础开发的MATLAB插件包DIDO,计算得出了优化路径。仿真实验中以UGV移动路径规划为例,设计实现了UGV的避障规划。仿真结果表明此方法具有较快的计算速度和准确性。     

基于遗传算法的无人机航迹规划代价函数

针对当前使用的无人机航迹规划代价函数的不足之处,提出一种利用遗传算法对无人机航迹规划代价函数进行优化的方法。对基本遗传算法进行了局部改进,设计了航迹极坐标编码方式及航迹适应度函数,在采用基本遗传操作算子的基础上采取精英保存策略,提高了算法的效率;采用代价归一化并进行优化的思想,得到优化之后的代价函数权重值。优化结果表明,该方法可以获得代价更低的航迹。     

National security,military spending and the business cycle

This paper develops a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model where national security is an argument in the agent’s utility function and the government chooses optimally the level of military spending to maximize social welfare. National defense depends on military expenditure and on the strategic environment reflecting a potential hostile external threat. We use aggregate data on consumption, investment, and military spending for the US economy to estimate the parameters of the model. Estimation results suggest that consumption and national defense are complements and that military spending variability is mainly explained by external threat shocks although it also depends on the macroeconomic conditions. We compute impulse response functions of the main macroeconomic variables to several shocks: a total factor productivity shock, a defense technology shock, and a strategic environment shock. Surprisingly, we find that the optimal response to an increase in the external threat (a worsening in the strategic environment) will rise output by reducing consumption and increasing investment.     

美国国家导弹防御(NMD)系统

1 999年 3月 ,美国国会参众两院通过了国家导弹防御系统的法案 ,该法案规定 ,一旦该系统研制成功 ,美国应立即予以部署 ,从而引起国际社会和舆论的广泛关注。简要介绍了美国弹道导弹防御计划的演变 ,国家导弹防御系统的组成、性能特点和基本配置以及拦截试验的基本情况。     

从抗日民族统一战线的建立看中国共产党的中流砥柱作用

抗日战争是中华民族进行的一次伟大的民族解放战争。在这场为人类文明而战、为中华民族生存而战的残酷较量中,中国共产党及其领导的人民武装逐步成长为抗日民族统一战线的核心力量,成为中华民族团结抗战中坚不可摧的中流砥柱。     

INTEGRATING NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE MANAGEMENT AND NUCLEAR ARMS CONTROL OBJECTIVES TO ENABLE SIGNIFICANT STOCKPILE REDUCTIONS

In his 2009 Prague speech and the 2010 Nuclear Posture Review, President Barack Obama committed the United States to take concrete steps toward nuclear disarmament while maintaining a safe, secure, and effective nuclear deterrent. There is an inherent tension between these two goals that is best addressed through improved integration of nuclear weapons objectives with nuclear arms control objectives. This article reviews historical examples of the interaction between the two sets of objectives, develops a framework for analyzing opportunities for future integration, and suggests specific ideas that could benefit the nuclear weapons enterprise as it undergoes transformation and that could make the future enterprise compatible with a variety of arms control futures.     

Modelling the demand for national security expenditure: a note

In the past, national security for the majority of countries was almost exclusively associated with an external military threat emanating from a rival state(s). This was reflected in the standard models for the demand for military expenditure. The emergence of new security challenges such as terrorism, transnational crime networks, failed and rogue states, has profoundly affected the international security environment and the concept of national security. This note develops a model for the demand for national security expenditure adopting a broader, more inclusive definition of national security and includes concomitant budgetary outlets to meet the new security challenges.