Swords,sandals, and insurgencies: Ancient history goes to the movies

This article explores the question of why so few insurgencies from the ancient world have ever made it onto the big screen. Many of these stories have been made into documentaries, but have been ignored by Hollywood. Even those events that have been made into Hollywood films, like the uprising of Spartacus, do not show any of the successful uprisings, only the defeats. Among the possible reasons may be Hollywood's fascination with big wars and big battles rather than small wars because they are more cinematic. Another reason is that American movies are reluctant to show successful slave uprisings or insurgencies against great powers. In the end, all movies are about the present, not the past, and thus Western bias will side with the imperial power, not the terrorist.     

Britain and Hiroshima

Most historical accounts of the atomic bombings of Japan show little interest in Britain's explicit authorization for the attacks. Meanwhile, the few historians who have attempted to explain it rely on a unitary, rational actor model of the British state that is misleading. This article demonstrates that high-ranking British officials became anxious early on about the strategic consequences of a peremptory use of the new weapon. Therefore, especially over the course of 1944 they sought to engage Washington on the linked questions of the bomb's wartime use and its postwar control. However, these officials' initiatives were rebuffed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who paved the way to the bombings based on a fervent desire for Anglo-American integration, and on a dim understanding of the bomb's revolutionary potential.     

Supporting allies in counterinsurgency: Britain and the Dhofar Rebellion

From 1964 to 1975 a small group of British officers, advisors, and trainers guided the forces of the Sultanate of Oman to victory in their conflict with the Marxist insurgents of the People's Front for the Liberation of the Occupied Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG). This campaign provides a clear example of how to effectively support an ally's counterinsurgency efforts with a minimal commitment of men and material. In particular, the critical assistance provided by the British consisted of experienced leadership and skilled technical support personnel as well as a viable strategy for victory. However, more important for the ultimate success of the counterinsurgency campaign was the emergence of new progressive leadership with the accession of Sultan Qaboos. The most important lesson from this study is that while security assistance can reinforce positive political efforts, it is not enough on its own to bring about a victory in an unfavourable political environment.     

孔子道德教育思想与当代公民道德建设

孔子重视道德教育,提出了以“仁”为核心的道德教育思想,他把道德教育放在教育的突出位置,在道德教育中注重贯彻因材施教原则,重视道德实践的训练,强调发挥领导者的模范带头作用。当代公民道德建设,应该营造相互关心、团结互助、讲究制度和规范的良好氛围,应该重视公民行为规范的训练和习惯的养成,要构建家庭、学校、社会“三位一体”的道德教育模式。     

我国公民意识的演进

公民意识是构建和谐社会、扩大公民的国家的认同、增强公民主体意识不可或缺的非制度性因素,对于实现国家的繁荣富强和社会的和谐发展具有重要作用。本文通过对中国人公民意识演进的历史进行梳理,发现不同历史阶段有不同的因素影响了公民意识的发展。如:西方民主思想的启蒙,中国民主实践探索,中国民主法治制度的发展、公民教育的推进等对公民意识均有重要影响。由此得到启示:要加快我国公民意识的发展,应增强权利意识,加快制度建设、重视公民教育。     

The long shadow of colonial cartography: Britain and the Sino-Indian war of 1962

ABSTRACT

This article examines British responses to the Sino-Indian border war of 1962. It illustrates how, in the years leading up to the war, Britain’s colonial legacy in the Indian subcontinent saw it drawn reluctantly into a territorial dispute between Asia’s two largest and most powerful nations. It analyses disagreements in Whitehall between the Foreign Office and Commonwealth Relations Office over the relative strength of India and China’s border claims, and assesses how these debates reshaped British regional policy. It argues that the border war was instrumental in transforming Britain’s post-colonial relationship with South Asia. Continuing to filter relations with India through an imperial prism proved unsatisfactory, what followed was a more pragmatic Indo-British association.     

论英国企业预备役

英国成功地实践了企业预备役,一种创新性的预备役建设理念,将预备役部队建设与现代战争的需求和现代社会的工作高效率及市场经济的资源利用结合起来,找到了一个最佳的寓军于民方法。