Country survey: military expenditure and defence policy in Norway 1970–2013

This article examines military expenditure and defence policy in Norway from 1970 to 2013. Until 1990 Norwegian military expenditure remained between 2.5 and 3.0 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Despite constant GDP shares, the military expenditure could not sustain a large and properly armed mobilization army. The constant nominal defence budgets of the 1990s accentuated the Norwegian Armed Forces' underlying imbalance between tasks, structure and budget. Around year 2000, large organizational reforms were effectuated, in which costs, the number of man-years, and underlying imbalances between tasks, structure and budget were reduced. Military expenditure increased in nominal terms between 2003 and 2013, while real military expenditure remained practically constant.     

Resource rents,institutions, and violent civil conflicts

Natural resources have been blamed for inducing slow growth and sparking civil conflicts and violence. This paper first develops a model to account for the hazard of armed civil conflicts as a manifestation of the natural resource curse, which is mediated by the quality of both economic and political institutions. We then use recently published data on institutional quality and natural resource rents to measure the potential impact of the resource curse on violent civil conflicts using a panel of data for over 100 countries in the period 1970–2010. Our model explicitly accounts for the role of good economic and political institutions in deterring the recourse to violence as well as the extent to which they might weaken the resource rents effect.     

Resource Dependence and Armed Violence: Impact on Sustainability in Developing Countries

The dependence on oil, gas, and mineral exports arguably has a negative impact on economic growth in resource-rich, developing countries. This article looks at the impact of resource dependence on adjusted net savings (ANS) as an indicator of weak sustainability. Our results, based on a panel of 104 developing countries during the recent commodity price boom, confirm a negative relationship between resource extraction and sustainable development as measured by ANS. We further look at the specific role of armed conflict and armed violence as captured by the homicide rate. Armed conflict, which is positively associated with resource dependence, negatively affects ANS per capita according to both our OLS and instrumental variables (IV) estimates. Similarly, armed violence has a detrimental effect on sustainable development. Our IV estimate suggests that a one-point increase in the homicide rate decreases ANS per capita by $60. Since education expenditures are a critical ANS component, we further examine the impact of resource dependence and violence on human capital. Consistent with previous findings, resource-dependent countries underinvest in education but armed conflict and violence do not affect the instantaneous share of education expenditures, hinting at a detrimental effect working through physical and social capital rather than education.     

新疆公安边防维稳预警情报收集中的问题与对策

新疆维稳形势严峻,预警是维护社会稳定的重要途径。情报收集是成功预警的前提和基础。当前的新疆维稳预警情报收集工作还存在收集主体素质不高,群众优势未能充分发挥,缺乏有效交流与合作等问题。为此。必须加强情报队伍建设,构筑人民防线,完善协作机制,加强情报交流,以改进情报收集工作。     

“慕课”对边防部队职业教育的启示

阐述“慕课”的内涵价值与优势特征,分析新时期边防部队职业教育的需求,提出边防部队职业教育应积极引入“慕课”教学理念,加强顶层设计,科学规划职业教育,加强制度建设,正确把握发展方向.     

军事院校强化训练阶段学员训练损伤的分析与预防

军事院校强化训练期间学员承受着大强度的训练任务,从生理机能角度来说,伤病难以避免,严重的损伤会造成训练的滞后,对学员的身心造成一定的负面影响.研究这一阶段训练损伤发生的机理、特点以及预防措施,成为近年来军事院校军事训练探索的一个重点.通过归纳分析强化训练阶段学员常见损伤的原因、类型,提出了有效的预防措施,以期达到减少学员训练损伤的目的。     

信息化条件下武警院校电工电子实践教学改革探析

高素质人才是部队信息化建设的关键。围绕如何面对信息化条件下提高学员创新能力、培养高素质人才问题,对武警院校电工电子实践教学改革,提出一些有效的做法和措施。     

深刻领会习主席“三个绝对”指示精神努力培养能打胜仗合格人才

确保军队绝对忠诚、绝对纯洁、绝对可靠,是习主席为推进我军革命化正规化现代化建设提出的新的标准和要求。“三个绝对”深刻揭示了铸牢强军之魂的本质内涵,体现了人民军队的本质特征。武警院校作为培养现代警官的摇篮,要切实深化思想认识,强化确保“三个绝对”的责任感使命感;要着力打牢学员举旗铸魂的理论根基,夯实听党指挥的思想基础,锤炼忠诚卫士的政治品格,培养造就“一懂五会”忠诚可靠、素质全面的合格人才。     

围绕“能打胜仗”目标加强武警院校学科建设

学科在武警部队的军事理论创新、信息化进程、武器装备发展和人才培养中具有重要作用。目前,武警院校学科发展现状与建设现代化武警需求还有较大差距。因此,要理清建设思路,打牢发展基础,注重建设实效,提高学科建设水平,为实现“能打胜仗”目标提供有力支撑。     

对新形势下新疆高校跨越式发展的思考

党的十八届三中全会指出要深化教育领域综合改革,健全促进就业创业体制机制:提出"三个进一步解放",即进一步解放思想、进一步解放和发展生产力、进一步解放和增强社会活力。这一新形势下,为确保社会和谐稳定、推进区域发展和教育公平,实现新疆高校跨越式发展显得尤为重要。本文对此形势下实现这一目标进行探讨。