In spite of reform: NATO HQ still in the grips of nations

Security Intergovernmental Organizations, here illustrated by NATO, persist in a “permitted interval” of internationalization, i.e. permitted by its member-states. On the one hand, they are seldom or never permitted to vanish due to member-states' vested interests in retaining them as tools of statecraft, even if their original purposes have become redundant. On the other hand, there is an internationalization ceiling that they must respect: they should not become too autonomous and thereby no longer be suitable as member-state tools. In spite of post-Cold War reform, interviews carried out at NATO Headquarters (HQ) in the late 1980s compared to interviews in 2012 display that a continuous pulling and hauling of forces of internationalization and renationalization have taken place around NATO HQ. The only instance of clear internationalization can be observed in the proactive diplomacy of Secretary General Fogh Rasmussen. There is stiff opposition to the internationalization of abolishing the Military Committee/International Military Staff among minor and South European states, and there is no waning in states' attempts to micro-manage the International Staff. Only external shocks can overcome resistance to internationalizing reform.     

Civil society and peacebuilding during Zimbabwe's government of national unity, 2009–2013

This paper employs functionalist, transformative and peacebuilding approaches to explore the role played by civil society in peacebuilding during Zimbabwe's coalition government (2009–2013), under the Church and Civil Society Forum (CCSF). Through the functions of democratisation, socialisation and the rebuilding of communities, the various bottom-up peacebuilding initiatives under the CCSF framework rebuilt broken relationships, provided spaces of encounter between victims and perpetrators, and bridged the paradoxical values of mercy, justice, truth and peace in a context of deep political polarisation. Although the various peacebuilding activities were scattered and sporadic, they do provide a basis for nationwide replication under a ZANU-PF dominated government. The new 2013 constitution provides institutional opportunities for the formulation of a broader national framework for peacebuilding that synergises these efforts by civil society and a politically willing state.     

Born violent: Armed political parties and non-state governance in Lebanon's civil war

We know little of the internal governing practices of non-state actors once in control of territory. Some territories have witnessed the establishment of new institutions of public goods remarkably similar to state institutions. This article compares four armed political parties governing territory during the Lebanese civil war. These non-state violent actors established complex political and economic institutions and administrative structures. Despite the wide range of ideologies and identities of these actors, they all converged in their institutional priorities, although not in their capacities or the particular ways of achieving those priorities. Data from interviews and the actions of the armed political parties suggest a combination of ideology and desire for control is causal in generating public institutions, partly attributable to the high degree of citizen activism marking the Lebanese case.     

民用飞机运行可靠性研究进展

结合民用飞机运行可靠性研究的技术现状与发展趋势,根据现有的型号设计、研制和在役飞机的具体情况,阐述了民用飞机运行可靠性研究需求。通过梳理民用飞机运行可靠性理论研究进展及工程应用现状,从运行数据采集与处理、运行可靠性分析方法、运行可靠性预测反馈技术、运行可靠性的优化设计、优化维修任务、运行可靠性综合管理平台六个方面,详细阐述民用飞机运行可靠性研究现状及面临问题,展望了民用飞机运行可靠性研究未来发展方向。     

法律漏洞及其补充——由手机短信侵权民事责任引发的深层思考

目前,利用手机短信交往成为时尚。它虽然便利、快捷、廉价,但由此造成的侵权事件却越来越多,严重地损害了人们的人身和财产安全。可现行法律对之无明确、具体、直接的规定,以至于难以很好地维护手机用户的利益。本文结合法律漏洞及其补充,从立法的必要性、可行性、立法技术上的可能性论述对手机短信侵权进行民事立法,以保护手机用户合法权益的合理性和科学性。同时也表明采用立法的形式弥补法律漏洞的观点,以求教于学界同仁。     

The Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001): ‘War-Making and State-Making’ as an Insurgency Strategy

This paper examines the institutional and functional aspects of the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA). The Taliban’s coercive approach and its entire reliance on “war-making” to “state-making” shows the difficulty of the transformation of an insurgent group into a state structure. The Taliban was primarily capable of establishing a two-track system of governance. However, the assessment of the IEA’s institutional and functional capabilities shows that the military–political organization formed by the Taliban lacked statehood in all three areas of legitimacy, authority and capacity.     

Turning the tides of war: The impact of private military and security companies on Nigeria’s counterinsurgency against Boko Haram

Since the 2003 war in Iraq, private military and security companies (PMSCs) have become increasingly legitimate actors in modern conflicts. Despite this normative shift, rumours in March 2015 regarding the use of South African mercenaries in Nigeria to combat Boko Haram insurgents caused an international outrage, while the Nigerian government remained nonchalantly silent on the matter. This article investigates the impact of mercenaries on the conflict in the last six months of the Jonathan government. Using primary and secondary qualitative research, it assesses the role that PMSCs played in Nigeria’s counterinsurgency strategy, along with the ensuing reaction of international and local media to the outsourcing of violence to foreign companies. The article concludes that – notwithstanding the improved image of PMSCs in the world, and the actual impact of the contractors on the Nigerian counterinsurgency effort – the stigma of mercenaries continues to plague the industry, particularly on the African continent.     

建立军民融合创新体系的重大意义

加快形成军民融合创新体系,是习主席在十二届全国人大五次会议解放军代表团全体会议上提出的重大战略思想。建立军民融合创新体系,是顺应军民科技发展新形势的必然抉择,是夯实科技兴军物质基础的内在要求、提升国家创新能力的重大举措、推动创新文化形成的有效途径,也是推进供给侧结构性改革的现实需求。加快形成军民融合创新体系,反映了现代战斗力和生产力生成的规律,体现了统筹国家安全和发展全局的内在要求,为深入实施军民融合发展战略、开创强军兴国新局面指明了方向,具有重大意义。