US warfare in Somalia and the trade-off between casualty-aversion and civilian protection

This article examines the ways in which the two normative concerns of casualty-aversion and civilian protection influenced US military strategy in the particular context of the asymmetric conflict in Somalia in the early 1990s. The article critically evaluates US military operations through the prism of international humanitarian law and examines whether American forces started prioritizing casualty-aversion over the safeguarding of Somali civilians. Finally, by drawing on emerging moral guidelines (such as Michael Walzer's idea of ‘due care’), the article examines whether lower numbers of Somali civilian deaths could have been achieved if marginal increases to the risks faced by US soldiers had been accepted.     

Lost through non-translation: bringing Clausewitz's writings on ‘new wars’ back in

While Carl von Clausewitz has generally been respected as one of the most profound philosophers of war, his expertise has been regarded as somewhat limited if not even irrelevant to the so-called ‘new wars’ of the post-Cold War world. Many scholars in international relations have claimed that ‘new wars’ are essentially ‘post-Clausewitzian’ and ‘post-trinitarian’ in nature, meaning that they are no longer fathomable through a Clausewitzian framework. However Clausewitz's earlier writings were nearly exclusively dedicated to guerrilla warfare, or what he called ‘small wars’. These writings have been largely overlooked by many analysts of contemporary conflicts. By drawing on his rare and untranslated writings, the article uncovers a critical part of Clausewitz's expertise in asymmetric warfare and shows that, far from being irrelevant in an age where interstate warfare is increasingly being replaced by conflicts between states and semi-/non-state actors, Clausewitz's philosophical writings actually shed new light into the particular interactive dynamics generated during wars waged under conditions of asymmetry.     

从孙子兵法角度审视目标中心战的制胜机制

基于体系对抗的战争特点和我军作战实际情况,提出的目标中心战是现代作战思想的一次凝练及升华。它的制胜机制表现为三个层面：通过选择关键作战目标,提升体系对抗效能;通过影响目标系统功能,谋求局部对抗优势;通过融合体系要素,提高整体对抗能力。     

猎击时敏目标的作战机理分析

美军在第二次对伊战争中,以比第一次对伊战争少得多的兵力,更短的准备时间和更少的消耗取得了更大的胜利,对比两次对伊战争中所用的兵器,坦克、主战飞机、战车、轻兵器等主战装备基本还是上次对伊战争的旧兵器,最大的变化是无人机的大量使用,情报系统、战术网络的提升,使战斗能力有极大的提高,这种由系统整合、提升信息化能力、改进指挥控制所产生的作战效能的提升是显著和有效的,代表发展战争潜力的方向。文中以美军对伊战争中主要的作战样式——打击时敏目标为作战想定,建立作战系统猎击时敏目标作战效能模型,对影响作战系统效能的各种因素作定量的分析,揭示作战效能提升的机理。     

紧密着眼战时需要,加强装备物流建设

装备物流的能力和水平,已经成为决定战争进程和结果的关键性制约因素.以武器装备保障为基础构建符合我国国情、具有我军特色的装备物流研究仍处于孕育阶段.从我军装备保障体系的特点出发,根据高技术战争的需要,论证了建设装备物流的必要性和建设基础,对战时装备物流建设要重点关注的问题进行了研究,同时对现阶段加强装备物流建设的做法进行了重点探讨.     

信息化战争中的纳米科技

纳米材料由于其独特的光、电、力、磁效应近年来受到人们广泛的关注,综述了目前国内外纳米科技的研究动态,着重介绍了现有纳米科技在高科技战争中的应用,及其潜在的发展方向．     

关于法律战的若干问题研究

在军事斗争中,我军应准确把握法律战的含义,使军事斗争与法律战有机结合。在信息化战争条件下,法律战正面临着前所未有的挑战。法律战只有与舆论战、心理战相结合,才能发挥出“三战”整体效益。军事优势是法律战获胜的前提和关键。武警部队应结合军事工作的基本特点,努力提高法律战的作战能力。     

Reconciling strategic studies … with itself: a common framework for choosing among strategies

Three distinct, and seemingly irreconcilable, schools of thought are identified within the strategic studies literature. One which searches for “universal principles of war,” a second, “context-dependent,” approach that seeks to embed each instance of warfare within its concurrent social, political, technological milieu and, finally a “paradoxical logic” school, which equates strategy with the generation of uncertainty. The author offers some intuitive concepts from non-cooperative game theory to develop a “dominate-mix” approach to strategy choice. In doing so, he helps to reconcile these disparate approaches and provides a simple framework to assist researchers in framing military decisions as well as to assist planners in choosing among strategies.     

具有坐标耦合和处理时滞的二阶离散多智能体系统的一致性

根据系统的拓扑结构、离散步长和旋转矩阵的旋转角,确定系统的渐近行为,给出多智能体系统达成二阶一致性的充要条件。证明了当0是拉普拉斯矩阵的一个简单特征值且离散步长、旋转角小于由代数方程确定的临界值时,会出现渐近一致性。数值模拟结果证明理论结果的正确性。设计了特征参数影响二阶一致性的相关案例,说明特征参数相关结论可为控制理论的一致收敛分析提供重要判据和理论支撑。     

自主武器的特点及对未来战争影响 ——《无人军队：自主武器与未来战争》述评

以自主武器为代表的人工智能正在掀起一场新的军事革命。保罗·沙瑞尔所著的《无人军队：自主武器与未来战争》一书通过技术概念解释、各路专家访谈与大量战场实例,深入浅出地探讨了自主武器的内涵、特点与影响。本文基于该书内容,结合相关文献、书籍、评论等资料,首先对自主武器与无人军队的内涵、现阶段的运用情况进行简要介绍;其次,通过对自主武器技术内核的分析,简要介绍自主武器在各类战争样式的运用、存在的反为敌方利用的可欺骗性风险和故障发生后产生更严重后果的不稳定性风险;最后从三方面总结自主武器对战争其他方面的影响,即对军队建设模式提出更高要求,对国际战略稳定的双重作用以及对战争法与战争伦理道德的挑战。