Effective? Locally owned? Beyond the technocratic perspective on the European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories

ABSTRACT

The European Union Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS) was established in 2006 to contribute to the establishment of effective policing in support of an independent and democratic Palestinian state. EUPOL COPPS is often commended for its contribution to the professionalization of the Palestinian security sector under local ownership. Drawing on 40 interviews, we argue that the mission can be considered effective and locally owned only from a narrow technocratic perspective, which denies the political reality of continued occupation and absence of democracy. A broader analysis, which includes the voices of ordinary Palestinians, reveals that EUPOL COPPS contributed to the professionalization of authoritarian policing under continued Israeli occupation. Our findings show the limits of technocratic approaches to peacebuilding interventions and call for a stronger engagement with the ultimate beneficiaries of peacebuilding missions.     

Herdsmen militancy and humanitarian crisis in Nigeria: A theoretical briefing

This article explores the phenomenon of herdsmen militancy as a new trajectory for the farmer–herder crisis in Nigeria, with reference to its humanitarian implications. Relying on a systematic analysis of secondary data and aligning with the analytical anchorage of liberal political ecology theory, the article posits that herdsmen militancy depicts a contradiction in agrarian relations in the context of a national security crisis which has been complicated by salient socio-ecological factors such as climate change, armed violence, and identity politics. In view of the dire humanitarian consequences of this situation, the article submits that herdsmen militancy constitutes a major threat to human and national security in Nigeria. It makes a case for a pragmatic policy capable of mitigating the myriad socio-ecological factors that tend to trigger herdsmen militancy, with prohibition on open grazing in critical hotbeds of herder–farmer conflict as a strategic measure.     

Regional responses to security and development challenges in East and Southern Africa: lessons and way forward

Since the mid-twentieth century, the East and Southern African regions have been mired in complex and overlapping security and development challenges, including ethnopolitical conflicts, terrorist insurgencies, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons (SALWs), and overwhelming economic crisis. These challenges have had implications for human security, socio-economic development, territorial authority, sovereignty and the stability and legitimacy of political regimes in the affected states. The adequacy and relevance of the regional responses to these challenges is the subject of ongoing debate, to which this paper now adds. Among other factors, this paper identifies competition for regional dominance and institutional inadequacies as accounting for the inability of regional governance bodies to respond adequately to the challenges they face. Consequently, it recommends the expansion of the mandate of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) beyond regional economic integration to include peacebuilding and a deepening of the institutional efforts focused on security cooperation and conflict management.     

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.     

美英海军舰船远海维修保障体系特点

我国海军执行远海护航与南海领海巡航任务已成常态化,同时随着"一带一路"国家战略的稳步实施,海军舰船必将走得更远,为经济建设与世界和平、地区稳定保驾护航。为了科学地构建我国远海舰船维修保障体系,本文分析总结美英国家海军舰船远海维修保障体系基本模式、特点及利弊,并在合理界定远海及远海维修保障概念的基础上,提出构建我国海军舰船远海维修保障体系的基本策略。     

基于区块链的地学大数据管理

随着地理观测技术、计算机网络和地理信息系统、社会调查统计的迅速发展,具有空间位置的自然环境数据正在急剧增长,上升到大数据级别。而传统的数据库已经无法满足现有地学大数据的规模和增长速度。在资源访问方面,人们更加担心数据安全与隐私保护问题。由于数据交易的双方和交易中介都是互不信任的,这显然不利于数据的共享与流通,将阻碍地学大数据产业的发展。常用地学数据管理系统主要由单一机构进行维护管理,在多方用户参与的情形下,由于无法信任数据库中的数据,每一方用户都需要一个专用数据库,这样不同数据库之间数据的差异将产生繁琐的争议。区块链的到来却给这一问题的解决带来了希望,区块链技术实现了不完全可信网络环境中的可信数据管理,具有去中心化、防篡改、不可抵赖、完整性等特性,从而为解决目前依靠中心或第三方机构存在的高成本低效率和信息安全问题提供了切实的方法。本文从区块链的共识机制、智能合约、身份验证、数据溯源等方面进行阐述,并重点分析区块链如何解决流通和共享数据的问题,让地学大数据真正得以广泛应用。     

论以突出实战能力为核心的公安院校实践教学体系建设

构建以突出实战能力为核心的公安院校实践教学体系,培养符合公安实战需要的合格人才,对推进我国公安教育事业的发展和公安实战队伍建设具有重要意义。我院在长期的办学实践中,逐步摸索形成了充分体现公安特色,以突出公安实战能力为核心,以“四大模块为与六性融合”为主要内容的实践教学体系。该体系的深入推广和完善,推动了我院实践教学水平和人才培养质量的不断提高。     

警卫部队信息化建设的思考

信息化是一场新的警务革命,是提高警卫部队整体战斗力的重要途径,警卫部队要充分认识到信息化建设的紧迫性和重要性。加强警卫部队信息化建设要有一套强有力的领导班子,一个切实符合实际的规划和一支专而精的专业技术人员队伍,确保信息化建设与应用的大力推进。同时,通过科学管理促使信息化建设与应用效益最大化。     

中以要人警卫差异之比较

要人安全是世界各国国家安全的重要组成部分。中以要人安全警卫差异主要表现在工作理念、权力地位、后勤保障、选拔训练、情报运行和危险评估等方面。中以要人警卫差异源于不同的文化传统、政治制度和国内外环境,各有优缺点,我们要立足本国,积极改革创新使我国要人警卫工作机制更加完善。     

水下监测系统的生存性定义与模型

当水下监测系统遇到外部攻击、发生故障和事故时,生存性为系统仍保证基本服务提供了保障.为准确衡量此类系统的生存性,提出了它的生存性定义、计算方法和系统模型.生存性定义为在指定工作环境下,受事件影响的系统服务仍能达到用户要求的能力,表示为系统服务性能的数学期望.根据这种定义和计算方法能更准确地判别系统设计是否满足生存性标准.在基于多状态系统的生存性模型中,服务性能是各子系统状态的函数,与系统的结构函数有关.子系统状态的概率分布由系统的可靠性和安全性决定.最后通过实例说明了生存性模型的有效性.