‘Outside their expertise’: The implications of Field Manual 3-24 for the professional military education of non-commissioned officers

Within the framework of classical theory, the joint US Army-Marine field manual Counterinsurgency (FM 3-24) described an ambitious set of skills required for success against guerrillas. But if counterinsurgency, as FM 3-24 describes it, is ‘the graduate level of warfare’, then these two military services have been for years systematically failing to train their talent in the appropriate fields. In today's small wars, NCOs serve as modern-day Mounties, and consequently require at least a modest undergraduate education in armed good governance.     

Political transition to democracy

This paper argues that the crisis of electoral democracy in Zimbabwe and Cote d'Ivoire is a result of underlying structural and institutional deficiencies within national and regional multinational institutions. It assesses the extent to which they have been ‘enablers’ or ‘spoilers’ of electoral-based transitions to democracy. Yet it avoids generalisations of the security sector's involvement in political transitions. In terms of structure, the paper is divided into four sections. Section one will briefly discuss the theoretical perspectives of the election-democracy trajectory. It argues that although elections are a major variable for democracy, unless the ‘ecology of elections’ is conducive, elections may not be an instrument of transition to democracy. The second section analyses the militarisation of politics and the role of the security sector in aiding or stalling democratisation. Section three will assess the role of regional organisations such as the Southern African Development Community, Economic Community of West African States and the African Union in electoral-based political transitions in Africa. Lastly, the paper will discuss how the security sector and multinational African institutions can aid political transitions to democracy in troubled African countries.     

What Goes Up Must Come Down: Military Expenditure and Civil Wars

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of civil war on military expenditure. We employ two measures of military expenditure: the share of military expenditure in general government expenditure and the logarithm of military expenditures. We would reasonably expect a priori that military expenditure as a share of general government expenditure increases during a civil war and that such increases would taper off over the duration of a civil war. We also explore whether the termination of a civil war induces a decline in the share of military expenditure as a share of the general government expenditure in the short-run. We find evidence the of share of military expenditure increases during a civil war and falls in the year succeeding the end of a civil war, and, in particular, if a war ends in a peace treaty. The level of military expenditures, however, rises during civil wars and does not appear to decline in the short-term after the end of a civil war.     

试论武警“合训”院校现代化教学模式的构建

武警部队院校体制调整后,作为担负学历教育的“合训”院校,只有大力加强教学理论研究,及时实现教员角色转变,积极营造健康向上的教学环境,才能顺利实现“培养具有较高文化素养、具备扎实军事基础的新型军事人才”的教学目标。     

对高校干部“双肩挑”模式的理性分析

高校干部"双肩挑"是目前高校普遍存在的管理模式,在高校教学科研中发挥着重要作用,是学校管理干部队伍中一支重要力量,同时又存在着不可回避的矛盾和问题。本文对"双肩挑"模式发挥的作用和存在的问题进行分析,最后有针对性的提出了几点改革对策。     

网络多媒体技术结合案例教学法在《心理健康教育》教学中的应用

科学信息的快速发展给高校心理健康教育提出了新的挑战,网络多媒体相结合案例教学的教育模式已成为高校教育模式发展的趋势。文章阐述了在《心理健康教育》教学中运用网络多媒体技术结合案例教学的心得体会,分析了网络多媒体结合案例教学的优势。     

美国和英国教师教育培养模式及课程设置的启示

美英发达国家教师教育发展有较悠久的历史,其教师教育课程改革一直走在世界的前列,教师教育培养模式和课程设置具有特色。文章通过对美国和英国教师教育模式及课程设置的梳理,提出石河子大学要提升教师教育培养层次,优化教师教育课程结构,构建多维度的实践环节体系,以满足基础教育改革形势下新疆及兵团基础教育师资培养的需求。     

新疆少数民族中学生双语教育情况调查研究

新疆的双语教育一直是备受关注的热点问题之一。本研究采用问卷调查的方式对喀什地区12所中学少数民族中学生的汉语学习情况、教材的使用状况、双语课堂教学情况及汉语学习环境等方面进行了实证研究。研究结果表明,少数民族中学生的汉语学习热情及自我认可度较高、学习期望与实际存在较大差距、缺乏合理的教材及合格的双语教师、汉语学习的学校和家庭语言环境有待进一步改善等,本研究对此提出了一些改进对策和建议,以期为双语教育的健康发展提供借鉴。     

科学发展观指导大学生思想政治教育质量提升研究

科学发展观不仅为大学生思想政治教育提出了新的理论指导,同时也为其提出了新的更高要求和新的思想方法。加强和改进大学生思想政治教育是事关中华民族前途命运的根本问题,要提升大学生的思想政治教育质量,必须坚持以科学发展观为指导,用科学发展观统领高校思想政治教育,理清工作思路,创新工作模式,促进大学生思想政治素质、科学文化素质和身体素质的全面发展。     

新疆双语教师培训模式之探究

新疆双语师资存在着数量短缺且增长缓慢、汉语水平低、教育教学技能低的事实,双语教师培训亟待加强。目前新疆双语教师培训模式单一且简单机械,培训理念不到位,缺乏专家指导和科学研究,教材建设跟不上,培训效果不理想。在加强双语教师培训理念转变的过程中,主要应创新双语教师培训模式。一是打造县级双语教师培训中心平台;二是疆内师范院校应加强与中小学校合作,送教下乡;三是借助内地教育对口支持新疆的平台,"送出去,请进来";四是逐步建设远程网络研修模式培训。