Demobilisation,disarmament and reintegration in the Democratic Republic of Congo: The numbers game

Abstract

The creation of the Africa Command (AFRICOM) has reflected the growth in the strategic importance of Africa in US foreign policy since the end of the 1990s. One of the objectives of this new geographical military command is to forge closer links between foreign, security and development policies. However, this approach met with a number of difficulties associated with the challenge of ‘inter-agency cooperation’ among rather disparate actors from foreign affairs, defence and development. In addition, the establishment of AFRICOM has met with fierce criticism in the US and elsewhere – especially in Africa – culminating in the charge that the US foreign and development policies in Africa are being militarised. Although AFRICOM has a number of interesting features, this paper shows that it has reacted to these criticisms by realigning itself more closely with the traditional model of a military command, at the expense of the innovative interagency elements.     

ADVANCED US CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS AND NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

The Obama administration has made a great effort to increase the role of advanced conventional weaponry in US national security thinking and practice, in part to help reinvigorate the global nuclear disarmament agenda by reducing the role played by nuclear weapons in the US defense posture. However, such a strategy is fundamentally flawed because increases in US conventional superiority will exacerbate US relative strength vis-à-vis other powers, and therefore make the prospect of a nuclear weapon-free world seem less attractive to Washington's current and potential nuclear rivals. Consequently, it is highly likely that the impact of efforts to increase US advanced conventional superiority through ballistic missile defense and a conventional “prompt global strike” program will ensure that the Obama administration is adopting a pathway to nuclear abolition on which it is the sole traveler for the foreseeable future.     

STRENGTHENING THE SECOND LINE OF DEFENSE

On Nuclear Terrorism, by Michael Levi. Harvard University Press, 2007. 210 pages, $24.95.     

YOU CAN'T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT

The 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) produced a Final Document calling for an extension of the principles of the nonproliferation norm as well as steps toward complete disarmament. This article looks beyond the rhetoric, however, to examine recent decisions by great powers to expand nuclear trade with non-NPT countries and the implications of these decisions on the traditional nonproliferation norm of restraint. This article seeks to contribute to constructivist theory by supplementing existing accounts of norm creation and establishment with a new model of norm change. The article develops a case study of the 2008 US-India nuclear deal to highlight the role of elite agency in key stages of norm change, including redefinition and constructive substitution through contestation. It concludes that the traditional nonproliferation norm may be evolving in new directions that are not well captured by existing theoretical frames.     

The politics of defense revival in Argentina

In marked contrast with previous decades, defense issues in Argentina have started to receive increasing political attention over the last few years. The main goal of this article is to account for this new found interest in defense policy. The article contends that this revival could be accounted for by both the implementation of a neo-developmentalist strategy and a type of control that emphasizes civilian oversight over the armed forces. Both factors have promoted the implementation of policies that favored an increase in the military budget, the reconstruction of the defense industry and the establishment of a new military doctrine. This article evaluates the impact of factors that have not been previously considered by the literature on defense attention in South America.     

Russian military reform: institutional,political and security implications

This critical comment examines the incentives, major priorities, difficulties and first results of the Russian military reform that is being implemented since 2008. The authors conclude that despite numerous drawbacks and barriers to the reformist efforts certain successes can be identified. Particularly, there is a clear shift from the old-fashioned, Soviet-type army to a more compact, mobile, better equipped and combat-ready armed forces that are capable to cope with today's challenges to Russian national security.     

反舰导弹大空域变轨的三维扩展比例导引律

为了使大空域变轨弹道的理论研究更符合反舰导弹的实际运动状态,建立了反舰导弹追踪虚拟目标的三维空间相对运动模型。同时,为了保证反舰导弹大空域变轨弹道的四段弹道平滑过渡,在导引律设计时同时考虑了脱靶量要求和末端落角要求。应用Lyapunov稳定性理论求解出满足要求的三维扩展比例导引律,对大空域变轨弹道的四段弹道设计了相应的过载控制指令,并进行了仿真研究。仿真结果表明:所提出的三维扩展比例导引律可以使反舰导弹顺利完成大空域飞行任务,而且保证了反舰导弹的所有性能指标均满足要求。     

地球外部空间扰动引力并行计算

针对传统的司托克斯积分方法计算量大、模型复杂的缺点,通过将地球球面以适当的经纬度差进行划分及合理简化,实现了司托克斯积分法计算外部空间扰动引力的积分方程的离散化,建立了地球扰动引力的快速计算模型,并在快速计算模型的基础上采用并行计算技术,实现扰动引力的实时计算。仿真结果表明,提出的快速并行计算模型能较好地实现地球扰动引力的快速、高精度计算。     

脑机技术发展及其对军事领域的影响

进入新世纪以来,脑机技术作为“会聚技术”领域的核心技术之一,已经引起了欧美发达国家的高度重视．国内外众多著名的大学和科研机构在该领域已经开展了广泛深入的研究,并取得了一系列实质性的进展和丰硕的成果。文章详细介绍脑机技术的发展现状及其军事应用前景,为未来新概念武器的发展提供参考。