论世界军事对国际格局的影响

本文论述了世界军事在国际格局形成、发展、演变过程中的作用。军事实力是影响国际格局的重要因素,各国军事实力的变化,促使世界向多极化迈进;局部战争对国际格局具有直接作用,朝鲜、越南、阿富汗及海湾战争的爆发、进程与结果,影响着国际格局的发展;各国军事战略的对抗性和相溶性,亦同样对国际格局有重要影响。     

Controlled warfare: how directed-energy weapons will enable the US Military to fight effectively in an urban environment while minimizing collateral damage

US military operations are increasingly conducted within urban environments and with these operations come the risk of increasing the number of civilian casualties and infrastructure damage. The use of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, is one method for minimizing collateral damage. This method enables US military forces to effectively fight within urban environments through force escalation capabilities. Using a series of historical examples and future scenarios for urban warfare, this article highlights deficiencies affecting military capabilities in military urban operations, addresses the consequences of collateral damage, assesses the effectiveness of directed-energy weapons in military urban operations and encourages further funding, research and integration of non-lethal weaponry, such as directed-energy weapons, within the US military.     

Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, by Daniel H. Joyner. Oxford University Press, 2011. 192 pages, $100.     

A NEW STANDARD FOR PREEMPTIVE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST WMD THREATS

International law clearly requires an imminent threat of attack as a justification for the preemptive use of military force. However, the standard definition of an imminent threat was derived centuries before the development of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons or ballistic missiles and other delivery systems that can reach their targets in a matter of minutes. Any use of force to alleviate threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (WMD) prior to tactical warning of the actual launch of such weapons falls into the legally and ethically controversial category of “anticipatory self-defense,” leaving decision makers potentially liable to prosecution for war crimes. Effective and ethical enforcement of nonproliferation therefore demands a standard for imminence of threat broad enough to allow military action as a last resort but sufficiently restrictive to prohibit indiscriminate action against suspected WMD programs. Following a critical review of selected literature and cases on preemption, the author proposes a new standard for preemptive military action: the existence of operational WMD, or a clandestine program to develop WMD, in contravention of international law. The author discusses the implications of this new proposed standard, which at the time of writing would permit preemptive attack against WMD-armed terrorist groups but prohibit it against all states except Iran and possibly North Korea.     

BEYOND DECLARATIONS OF INTENT

This essay explores the obligations arising from the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, signed in Palermo, Italy at the end of 2000. It also discusses the initiatives required to prepare the legal system and related infrastructure of Zimbabwe for its implementation. Zimbabwe joined more than 120 other countries in signing the Palermo convention, but has not yet ratified it. The ratification would enshrine the latest initiatives to develop effective strategies against transnational organised crime. The Palermo convention makes demands on the laws and institutions of states parties which could enhance their capacity to confront organised crime. Ratification signifies competence to implement the prescribed obligations, which can only occur after introducing suitable domestic laws, and adopting the necessary administrative mechanisms. The required reforms are bound to have certain policy and legislative implications for Zimbabwe. Regional initiatives complementary to the Palermo convention are expected to catalyse positive changes in Zimbabwe's response mechanisms.     

CORRUPTION,PERCEPTION AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Bribery undermines human development and a transition to stable democratic rule. It props up illegitimate regimes as corporations bid for contracts by bribing, in a seeming race to the bottom. The world's wealthy are slowly waking up to this and criminalising this scandalous practice of bribing foreign public officials. However, such measures, if enforced, need to be combined with domestic anti-corruption strategies in the South. If this opportunity is missed, the risk of investing private capital in marginalised economies perceived to be highly corrupt is further upped, making investment-driven economic growth possibly even less unattainable.     

Switching costs,dynamic uncertainty,and buyer–seller relationships

We analyze strategic relationships between buyers and sellers in markets with switching costs and dynamic uncertainty by investigating the scenario wherein a representative buyer trades with two foreign sellers located in the same foreign country. We show that, under exchange rate uncertainty, switching costs may lead to switching equilibria where both sellers co‐exist in the market with the buyer, or no‐switching equilibria where either seller captures the market. The presence of exchange rate uncertainty facilitates competition by allowing the sellers to co‐exist in the market with the buyer. However, if the level of uncertainty is beyond a threshold, the only viable equilibria are those where one of the sellers captures the market. Further, depending on the level of exchange rate uncertainty and the sellers' variable costs, switching costs may either raise or lower the level of prices in long‐term contracts between the buyer and the sellers. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2007     

信息化条件下炮兵火力交战模型

针对信息化条件下的战争系统是物质、能量和信息全面开放,交织众多反馈控制回路,呈现非线性特征的复杂耗散系统,提出了基于规范化系统动力学建模理论的量化研究框架,运用影响图方法建立了描述信息化条件下炮兵火力交战过程的微分方程模型,进而以稳定性理论对模型进行分析,讨论了炮兵信息系统能力对炮兵部队战斗力提升的非线性倍增效用。在具体想定下,通过模拟仿真,该交战模型既可为明确炮兵部队的建设重点与发展方向提供参考,也可为评估信息化条件下的炮兵作战效能,计算炮兵兵力火力需求提供一定的定量依据。     

Poland's national potential and its international position within the European Union – research remarks

This article examines Poland's national potential and its international position within the European Union (EU) with respect to security issues. It presents research results based on a comparison of Poland's national potential as it relates to other EU countries, which is useful when evaluating Poland's power within the EU. The article also evaluates Poland's crisis potential, i.e. it identifies those factors that may potentially be treated as threats to national and regional security. Finally, it enables the identification of challenges to Poland's security in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The research is conducted according to a multidimensional comparative analysis, which is perceived by the author as the best available to measure a country's power despite its weaknesses.     

美军战略传播的发展特点及启示

美军通过战略传播的整合力量对其形象建构进行了卓有成效的探索与实践。在分析梳理美军战略传播概念的提出背景及其演进过程的基础上,总结归纳了美军实施战略传播的特点。同时,结合分析对外宣传中面临的问题与挑战,借鉴美军战略传播的有益做法,提出了改进的建议与措施。