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.     

The 1983 Nuclear Crisis – Lessons for Deterrence Theory and Practice

This article distills insights for the scholarship of deterrence by examining the 1983 nuclear crisis – the moment of maximum danger of the late Cold War. Important contributions notwithstanding, our understanding of this episode still has caveats, and a significant pool of theoretical lessons for strategic studies remain to be learned. Utilizing newly available sources, this article suggests an alternative interpretation of Soviet and US conduct. It argues that the then US deterrence strategy almost produced Soviet nuclear overreaction by nearly turning a NATO exercise into a prelude to a preventive Soviet attack. Building on historical findings, this article offers insights about a mechanism for deterrence effectiveness evaluation, recommends establishing a structure responsible for this endeavor, and introduces a new theoretical term to the strategic studies lexicon – a ‘culminating point of deterrence’.     

Less than Meets the Eye

Observers of United States (US) interventions have almost universally characterized the 1994 Haiti intervention as multilateral, a model for how international cooperation can achieve common security goals. A closer analysis of the intervention reveals that the planning and execution of the intervention were almost entirely unilateral and therefore cost the US few if any of the theoretical costs of coalition warfare, including interoperability and policy compromise. Mapped onto the unilateral strategy and operation of the intervention, however, was a multilateral diplomatic effort that secured United Nations Security Council authorization and provided a cover for an intervention that the US had already planned and intended to execute with or without that authorization. That the US sought a multilateral cover for an intervention that it could easily accomplish unilaterally shows the importance of two factors: A domestic audience that opposed unilateral peacekeeping but would accept using US resources as part of a broader multilateral operation, and a local population that would be more responsive to a multilateral coalition than a use of force that was perceived to be unilateral. The Haiti intervention shows that the determinants of success in operations other than war are as much political as military. When the US already has overwhelming military superiority vis-à-vis its adversary, building military coalitions becomes as much about enlisting political support as aggregating material capability.     

北斗三号新信号体制共视时间比对

为促使北斗系统特别是北斗三号系统尽早加入国际原子时计算,利用中国科学院国家授时中心以及捷克无线电工程和电子学院两个守时实验室接收机产生的北斗三号新信号体制观测数据,开展基于北斗三号新信号体制共视时间比对试验。结果表明,北斗三号信号的多路径噪声影响小于北斗二号信号,且信噪比优于北斗二号信号。对比已有的研究,北斗三号新信号体制(B1C和B2a)共视时间比对的噪声相对于北斗三号卫星播发的北斗二号兼容信号体制(B1I和B3I)有较大的改善,其结果与GPS、Galileo共视比对结果相当,且在零基线共钟比对中,基于北斗三号新信号体制比对钟差的标准偏差相对于北斗二号信号提高了40%以上;利用北斗三号新信号体制共视得到的亚欧两地钟差噪声小于北斗二号信号,且比对钟差的稳定度相对于北斗二号提高了10%以上。该试验也可为北斗三号时间比对纳入国际原子时计算提供相关的研究基础。     

中亚来疆留学生的跨文化适应分析

实现跨文化适应是高校留学生教育的核心问题。由于地域相近、文化同质、主体民族同构等因素使得中亚来疆留学生的跨文化适应具有与其他地域院校独特之处。本文从环境适应、语言适应、人际交往适应、心理适应等方面分析中亚来疆留学生的跨文化适应的现状,借鉴跨文化适应的成功经验,根据新疆与中亚的社会经济文化提出相关改进措施。     

The demand for military expenditure in authoritarian regimes

This paper examines whether there are systematic differences in military spending between different types of autocratic regimes. We view military expenditure as an instrument a dictator can exploit in order to stay in power. How he utilises this instrument depends on the institutional set-up of his regime. We distinguish between military regimes, single party states and personalist regimes, and predict that military regimes should have the highest, whereas personalist dictatorships should have the lowest level of military spending. Using panel data on 64 dictatorships from 1960 to 2000, we find empirical evidence that our hypotheses are not rejected.     

面向维和装备保障的模拟训练系统研究

由于国际维和任务环境复杂、装备繁多、支撑条件有限,装备保障成为影响遂行任务的关键点,而强化对保障人员能力体系的培训,是有效遂行境外装备保障任务的保证.运用以模拟仿真、虚拟现实等技术为核心的各类模拟训练手段,借助互联网、卫星等信息传输平台,构建一套综合模拟训练系统,能够有效解决装备保障训练全面性、可持续性、便易性、经济性...     

伊拉克战争对国际政治格局的影响

美国凭借其强大的势力肆意出兵攻打伊拉克。这一结果虽不能使国际政治格局发生重大变化 ,世界多极化的趋势不能改变 ,但它进一步强化了美国的单边主义思想 ,使世界多极化的进程受到严峻挑战 ,同时也将改变中东地区的力量对比 ,重塑中东地区的政治格局 ,也使联合国的权威和地位受到了严重的挑战。     

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。     

Interpreting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

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