Let’s make a (nuclear) deal: Bargaining,credibility, and the third offset strategy

An institutional perspective on nuclear deterrence cooperation within alliances has the potential to fundamentally reorient how we think about analyzing nuclear and deterrence decision-making between nuclear patrons and non-nuclear clients. It comes at a time when the presidency of Donald Trump is sure to test many of the core claims and assumptions in security studies, especially relating to bargaining and credibility within alliances. This article surveys questions that will be core to the research agenda involving alliance institutions and nuclear weapons during the Trump presidency and beyond.     

THE NEXUS OF GLOBALIZATION AND NEXT-GENERATION NONPROLIFERATION

Although globalization has created opportunities for nuclear and biological proliferation dangers to take root and grow, it also has opened the door to new solutions. Original ideas and approaches are needed to develop a stronger, more flexible next-generation nonproliferation strategy that accounts for the increasingly important integration of economic, political, and technological issues. The foundation of this strategy should focus on tapping the power of market-based mechanisms, understanding how commercially driven decisions affect proliferation threats, establishing new partnerships, and forging cohesion among the current nonproliferation mechanisms. The implementation of such a strategy will require forceful leadership, a cultural shift from both policymakers and the range of stakeholders, and consensus building within the international community.     

THE NPT

This article assesses the successes and failures of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) since its creation in 1968 by developing and applying a set of “metrics” to each of the NPT's substantive articles as well as to its withdrawal provisions. In light of this analysis, the article also puts forward some specific proposals for strengthening the NPT and its implementation, with a view to the debate and decisions at the upcoming 2010 NPT Review Conference. A concluding section turns explicitly to the 2010 NPT Review Conference and proposes pursuit of agreement on three NPT Action Plans: one for nonproliferation, one for peaceful uses, and one for nuclear disarmament. Combining vision and practicable steps, these Action Plans would set out a roadmap for action between the 2010 and the 2015 NPT Review Conferences. They could provide a foundation for substantive exchanges—in this case, on progress toward their implementation—during the preparations for the 2015 conference.     

MONGOLIA

Formed according to broad principles laid out by the United Nations, nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs) play an important role in promoting nuclear nonproliferation, paralleling and complementing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. But the traditional regional treaty-based path to establishing NWFZs is not open to all states. Owing to various factors, some countries cannot realistically follow the path of states that have established traditional NWFZs. Mongolia, having declared itself a single-state NWFZ in 1992 and gained UN General Assembly recognition of this status in 1998, may provide an example for other countries to follow. This viewpoint presents Mongolia's case as a state seeking to acquire a nontraditional nuclear-weapon-free status despite unfavorable geopolitical circumstances. The case of Mongolia clearly demonstrates that the creation of a credible, single-state NWFZ status is possible, but demands the support and flexibility of both neighboring states and the nuclear weapon states.     

HOW WAS THE COLD WAR WON?

Reagan's Secret War: The Untold Story of His Fight to Save the World from Nuclear Disaster, by Martin Anderson and Annelise Anderson. Crown Publishers, 2009. 464 pages, $32.50.

The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War, by James Mann. Viking, 2009. 410 pages, $27.95.     

如何提高在线学习者的自我调节能力

与传统课堂教学相比,网络教学环境独有的特点对学习者提出了更高的要求:要求学习者不仅要掌握知识、技能,更要学会学习,管理自己的能力,进行有意义、高效的学习,使其努力指向目标并最终实现目标。本文结合师范生公共必修课《现代教育技术》在线网络课程的教学实践,有效跟踪学习者的学习行为活动,分析学习者的学习状态、学习风格,以及对学习行为的自我调节能力,总结摸索出一些培养并提高学习者自我调节能力的指导性策略,希望能对广大网络学习者有一定的借鉴意义。     

民族地区中小学民汉双语教师教学效能感特点的调查研究

为全面了解民族地区中小学民汉双语教师教学效能感的个人项特点,本研究以新疆某县从事民汉双语教学的中小学教师为研究对象,在问卷调查的基础上,对可能影响民汉双语教师教学效能感的个人项因素进行了差异性分析。研究结果表明：教师性别因素、所授科目因素、教学模式因素对双语教师教学效能感有不同的影响;女教师的教学效能感要高于男教师;从事文科科目教学的教师教学效能感要高于理科教师;采用模式～教学的教师教学效能感最高,模式二教师次之,模式三教师最低;其它个人项因素对教学效能感不存在显著的影响。     

分层教学法在消防院校英语教学中的运用——以昆明消防指挥学校为例

由于生源的特殊性,消防院校学员英语水平差异明显,给英语教学带来了很大挑战.为提升英语教学的有效性及实用性,以适应消防部队建设发展对优秀消防指挥人才的需求,结合学员的实际情况,对英语课程进行了分层教学模式改革.基于英语课程分层教学模式改革的实践经验,对英语分层教学模式的实施,分层教学的有效性及存在的问题进行了探讨.     

外语视听说教学改革探讨

外语视听说教学是外语教学的重要组成部分,其目的是为了增强学员的听说能力,扩大知识面,提高文化素养,培养语言综合应用能力.分析外语视听说教学诸环节中存在的问题,提出外语视听说课程教学的改革措施.