United States defence contractors and the future of military operations

ABSTRACT

The United States’ global strategic outlook has shifted markedly since the end of major combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the United States’ strategic posture shifts, the nature of military operations is simultaneously changing rapidly. Many analysts predict that cyber-operations, autonomous weapons systems, artificial intelligence, and clandestine special forces operations will be central features in future conflicts. Although often overlooked by scholars and policy analysts, defence contractors are integral to the development and implementation of these emerging categories of warfare. This inquiry examines the evolving nature of the American defence industry and the roles corporations play in current theatres of conflict. Surprisingly, rather than becoming less reliant on defence contractors after their much-maligned performance in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, American military and intelligence agencies have become more dependent on the private sector as technology becomes increasingly central to warfare.     

Pragmatism over principle: US intervention and burden shifting in Somalia, 1992–1993

ABSTRACT

The conventional wisdom about the 1992 US intervention in Somalia is that it was a quintessentially humanitarian mission pushed by President George H. W. Bush. This article challenges that interpretation, drawing on newly declassified documents. The Somalia intervention, I argue, was largely a pragmatic response to concerns held by the US military. In late 1992, as the small UN mission in Somalia was collapsing, senior American generals worried about being drawn into the resulting vacuum. Hence they reluctantly recommended a robust US intervention, in the expectation that this would allow the UN to assemble a larger peacekeeping force that would take over within months. The intervention ultimately failed, but the military learned useful lessons from this experience on how to achieve smoother UN handoffs in the future and thus effectively shift longer-term stabilisation burdens to the international community.     

The politics of counter-terrorism in post-authoritarian states: Indonesia’s experience, 1998–2018

ABSTRACT

The separation of the Indonesian national police (POLRI) from the military (ABRI), now named the TNI, in 1999 led to transfer of domestic security role from the armed forces to POLRI. On one hand, POLRI has a greater role in internal security, particularly in countering terrorism. On the other hand, TNI continually attempts to reassert its dominance in the field of counter-terrorism. Previous studies on the subject place the issue in the context of the early days of democratisation. This paper aims to contribute by counting latest developments, notably the rise of new terrorist groups and recent counter-terrorism legislations. We argue that institutional rivalries between the POLRI and the TNI, and the military's determination to reclaim a greater role in domestic security have become an impediment to achieving successful counterterrorism efforts. This article also examines the development of military reform against the backdrop of the military's disproportionate and growing influence.     

军用机场阵地对抗不可预见作战的伪装策略

相对固定的军力部署会提前暴露军事意图。为避免此种情况，美军在2018年《国防战略报告》中提出要实现作战的不可预见性。未来美军不可预见的动态军事力量部署一定程度上增加了军事斗争准备难度。为提升军队机场阵地战场生存能力，有必要针对性地调整应对策略，增强对抗“不可预见作战”的能力。本文着眼军用机场阵地，从三个方面分析对抗不可预见作战的伪装策略：首先阐述不可预见作战的特点，其次分析在“不可预见作战”条件下，现有机场阵地在伪装方面的短板，最后提出对抗“不可预见作战”的伪装策略。通过分析认为，为对抗美军新的作战构想，军事机场阵地伪装策略应从战时应用调整为平战结合，应更加侧重平时的伪装训练和伪装工程建设。     

CSCW 协作支持平台 GZ-PCCS 的研究与设计

如何提供有效的协作机制是设计CSCW系统的关键技术。本文首次将CSCW的概念引入公安指挥中心系统的设计之中,全面介绍了一个基于CSCW的公安指挥中心系统的协作支持平台的设计和实现。在平台设计中,提出了一个层次的基于任务的快作支持方案,讨论了各种具体的协作支持方法,并在”集中一分布”混合式的体系结构的基础上实现了一个公安指挥中心系统的协作支持平台的原型GZ—PCCS。