Underselling Islamist extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Islamist extremism as an ideology has seemingly spread in influence in the past few years. The violent Islamist threat may have a singular religious dogma, but that does not mean that it will interact in the same fashion within the various cultures it infests. The Sub-Saharan region is one general context where Islamist extremism is both vividly active and misunderstood. Africa's reaction to: Arabization; the adjustment to post-colonial rule; the perception of secular government institutions; the extent of cultural and religious pluralism; and the local character of Muslim leadership and institutions are all very different from that of the Middle East. Scores of terrorism analysts and even Arab populations only too familiar with the Middle East context superimpose Middle East threats over the Sub-Saharan African cultural landscape. Instead of generalizing the Islamist threats, it might be better to ask why it is that violent Islamist groups have traditionally been challenged to expand their influence in Muslim Sub-Saharan Africa. The underestimated Islamist is using ignorance to its advantage, recruiting through channels unnoticed by its Arab counterparts while creatively catering its message by region.     

UNCLOS and maritime security: the “securitisation” of the South China Sea disputes

This Critical Comment seeks to situate the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) within the context of South China Sea (SCS) dispute. Bearing in mind that maritime actions of the main disputants – China, Vietnam, and the Philippines – increasingly “securitise” these long-standing disputes and vice versa, the study examines the concept of a maritime “regime complex.” Whereas efforts have being made to examine UNCLOS and indeed the dispute within the framework of a maritime “regime complex,” the key finding shows that the increased “securitisation” of the disputes makes it difficult to envisage effective engagement of UNCLOS as a resolution mechanism. It will also reveal that China's firmly established expansionist agenda in the SCS region is indicative of Beijing's susceptibility to compromise a diplomatic solution to these long-standing disputes. These discoveries are structured around the knowledge that the spatial relation of the SCS critically espouses not only its geo-strategic significance in terms of natural resources endowment, but also the enduring maritime disputes within the region.     

The symbolic politics of ballistic missile defense: seeking the perfect defense in an imperfect world

Ballistic missile defense (BMD) politics present an interesting evolution in how the USA, especially Congress, has come to think about BMD both as operational reality and as a symbolic policy. The argument here is that BMD's operational reality is increasingly overshadowed by its symbolic aspects. Such a status arose from rapidly changing international and domestic politics. The end result is a situation in which BMD policy in a sense floats above the question of its actual combat effectiveness. Its primary mission in part is sustaining US capacity to remain a global power and support its allies.     

网络安全脆弱性分析与处置系统的研究与实现

在分析国内外研究现状的基础上,针对现有的漏洞库系统在漏洞信息的组织、使用等方面存在的不足,采用分布计算技术、数据库技术、Web技术实现了网络安全脆弱性分析与处置系统。该系统实现了基于Web的漏洞库(含补丁库)的访问与维护工具,便于获取相应漏洞的解决方案和下载相应的补丁程序,降低了系统维护的开销,提高了系统的可维护性;补丁推送程序实现了对系统补丁程序的远程推送、漏洞修补和补漏检测,提高了系统的自动化程度,为网络安全脆弱性处置提供了有力工具。     

对公安边防工作执法为民的思考

本文对当前公安边防部队执勤执法中存在的问题及原因进行了剖析,提出要全面理解执法为民在公安边防工作中的具体内涵和要求,牢固树立“四个意识”,以求真务实的态度和勇于开拓的精神狠抓队伍建设,围绕“三个有利于”,找准公安边防工作的着力点,加强勤务规范化建设和执勤执法监督以及落实从优待警措施,不断改进公安边防工作,使执法为民的宗旨真正落到实处。     

无人机配载弹射式导弹静稳定性分析

通过刚体飞行六自由度动力学方程建立弹射式导弹初始段无控飞行模型,并结合弹射装置动力模型和导弹发动机推力模型进行仿真计算。基于无控飞行模型和仿真结果分析了无人机配载弹射式导弹发射特性,在导弹初始飞行段对机弹分离安全性和导弹姿态控制要求进行了研究。对导弹不同静稳定度下的运动特性对比分析,分别给出了满足各种安全和控制要求的导弹静稳定度范围。进一步综合所有安全和姿态控制要求,得到了满足所有要求的最佳静稳定度。经过一个实例的仿真研究,结果表明建立的模型与所用到的方法是合理有效的。     

The elephant in the room: US ballistic missile defence under Barack Obama

Conventional wisdom seems to hold that under Barack Obama, the US ballistic missile defence programme has been pushed aside to allow for a refreshed domestic and international agenda. Proponents point to Obama's campaign thinking and rhetoric, the ballistic missile defence (BMD) budget cuts, the decision to end the Third Site in Europe, and the reset relations with Russia through the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) as evidence that the programme has undergone a significant period of change, retraction and rationalisation. This article argues instead that BMD has not fallen from prominence and that there is a change in focus rather than retraction of its strategic goal. Consequently, BMD continues to grow in importance as a component of US national security strategy.     

区块链技术下的智能安全可靠支付系统设计

为了增强支付系统的安全性和可靠性,设计了一种区块链技术下的智能支付系统。这个系统利用区块链的去中心化和分布式账本特性,提供了一种更加安全和透明的支付解决方案。系统将区块链技术、国密算法与支付系统相结合,给传统互联网支付系统提供一个更安全的保障。利用区块链技术的点对点特点,解决支付效率和数据安全等方面的问题。借助互联网大数据技术,对用户进行信用评级,提供信贷服务。结合跨链技术可以对不同区块链的数据进行共享,更好地解决资金流动性。相比比特币和以太坊等电子货币系统,该系统在安全性、交易吞吐率和交易时延等方面做到了权衡发展,使得各方面的性能有了一定程度的均衡提升,更能满足当前环境下的应用需要。     

Acrimony,asymmetry, and the Sino-Indian nuclear relationship

ABSTRACT

While most contemporary analyses of South Asian nuclear dynamics acknowledge the presence of a strategic triangle between the region’s three nuclear players, the primary focus usually remains on the rivalry between India and Pakistan. Discussions of Sino-Indian relations remain limited. This is likely attributed to the stability in the two countries’ relations, yet it is worth asking why this stability exists and whether it is likely to continue in the future. Although China and India have an acrimonious relationship, their asymmetric nuclear capabilities and threat perceptions mitigate the danger of a traditional security dilemma. India may perceive China’s nuclear aggrandizement to be a security threat, but the same is not true of China, which has a vastly superior nuclear force and is largely shaping its nuclear-force structure in response to the threat it perceives from the United States. This dynamic makes a serious conventional or nuclear conflict highly unlikely.     

Defence industry in Iran – between needs and real capabilities

ABSTRACT

The paper’s goal is to analyses the potential of the Iranian defence industry, including both research-and-development and production capabilities. It is argued that, despite official statements about the great power and sophistication of the Iranian defence industry, in reality its capabilities are very limited and cannot meet the operational needs of the Iranian armed forces. At the same time, it is argued that many official releases, which are abundantly available in the Iranian press and often unthinkingly repeated by the Western media, do not present the real and value of military products, but are rather a tool for deception and propaganda.