Competitive Statehood in Libya: Governing Differently a Specific Setting or Deconstructing its Weak Sovereign State with a Fateful Drift Toward Chaos?

Abstract

Libya in 2011 witnessed a real process of political change, though different from all the policy-oriented jargon equating transition with a teleological transition to democracy. Due to the resilience of the Qadhafi regime in power and with the essential role of NATO intervention, the process was eased out by a eight-month civil war. Governance in post-Qadhafi Libya was not done through the rebuilding of centralized authorities. But it took the specific form of the emergence of multiple non-state actors embedded in local dynamics and then connected with weakened central authorities that had access to the huge Libyan resources. That raised complex questions about the quality of this mode of governance, especially at a time of pressing problems for Libya and its neighbors, whether direct ones (Tunisia, Egypt, Mali) or farther countries across the Mediterranean sea: terrorism with the expansion of Da’esh into the country and flows of refugees crossing Libya’s uncontrolled borders and flowing into Italy and then Europe by thousands.     

The Saudi air war in Yemen: A case for coercive success through battlefield denial

The present-day conflict in Yemen is a valuable case study in the coercive use of airpower. The Saudi-led bombing campaign demonstrates the challenges inherent in applying a punishment-based strategy in a civil war, where coercive mechanisms operate differently than in interstate conflict. The audit from Yemen vindicates the effectiveness of a denial-based strategy and offers insights on the relative utility of interdiction and close air support in advancing that strategy. This examination dissects the campaign, assesses its effectiveness, and extracts insights useful both to the analysis of similar conflicts and to the evaluation of U.S. foreign policy alternatives.     

A Question of ‘Government’ Control: Afghanistan DDR Programs Since 2001

Since the fall of the Taliban in late 2001, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA), the United States, the United Nations, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have funded and led three different Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs. Despite a significant investment in time and treasure, all of them have failed to significantly reduce the number of insurgents or arbaki (militia). This article explores why these programs failed despite incorporating ideas from the prominent DDR schools of thought. Utilizing Stathis Kalyvas’ theory of The Logic of Violence in Civil War as a lens, this article argues that GIRoA and ISAF did not have sufficient control of territory to entice insurgents or arbaki to reconcile and/or reintegrate with the government. Further, in areas GIRoA nominally controlled in northern and western Afghanistan, regional powerbrokers who controlled these areas balked at these programs.     

The politics of international chemical weapon justice: The case of Syria, 2011–2017

There has been near-universal condemnation of the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict. The international community has nevertheless struggled to make progress on holding the perpetrators to account. This article reviews developments at the international level in terms of Syrian chemical weapon justice between 2011 and 2017. It argues that there have been substantive disagreements between states on the rationale and means of justice in the Syrian case. It also argues that international initiatives have been tightly intertwined with developments in chemical disarmament and conflict resolution processes as well as the broader war. The article describes progress and challenges to chemical weapon justice in a number of distinct formal international mechanisms during the period studied. The analysis concludes by contextualizing international responses—including the U.S. tomahawk strikes against a Syrian airbase—to the Khan Shaykhun chemical attacks of April 2017.     

Multilateral defense cooperation in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region: Tentative steps toward a regional NATO?

Some U.S. military leaders have asserted that the United States, Japan, Australia, and India and the Republic of Korea are developing multilateral defense cooperation to deter aggression and uphold norms much like North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has in Europe. Frequent military exercises and China’s threats to freedom of navigation (FoN) and North Korea’s nuclear missiles comprise the motive force for such cooperation. However, cooperation thus far has been trilateral and minimal, given divergent national interests and dispersed geopolitical locations. Cooperation among Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK), and the United States is increasing given the threat, but ROK’s public opinion is divided about Japan. Australia, Japan, and India have increased cooperation with the United States but are reluctant to conduct FoN operations with the United States to challenge China’s expansionism in the South China Sea. If China becomes more aggressive and blocks FoN or seizes territory, development toward an Asian NATO is possible.     

舰艇编队作战系统的武器目标分配问题

设我方m艘战舰,对方n个来袭目标.运用灰色局势决策求得目标对各个战舰产生的威胁值排序;再用模拟退火算法,参考目标威胁,单舰根据自身装载的火力发射进行初步武器分配;最后将分配结果传送至融合中心,应用大系统理论的分解协调法,协调武器分配,使得我方武器对本批目标的打击概率最大.仿真基于VC++编程实现,具体分析了算法及思想的可行性.     

远距离反坦克导弹最新发展述评

系统地论述了当前世界范围内各式远距离反坦克导弹的研究、发展、应用、升级改造思路和更新换代情况,以及一些知名公司的研制和发展特色;指出远射程、高精度、大威力,以及良好的适配能力和多用途化将成为其发展的重点。     

基于SEA的炮兵声测和雷达组网的作战效能分析

反炮兵侦察是炮兵侦察的一项重要任务,声测和雷达是反炮兵侦察的主要装备.针对SEA方法的要求,提出了评估由炮兵声测和雷达组网作战效能的3个主要性能度量(MOP).结合信息化战场环境,建立炮兵声测和雷达组网的作战效能的动态评估模型,为其作战使用提供了理论依据.     

基于ADC的炮兵激光观测仪侦察效能分析

运用了效能分析方法,针对复杂战场环境下炮兵侦察系统的效能进行分析,特别是炮兵激光观测仪,揭示其内在规律,为提高现有侦察装备的作战效能找到重要途径,也为指挥员的决策提供可靠的战略支持.在侦察系统效能分析理论的基础上,对典型的激光观测仪侦察装备进行了计算评估验证,其方法和成果可供其他武器系统效能评估时借鉴参考.     

基于装备战斗力的集群装备战损等级评定方法

为了建立集群装备战损评估决策支持系统的需要,对集群装备战损等级评定方法进行了研究.在集群装备的组成特点与评估装备战斗力的基本方法,战时实时评估与平时效能分析的区别与联系的分析基础上,建立了基于单装战损评估的战斗力评估模型,对模型的具体步骤与关键参数进行了详细阐述,由此进一步建立了基于模糊隶属度的集群装备战损等级评定模型.最后以示例对上述模型的具体应用进行了说明.