Offset Contracts as an Insurance Device in Building the National Security

A dynamic multi-stage decision-theoretic approach is introduced to establish the optimal offset and its incidence, the contract price arising from bargaining, and the scale of the acquisition. A new rationale is suggested for offsets in terms of their role as an insurance devise. Results are derived for the pricing of delivery contracts subject to offset claims and their national security implications. It is shown that the national security is strictly convex in the offset transaction. As to the incidence of the offset, the offset claim is shown to be capitalised in the delivery price. The bargaining price is shown to depend on the value of the product to be delivered for the national security, the relative negotiation power of the contracting partners and the social cost of public funds. The analysis highlights the expectation effects of offsets on the bargaining price and the scale of delivery. The results aid in explaining why offsets are widely used in procurement contracts for defence materiel. As they contribute to the national security, they should be allowed to survive and not be denied under competition laws.     

Humanitarians at sea: Selective emulation across migrant rescue NGOs in the Mediterranean sea

Between 2014 and 2017, no less than 10 different non-governmental organizations (NGOs) conducted maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) operations off the coast of Libya. By rescuing over 100,000 migrants in three years, these NGOs became the largest provider of SAR in the Mediterranean. The theory of institutionalism suggests that organizations conducting similar activities are likely to converge in a process of mimetic isomorphism, deliberately imitating one another to increase their effectiveness and cope with uncertainty. These 10 SAR NGOs, however, developed two different rescue models: While some rescued migrants and disembarked them in Italian ports, others only simply assisted those in distress until the arrival of another ship transporting them to land. They also cooperated with Italian and European authorities to different degrees. Why did SAR NGOs imitated many elements of existing non-governmental rescue models, but discarded some others? This article argues that differences in material capabilities and organizational role conceptions are crucial to explain why newer SAR NGOs have imitated most but not all of their predecessors’ policies, engaging in a process of “selective emulation.”     

Sweden and the issue of NATO membership: exploring a public opinion paradox

The past decade has seen substantial shifts in Swedish security policy and major change in the domestic debate about NATO. For the first time, all of the right-of-centre “alliance parties” are calling for a full NATO membership, and popular support for NATO has increased. Yet public opinion contains ambiguities and paradoxes that complicate the picture. At the same time as support for NATO has increased, the public is overwhelmingly for continued military non-alignment. Drawing on previous research, longitudinal data from national surveys, and other sources on defence and security issues, this article aims to increase our understanding of the development and change in Swedish public opinion on NATO. A key argument is that Erving Goffman’s theatre metaphor, combined with neo-institutional decoupling theory, to a large degree can help understand the public opinion paradox.     

Civil-military relations and human security in a post-dictatorship

This article explores current developments in Chile, where since the return to democracy in 1990, the elected authorities have reconfigured the nation’s military resources in favour of four action pillars: peacekeeping and international conflict management, landmine removal and gun disarmament, emergency and catastrophe response, and a concern for human, economic and social rights. Successive defence policies offer a valuable case study for exploring the trade-offs between security, traditional and non-traditional threat management and institutional capabilities. The article argues that human security policymaking is not free from undesired outcomes; specifically, regarding how to reconvene the role of the armed forces when conventional war seems a thing of the past. The paper focuses on the interagency policy implications and the challenges ahead for civilians and the military.     

C~4ISR体系结构框架及设计方法

描述了美军体系结构设计框架的演变过程,包括最新《国防部体系结构框架》1.5版(DODAF1.5)的基本情况和《国防部体系结构框架》制定的最新进展。深入分析并比较了常用的几种体系结构设计方法的特点和它们各自的适用范围,讨论了体系结构开发中的一些共性因素和发展规律,最后对我军体系结构设计发展提出了一些建议。     

警卫人员处置突发事件的应激心理及调控训练

警卫任务的特点决定了警卫人员始终处于高度的应激状态下,相同的刺激引起的心理应激是不同的,既可引起焦虑恐惧、精神抑郁、疲倦乏力等消极的反应,也可激发出斗志昂扬、精力充沛、勇敢果断等积极的反应。这主要取决于心理承受能力的强弱。研究应激心理对警卫人员处置突发事件中的影响,对有针对性地开展心理调控和组织处突训练,提高警卫人员心理素质,使其做到临危不惧、处变不惊,从而有效处置各类突发事件,确保警卫对象在任何条件下的安全,具有十分重要的现实意义。     

谈公安边防部队预算执行审计问题

深入研究、切实抓好预算执行审计工作对于保证预算的落实、达到收支平衡,具有十分重要的现实意义。预算执行审计应围绕“三个监督”开展工作,并处理好“三方面关系”。     

警卫工作经验对警卫人员素质的影响

经验是构成警卫人员业务素质的主要内容.其中直接经验可以大幅提升警卫人员的能力,而间接经验则是警卫人员素质生成的主要渠道.因此,必须充分认识两种经验在警卫人员素质生成中的作用,既要注重直接经验的获取,更要重视间接经验的不可替代性.     

公安现役部队发展建设思考

公安现役部队担负着维护社会稳定、保障人民生命财产安全等重要职能,随着公安现役部队职能的不断拓展,加之受社会环境复杂化和价值观念多元化的影响,公安现役部队建设工作出现了一些新问题,发生了一些新变化。从分析公安现役部队在新世纪新阶段面临的新趋向新问题出发,结合部队当前肩负的历史使命,积极探索科学有效地加强公安现役部队建设的对策。