Civilian protection in Africa: How the protection of civilians is being militarized by African policymakers and diplomats

This article explores how the protection of civilians is being militarized by African policymakers and diplomats. I draw on practice approaches to analyze what social groups are doing when they claim to “protect civilians.” I show how innovative protection mechanisms can be seen as a function of officials and diplomats coping with the changing circumstances of increasingly militarized politics in Africa. Specifically, accountability mechanisms for unintended and intended civilian harm by African security operations have originated in connection with this development. I argue that these are results of anchoring practices, which means that everyday informal interactions in one context become linked to another context. I argue that these emerging accountability mechanisms represent a new combination of practices, with the potential of changing the routine activities and mutual learning between policymakers and diplomats.     

New directions for African security

African security, particularly conflict-related political violence, is a key concern in international relations. This forum seeks to advance existing research agendas by addressing four key themes: domestic politics and peacekeeping; security sector reform programs; peace enforcement; and the protection of civilians. Each of the articles in this forum makes a case for analyzing African agency when it comes to African security. As a way of introduction, this short article sets out the main debates and concludes by providing further directions for future research.     

Can security vetting be extended to include the detection of financial misconduct?

An analysis of the security vetting files of 19 employees within a South African national department who had been found guilty of financial misconduct in the last five years uncovered that the existing security vetting processes did not detect the financial misconduct of which these employees have been found guilty. This research sets out to establish whether security vetting can be extended to include the detection of financial misconduct within the department and, if so, how. Moreover, if security vetting can indeed be so extended, can it possibly enhance the management of fraud risk across all South African public sector departments? Qualitative interviews were conducted with 27 employees who are key to fraud risk management and security vetting within the researched department. During the interviews, the following five themes emerged: (1) the reasons why employees commit financial misconduct; (2) why it is not detected by the security vetting process; (3) the potential alignment of the security vetting process to facilitate the detection of financial misconduct; (4) the following through on security vetting findings; and (5) sharing these findings with the internal audit and risk management functions within state departments. These themes were probed and are reported on, establishing firstly that security vetting can indeed be extended to include the detection of financial misconduct within the researched department, and secondly that it can enhance the management of fraud risk across all South African public sector departments, given the specific mandate of the State Security Agency (SSA) and the national security vetting strategy.     

The role and capabilities of major weapon systems transferred between 1950 and 2010: Empirical examinations of an arms transfer data set

Arms transfers provide exporters an avenue to provide security to other states while gaining economic benefits. Arms transfers provide importers an avenue to gain security without having to rely on alliances. Past research uses aggregate measures of the monetary or security value of major weapon system transfers without accounting for strategic differences in possible use in interstate and civil conflict. This article presents a data set on interstate transfers of major weapon systems between 1950 and 2010 building upon Stockholm Peach Research Institute’s Arms Trade Register with several improvements. First, it disaggregates land weapons and air weapons into categories reflecting their strategic capabilities. Second, model level characteristics (e.g. age, speed, and range) are drawn from Jane’s Defence sources. Additionally, the data set covers a larger range of time and states than previous data sets categorizing arms. To demonstrate the usefulness, this article first presents summary statistics of the data set and then replicates an earlier test to show that the effect of human rights and regime types on United States transfers differs across the categories of arms compared to alternative measures of arms transfers.     

基于物联网的战地装备安全监管问题研究

针对战地环境中军事装备的安全监管问题,分析了战地装备安全监管应用系统的整体结构与功能层次,给出了基于RFID射频识别技术、无线传感器等物联网技术的硬件平台设计方案,以及基于数据采集、分析、融合、传输和可视化技术研发监管控制软件的实现方案。该系统部署应用后可实现对装备实时、连续、精确的分级监管,能够确保装备管理的安全和高效,提高部队指挥决策能力。     

美国网络安全战略管理体系分析

文章从美国政府颁布的政策文件、法律法规和各机构部门的职能三个方面,对美国网络安全战略管理体系进行了介绍和分析。     

某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机配置＊

针对某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机的配置问题,依据近程反潜防御区反潜作战的任务、性质和兵力配置要求,提出了反潜直升机配置的基本原则,建立了反潜直升机前出距离计算模型,给出了反潜直升机配置的具体方法,并给出了具体的量化计算结果,可为编队指挥员优化某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机配置提供决策支持和参考。     

未来数字化战场中的指挥控制语言研究

针对未来数字化战场中机器人部队指挥控制与协同作战这一新兴研究领域需解决的机-机协同和人-机智能融合等问题,综述国内外相关领域的研究现状,分析了构建我军指挥控制语言的必要性,研究了机器人部队指挥控制语言的技术架构与关键技术,并提出了指挥控制语言的一种形式化语法和语义标注方法和通信协议,并结合海军舰艇作战示例分析了指挥控制语言的可行性及有效性。     

某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机配置

针对某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机的配置问题,依据近程反潜防御区反潜作战的任务、性质和兵力配置要求,提出了反潜直升机配置的基本原则,建立了反潜直升机前出距离计算模型,给出了反潜直升机配置的具体方法,可为编队指挥员优化某型舰近程反潜防御区反潜直升机配置提供决策支持和参考。     

对岸电子进攻中航母阵位确定方法?

针对航母编队对岸电子进攻作战提出了一种航母编队阵位确定的方法。基于航母编队在对岸电子进攻中的任务,提出了航母编队与岸边距离的基本要求,建立了航母编队与岸边距离的数学模型,仿真计算了模型中各个参数对航母编队与岸边距离的影响。这些模型可用于航母编队在对岸电子进攻中确定航母的阵位,满足航母编队作战使用的需要。