National security,military spending and the business cycle

This paper develops a Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium model where national security is an argument in the agent’s utility function and the government chooses optimally the level of military spending to maximize social welfare. National defense depends on military expenditure and on the strategic environment reflecting a potential hostile external threat. We use aggregate data on consumption, investment, and military spending for the US economy to estimate the parameters of the model. Estimation results suggest that consumption and national defense are complements and that military spending variability is mainly explained by external threat shocks although it also depends on the macroeconomic conditions. We compute impulse response functions of the main macroeconomic variables to several shocks: a total factor productivity shock, a defense technology shock, and a strategic environment shock. Surprisingly, we find that the optimal response to an increase in the external threat (a worsening in the strategic environment) will rise output by reducing consumption and increasing investment.     

The lobbies’ network at the EU policy level: the case of security and defense

Lobbyists may not share the same interests, but they usually agree to form a link in a network which could eventually be used to spread information, to search for potential partners, to speak with one voice to decision makers. In other words, social links represent value for lobbyists because they may ultimately facilitate access. In this article, we explore the network of the Security and Defense lobbies in the EU and we describe its structure.     

‘Responsibility to protect’ and the African Union: Assessing the AU’s capacity to respond to regional complex humanitarian and political emergencies

Despite its many institutional and political weaknesses and limitations, the African Union (AU) has been developing a variety of tools and mechanisms to respond effectively to complex disasters and emergencies (both natural and manmade) by building up a comprehensive regional security architecture. Furthermore, it has become the first and only regional or international organisation to enshrine the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) in its Constitutive Act. This regional approach to and formal endorsement of the R2P principle allowed it to assume a particular place in the promotion of peace and security in its area. This article aims to critically assess the effectiveness of the AU on the African continent by exploring its real capacity in preventing and responding to emergencies and violent conflicts, and therefore in rendering the principle of R2P operational. The article argues that the formalisation of principles does not necessarily mean their effective implementation. The organisation's use of the R2P principle is also greatly conditioned by internal and external factors.     

The relevance of the Gulf of Guinea in global energy politics

Africa and for that matter the Gulf of Guinea cannot be indifferent to the global energy politics of the 21st century. The increasing importance of the region has attracted major actors in the energy sector. The competing interests of these actors are played out in various forms. This heightened interest in the region, especially with the discovery of oil in huge commercial quantities, has brought the importance of the area into focus in global oil politics. This paper looks at the importance of the region in light of the huge energy potentials of the Gulf of Guinea and how the institution of proper governance systems could serve as an important factor in ensuring the proper management of the resource.     

Reserve forces and the transformation of British military organisation: soldiers,citizens and society

In recent years, there has been a sharp growth in political and sociological interest in the British military. Set against the backdrop of the armed forces’ increasing presence in everyday life, alongside the organizations’ ongoing restructuring, the current paper focuses on the MoD’s problematic attempts to recruit 30,000 reservists by 2020; what has become known as the Future Reserves 2020 programme (FR2020). We argue that these changes are driven in part by the need to cut costs in defence. However, we also suggest that they are a reflection of the changing nature of modern military organisation, and the manner in which armed forces engage with the societies of which they are a part, and with the citizens that make up that society. We locate FR2020 programme in the context of a wider narrative about the changing nature of military organisation in contemporary western democracies, identifying structural, circumstantial and normative reasons for change. We also examine the specific challenges of implementing FR2020 in practice, including issues of recruitment and retention, integration and support, and relations with families and employers, drawing on the experience of comparator countries to do so. We conclude by considering the implications of these changes, both for the future of UK armed forces, and for the evolving nature of military-society relations in Britain.     

潜艇信息系统信息安全与纵深防护策略研究

随着网络中心战的发展,信息安全问题在现代潜艇系统中的重要性日益凸显。首先分析潜艇信息安全问题的背景、总结其研究现状,然后研究了潜艇信息安全需求及属性定义,探讨了潜艇信息系统信息安全防护整体框架,在此基础上提出了一种综合静态安全防护和动态运行安全防护的潜艇信息系统信息安全纵深防护体系结构。以期为解决潜艇系统设计中的安全缺陷、建立潜艇信息安全防护体系,辅助系统维护、保障系统安全提供基础。     

基于二元语义和比较得分算子的敏捷指挥控制决策表达方法?

敏捷指挥控制是应对现代战场复杂多变特点和快速响应要求的有效途径。在指控群体决策中,为了实现指控的敏捷性,决策成员应当尽可能快速准确地表达自己的决策信息,以利于决策信息迅速集结和提高决策质量。针对利用二元语义分析方法进行决策时决策者很难精确给出符号转移值的问题,提出一种基于比较得分算子的符号转移值确定方法,对于多个备选方案被评价到同一语言评价等级上的情况,采用比较得分算子来确定这些方案的权重,再利用转换函数将权重转换为符号转移值。最后通过算例证明方法的有效性。     

计算机控制小工具抛光技术中磨盘材料对去除函数的影响

研究了计算机控制小工具抛光(CCOP)加工中三种常用的磨盘材料对去除函数特性的影响,进一步完善材料去除模型,用以指导光学零件的加工。利用自行研制的AOCMT光学加工机床及接触式测量系统进行实验和分析。从去除函数形状、去除效率及稳定性、表面形貌三个方面进行了研究。实验结果表明:聚氨酯材料适用于粗抛光阶段;阻尼布材料适用于精抛光阶段;沥青材料适用于最后的修形加工和表面处理。     

美军作战试验与鉴定发展研究

当前,军队装备试验鉴定正由性能试验向作战试验、在役考核全领域拓展。在装备试验鉴定体系全面重塑的历史背景下,为适应军队装备试验鉴定发展新变化,探索装备试验鉴定新理论,推进装备试验鉴定自主创新发展,亟需开展装备试验鉴定技术研究。美军相对较早开展了装备试验与鉴定工作,在作战试验与鉴定工作方面已形成了较完善的法规制度体系和规范的操作流程,有较成熟的理论与方法成果可供借鉴。与此同时,美军作战试验与鉴定工作也面临许多新问题。本文剖析了美军作战试验与鉴定的内涵和管理模式,研究了2018和2019年美军作战试验与鉴定的重点技术领域,并进行了对比分析,以期掌握近期美军作战试验与鉴定工作的发展变化。     

基于SWOT分析的我国海上方向空中安全形势及对策措施

海上方向是强敌对我实施战略围堵和遏制的主要方向。随着美国国防战略重回大国竞争,其遏制中国的手段推陈出新,尤其是在海空方向对我施压强度频度与日俱增。文章运用SWOT方法对我国海上方向空中安全形势进行了全面分析,认为优势体现在联合作战指挥体制、国防动员能力、列装新型防空武器等方面,劣势体现在战场建设滞后、预警探测拦截打击能力不足等方面,机遇体现在中美共识与相对稳定的周边环境,威胁体现在强敌对我的侦察威慑、空天打击、海空封锁。通过构建我国海上方向空中安全的SWOT分析矩阵,提出要进一步深化改革,加强军队与地方、平时与战时、作战力量和作战环节的“三个统筹”,发展新型防空、预警装备,以及加强沿海防空战场建设等。