Bridging the Gap: Mobilisation Constraints and Contractor Support to US and UK Military Operations

The increasing use of private military and security companies (PMSCs) has attracted considerable scholarly attention due to its corrosive effects on US democracy. Drawing on neoclassical realism, this article provides a comparative dimension to the study of the political drivers of military privatisation by analysing contractor support to US and UK operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Domestic political constraints have shaped both US and UK response to the need for more boots on the ground, increasing the propensity to use contractors as a force multiplier in spite of their problematic impact on military effectiveness.     

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.     

从《中导条约》的失效看未来国际军控走向

《美苏消除两国中程导弹和中短程导弹条约》的失效重创了本就脆弱的国际军控体系,对美俄战略稳定和全球军事安全带来消极影响,国际军控合作和全球军事安全迫切需要重构新的军控体系。本文立足当前国际军控现状,在分析美俄“退约”背后各方战略考量及国际军控面临的挑战,如“美国优先”理念下的霸权主义和单边主义、国际军控体系自身的脆弱性和局限性和新军事革命给全球安全增添新的变量的基础上,提出了“构建人类命运共同体”理念凝聚全球安全共识、以大国责任和义务为基础构建多层次军控体系和以多边军控体系循序推进国际军控进程等措施和建议,以期为推动国际军控合作,建立更为公平、合理、有效的国际军控体系做出贡献。     

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.     

浅谈武警部队财务信息化建设

结合笔者工作实践,对武警部队实施财务信息化管理的现状和问题进行了简要归纳和总结,并着重对武警部队如何顺利推进财务管理信息化提出了建议和意见。     

武警部队职责与体制的法学思考

在新时期新阶段,武警部队的职能在不断拓展,武警部队的职责、体制等是否与此相适应,这是军事法学研究人员应当予以充分关注的理论问题。     

2005～2009年《武警学院学报》文献计量分析

通过对2005～2009年《武警学院学报》5年间的载文、作者及引文情况进行统计分析,研究其载文量、栏目设置以及著者、发文地区和著者系统分布,并统计出合作度、合作类型、引文量、篇均引文数、引文语种及引文类型等,以期描述学报在改为月刊后的出版状况,从中发现一些带有规律性的问题,并客观评价其办刊特色,为刊物的进一步发展及相关学科动向提供理论依据。     

《人民武装警察法》中“协助”之分析

在最新颁布实施的《中华人民共和国人民武装警察法》中,共有3条6处规定了武警部队在执行国内安全保卫任务时对其他机关的“协助”,但是这些协助性任务的性质并不是很明确。本文通过对行政协助构成关键点的剖析,探究该法律中的“协助”是否是真正意义上的行政协助。     

以教学内容优化更新为主线 推进任职教育新一轮改革创新发展

在新形势下,学院要按照第十五次全军院校会议和武警总部党委的指示精神,扎实推进任职教育取得新成绩,就要认真总结学院任职教育的经验,找出存在的不足,通过准确把握任职教育的本质,深化对任职教育的研究,增强使命意识,真抓实干,加快学院任职教育教学改革步伐,推进任职教育创新发展。     

Intelligence and military doctrine: paradox or oxymoron?

This article examines the evolution of the current British military joint intelligence doctrine. We argue that military intelligence doctrine is dogged by an intrinsic tension between the ethos and expectations of military doctrine and those of the professional practice of intelligence. We further argue not only that prior iterations of UK joint intelligence doctrine failed to effectively deal with this intelligence doctrine dilemma, but also that measures in the current doctrine to address this problem directly created their own problems. Moreover, as a result, otherwise sound innovations in the current UK intelligence doctrine have proven unsuitable to wider diffusion in more recent intelligence doctrine such as the new NATO intelligence doctrine which, otherwise, draws extensively on its British precursor.