Suchergebnisse

The article analyzes the wars & conflicts of the Horn of Africa from a regional point of view. Although it is argued that the many conflicts largely arise for reasons internal to the individual state -- in particular, due to tensions between groups & the state stemming from the way the state formation is constituted -- it is also pointed out that the dynamics of these conflicts can only be understood in a regional perspective. As armed opposition groups use neighboring countries as bases for their attacks on the regime, & as networks of alliances are built around the principle of "my enemy's enemy is my friend," the different conflicts are interwoven into a regional conflict pattern. As the states of the region are chronically conflict-ridden & failing to maintain monopoly of violence throughout their territories, they are challenged by liberation movements that assume many of the characteristics ordinarily understood as prerogatives of the state. 14 References. Adapted from the source document.

The advantages that some military establishments have enjoyed in the remote Arctic region are diminishing. The military secrets of the Arctic Ocean are being progressively uncloaked, as civilian polar research expands into areas previously known only to a few. This study examines the security ramifications of broadened international research into what has been the most inhospitable and exclusive operational area on Earth. Firstly, the study argues that successful military operations in the Arctic depend on extended knowledge about area-specific issues related to e.g. the upper atmosphere and magnetosphere, weather, sea ice, ocean structure and dynamics, seafloor bathymetry and sediments, as well as reliable target detection systems. Secondly, it finds that a number of nations, both Arctic and non-Arctic, have stepped up their polar research in recent years. Secrets once held by a few are now accessible to many through international cooperation, data-sharing and open-access publishing. Finally, the study concludes that knowledge proliferation is likely to level the Arctic battlefield. Lending terms from Mica Endsley's three-level Situation Awareness model, polar research will result in increasingly shared perceptions about the Arctic operational environment, contribute to a more uniform comprehension of the elements, and even enable new actors to project a future state of the Arctic environment.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which consists of military forces from more than 40 NATO and non-NATO countries, is now officially history. In combination with the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the international intervention in Afghanistan has been one of the most lengthy operations in modern times. Such overwhelming effort requires reflection and evaluation. What have we learned from being part of this intervention? In this focus article I will go into one of the most important and demanding elements of this intervention - the civil-military space. The civil-military interaction played a significant role and received much attention, theoretical and practical. The question was about how various actors can contribute to a successful, holistic effort. I should say something about the term 'civil-military coordination' which focuses on the relationship between different actors, and then look into the Norwegian approach to civil-military relations. I would argue that the Norwegian approach was based on important principles, but could appear as immature and inflexible. I justify my claim by lifting some challenges and contradictions that have emerged, either because of - or despite - the introduction of the model. The newly appointed Afghan committee will give us considerable insight and several lessons and will be useful in future policies and practices. Already, however, two things for sure; firstly, that we will be asked to contribute in future military operations without being able to predict what these will contain (we have other words prepare us for many different contingencies). Secondly, under virtually all military operations be civilians present, with greater or lesser degree of contact between them. This civil-military dynamics often understood within the concept of civil-military cooperation (Rietje & Bollen 2008; Hoogensen Gjorv 2014 Hoogensen Gjorv & Gjorv 2014). Adapted from the source document.