Suchergebnisse

The crisis in the Red Sea is currently putting Western deterrence mechanisms to the test and presenting a diplomatic challenge for China's interests in the region.

Massive Chinese infrastructure investments across the Eurasian landmass and Africa, together with the influx of Chinese personnel, are targeted by insurgents, rebels, and militants. The uncertainty in Ethiopia undermines China's efforts to boost economic links with the African continent via the One Belt One Road Initiative.

This Policy Report focuses on the overland routes that connect China to Europe via Central Asia and it aims to answer the question whether the European Union (EU) should engage China in the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The expansion of the OBOR initiative is forcing China's economic diplomacy to embrace a broader political and security engagement. While Russia and the United States are revising their roles in South and Central Asia, the EU has lost momentum.

This Policy Report focuses on the overland routes that connect China to Europe via Central Asia and it aims to answer the question whether the European Union (EU) should engage China in the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The expansion of the OBOR initiative is forcing China's economic diplomacy to embrace a broader political and security engagement. While Russia and the United States are revising their roles in South and Central Asia, the EU has lost momentum.

This volume illustrates the role that Private Security Companies (PSC) with 'Chinese characteristics' play in protecting people and property associated with the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The revival of the ancient Silk Road economic 'belt', combined with the 21st Century sea lanes of communication known as the 'road', is intended to enhance global connectivity and increase commercial activity. However, the socio-political risks associated with Chinese outbound direct investments are often overlooked.

Intro -- Dedication -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- List of Abbreviations -- Chapter 1: Protecting the New Silk Road -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Securing the Belt and Road Initiative -- 1.3 Security Privatization with Chinese Characteristics -- 1.4 Chinese Approach to PSC Employment: 'Crossing the River Feeling the Stones' -- References -- Chapter 2: From Shadow to Hype -- 2.1 Private Military and Security Companies: From Shadow to Hype -- 2.2 Private Security Companies Go Mainstream -- 2.3 Chinese Own Perception of the Domestic and International Security Market -- 2.4 From the Anabasis to the Online Security Apps -- 2.5 From Africa's Bush Wars to Afghanistan: The Evolution of the Anti-mercenary Law -- 2.6 Lack of Definition, Accountability and Transparency -- References -- Chapter 3: Protecting Chinese Overseas Interests -- 3.1 The Silk Road: Modern Solutions for Ancient Problems -- 3.2 Belt and Road Initiative Risk Mapping -- 3.3 China's Overseas Interests -- 3.4 Global Interest Vs. Global Ambitions: Stretching the Non-interference Principle -- 3.5 Securing the 'Chinese Dream': Narrowing the Gap Between Economic Diplomacy and Security Capabilities -- 3.6 Sino-Pakistan 'All Weather Friendship' -- 3.7 Central Asia Energy and Security Network -- 3.8 Afghanistan's Great Game -- 3.9 Africa: From Libya to Sudan -- 3.10 Opportunities and Challenges: Private Security Companies' Monitoring and Governance -- References -- Chapter 4: Globalization and the Market for Force -- 4.1 China Vs. US Market for Force -- 4.2 China Vs. Russia Market for Force -- 4.3 Kidnapping and Ransom: The Role of Special Insurances -- 4.4 China PSCs and the Terror Nexus -- 4.5 Catching Tigers and Flies: The Hunt for Corrupt Chinese Overseas -- References -- Chapter 5: Conclusion -- 5.1 Chinese Private Security Companies: Just Another Blackwater? -- 5.2 New Wars, New Businesses

The African continent's threat spectrum is unique in that it encompasses all the risks, from criminal to political violence, that public and private Chinese companies are likely to face as the Belt & Road Initiative continues to expand. Read Dr. Alessandro Arduino's latest working paper as he offers a novel, high-level analysis of the security frontier in Africa and the role Chinese private security companies (PSCs) are currently playing, and will continue to play, in the African security sector.

The African continent's threat spectrum is unique in that it encompasses all the risks, from criminal to political violence, that public and private Chinese companies are likely to face as the Belt & Road Initiative continues to expand. Read Dr. Alessandro Arduino's latest policy brief as he offers a novel, high-level analysis of the security frontier in Africa and the role Chinese private security companies (PSCs) are currently playing, and will continue to play, in the African security sector.

War is no longer waged only by national militaries. We are seeing a shift to a new anarchy where might makes right, but with new tools: private intelligence outfits, rent-an-army soldiers, and cyber mercenaries for hire. These groups profit from chaos and uncertainty, while accountability, transparency, and peace seem harder than ever to achieve.

Purpose: Bearing partially or fully metallic passive implants represents an exclusion criterion for patients undergoing a magnetic hyperthermia procedure, but there are no specific studies backing this restrictive decision. This work assesses how the secondary magnetic field generated at the surface of two common types of prostheses affects the safety and efficiency of magnetic hyperthermia treatments of localized tumors. The paper also proposes the combination of a multi-criteria decision analysis and a graphical representation of calculated data as an initial screening during the preclinical risk assessment for each patient. Materials and methods: Heating of a hip joint and a dental implant during the treatment of prostate, colorectal and head and neck tumors have been assessed considering different external field conditions and exposure times. The Maxwell equations including the secondary field produced by metallic prostheses have been solved numerically in a discretized computable human model. The heat exchange problem has been solved through a modified version of the Pennes' bioheat equation assuming a temperature dependency of blood perfusion and metabolic heat, i.e. thermorregulation. The degree of risk has been assessed using a risk index with parameters coming from custom graphs plotting the specific absorption rate (SAR) vs temperature increase, and coefficients derived from a multi-criteria decision analysis performed following the MACBETH approach. Results: The comparison of two common biomaterials for passive implants - Ti6Al4V and CoCrMo - shows that both specific absorption rate (SAR) and local temperature increase are found to be higher for the hip prosthesis made by Ti6Al4V despite its lower electrical and thermal conductivity. By tracking the time evolution of temperature upon field application, it has been established that there is a 30 s delay between the time point for which the thermal equilibrium is reached at prostheses and tissues. Likewise, damage may appear in those tissues adjacent to the prostheses at initial stages of treatment, since recommended thermal thresholds are soon surpassed for higher field intensities. However, it has also been found that under some operational conditions the typical safety rule of staying below or attain a maximum temperature increase or SAR value is met. Conclusion: The current exclusion criterion for implant-bearing patients in magnetic hyperthermia should be revised, since it may be too restrictive for a range of the typical field conditions used. Systematic in silico treatment planning using the proposed methodology after a well-focused diagnostic ; This work has been supported by the NoCanTher project, which has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No [685795]. The authors acknowledge support from the COST Association through the COST actions `RADIOMAG' [TD1402] and `MyWAVE' [CA17115]. D.O. and I.R.R. acknowledge financial support from the Community of Madrid under Contract No. [PEJD-2017-PRE/IND-3663], from the Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. through the Ramon y Cajal grant [RYC2018-025253-I] and Research Networks [RED2018-102626-Hiroshima], as well as the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the grants [MAT2017-85617R] and the `Severo Ochoa' Program for Centers of Excellence in R&D [SEV-2016-0686]. We gratefully acknowledge the support of NVIDIA Corporation through the GPU Grant Program with the donation of the Quadro P6000 GPU used for this research. D. O. acknowledges support from the Programme for the Promotion and Encouragement of Research and Transfer activities at the University of Cadiz.