Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies

81. Conclusion

Author:
Sten Rynning
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The 'new' Arctic is opening a new dimension of global politics. It is most vividly illustrated by the globe and the need to turn it in new directions if we are to grasp the geography of polar issues: all the globes and most of the maps of this world look at the world horizontally, placing the equator horizontally at the middle and inviting the observer to gaze right and left, east and west. The Arctic is a chopped up area located at the northern margins of the map. Google Earth and other electronic maps offer relief – they can be twisted and turned in all directions – but it will take some time before we change our mental maps and find it natural to adopt a polar perspective.
Political Geography:
Europe

82. Appendix: Conference on Arctic Security: Summary and Perspectives

Author:
Henrik Linbo Larsen and Jakob Aroe Jorgensen
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Depending on which theoretical framework we use to study Arctic security, we would expect to see different levels of cooperation and competition. From an international law perspective, issues of who has the rights over resources, in terms of owning the seabed, are highly significant. From a geopolitical perspective, the issues of a new ice-free nautical passage north of Russia may result in a new geopolitical reality where Russia is no longer the heartland state but becomes part of the rimland of Eurasia. From a global commons perspective, the key focus is the free and global access to the Arctic.
Political Geography:
Russia and Eurasia

83. Canadian Defence Spending – A Case Study of Mismanagement

Author:
Jeffrey Gilmour
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In 2010, the Harper Government announced the "Canada First Defence Strategy" whereby a list of required equipment was listed for our military. This included orders for support vehicles, search and rescue helicopters, a new fighter jet to replace the F-18 Hornet, support ships and Arctic patrol vessels plus a polar ice breaker for the Coast Guard. The replacement contract for the CH124 Sea King helicopter was already in the works with Sikorsky as the prime contractor.
Political Geography:
Canada

84. The (Re)-Gathering of the Russian People?

Author:
James Keeley
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Eight hundred years ago, the Mongol conquest of Kievan Rus' left Russians divided among many subordinated principalities and polities. Over time, the Grand Duchy of Muscovy brought them together under its sway, laying the foundation for the Russian Empire. Over time, the Tsars extended their reach, to the marshes on which St. Petersburg was built in the north, in the south to a port at Sevastopol in the Crimea, to another on the Pacific, Vladivostok, and to the heart of Central Asia.
Political Geography:
Russia and Central Asia

85. The Disciplinary Gaze of the Camera's Eye: Soldiers' Conscience and Moral Responsibility

Author:
Erella Grassiani and Desiree Verweij
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Even though the concept of conscience is complex and multi-interpretable , it is still widely seen as the prime source of morally responsible behavior and often referred to as the 'internal witness' and as such the moral guide of our actions. However, what happens to conscience in the practice of violent conflict in the post-modern era? Today's battlefields are not mysterious and unknown places anymore; we can 'join' the happenings live through satellite connections and journalists who are on site. In such an era where it seems that nothing we do stays unseen it is interesting to look at what happens to soldiers' conscience and their moral responsibility when they are being watched ; when their actions are 'witnessed' by outsiders armed with cameras. Is there a relation between the external witness and thus judgment from outside, from a wider sometimes unseen audience and the 'internal witness' (private reflection on one's behavior), what became known as 'conscious'? Does the camera, in reflecting soldiers actions, work as a conscientious witness? Is it the disciplinary gaze of the camera that keeps soldiers from engaging in immoral behavior? Yet, if this is the case how can we explain soldiers photographing themselves or letting themselves be filmed when committing immoral acts?

86. The Limits and Implications of the Air-Sea Battle Concept: A Japanese Perspective

Author:
Matsahiro Matsumura
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The world has seen the international distribution of power gradually shifting, driven in great part by China's rise and America's relative decline. Almost continuously for two decades, China has kept double-digit growth rates in defense spending and, consequently, made military build-ups that are unprecedented in modern international history. China has also demonstrated a series of increasingly assertive diplomatic and military actions as related to its irredentist claims to Taiwan, the Senkaku Islands, the Spratly Islands, and the Paracel Islands, among others. Although the regional security order of the East Asia and the Western Pacific appears sufficiently stable, the US and its major regional allies together have to deter and, if necessary, defeat possible China's armed aggression against the territorial status quo. Doing so is a challenge even for the hegemonic US, on the grounds that the aftermath of the 2008 Lehman Shock has seriously impaired the health of the US political economy, and that its defense spending is anticipated to undergo one major cut after another, at least, for a decade to come.
Political Geography:
United States, Japan, China, America, Taiwan, and East Asia

87. Swiss Neutrality Examined: Model, Exception or Both?

Author:
John Dreyer and Neal G. Jesse
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the experience of Switzerland within the greater discourse of neutrality in international relations. When many scholars or policy makers discuss neutrality, they often draw upon the experience of the Swiss. Switzerland has, since the early 19thcentury, constructed an identity as a neutral state. Unlike nearly every other neutral European in modern political history, Switzerland has been successful. In this paper we show the Swiss as an outlier in the dialogue on neutrality. Switzerland has been far more successful at neutrality than any other state for reasons of culture, history and international recognition. Neutrality as a policy has been largely a failure for most states. The Swiss, however, possess three major attributes that allow them to succeed and prosper in their role as neutral. First is the incorporation of an armed deterrent into the national culture. Second is the provision of neutrality as a collective good. Finally is the solidification of Swiss neutrality into international law, custom and convention over nearly 200 years.
Political Geography:
Europe and Switzerland

88. Nowhere May They Roam: Ottoman Area-Denial Operations and Lessons for the Strait of Hormuz

Author:
Timothy Choi
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
On March 18th, 1915, a combined fleet of British and French battleships attempted to force their way through the Dardanelles, the southern half of the Turkish Straits that connected the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. "Attempted" is the key word, for it was a spectacular failure. Two of the greatest navies in the world had failed to enforce their will upon the puny and seemingly obsolete forces of the Ottoman Empire, sparking the infamous and bloody Gallipoli land campaign.
Political Geography:
United States and Turkey

89. Transitional Fossils of the Atomic Age: Regulus and Sea Master

Author:
Edward Andrew Kaplan
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Revolutions in strategy and military affairs happen one step at a time. "Revolution" implies a sudden shift, with old and worn ideas, and the weapon systems they support, ceding ground to the fresh and modern. The medieval castle gives way to the trace italienne. Panzers rip through slow-moving, "methodical," infantry. Precision munitions guided by definitive intelligence eviscerate a veteran Iraqi Army. In retrospect, these "revolutions" can appear fated, but this paper argues that this is not always the case. The apparent discontinuity between one method of warfare and its so-called revolutionary successor is on closer inspection often filled with short-lived "failed" projects. They do not last long (or even reach active service), but they are essential evolutionary steps for later, more enduring, systems. Their most important contribution is to introduce novel ideas, often taken from outside conventional military circles, and they can be an important way for an organization to change its approach to core functions. When these intermediate systems are forgotten, they make the final step look like a revolutionary leap, as opposed to a steady advance of evolutionary development. This paper restores to visibility two overlooked parts of one such process, the movement from carrier-based seapower to nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines.
Political Geography:
United States

90. Preparing for Peace in Time of War: Canada and the Post-Hostilities Planning Committees, 1943-1945

Author:
Monique Dolak
Publication Date:
06-2014
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
During the Second World War, as the likelihood of Allied success grew, the Canadian Department of External Affairs (DEA) looked towards the post-war world. The increasingly international posture of the Canadian government, coupled with concerns over the shape of the post-war international structure, and Canada's role within it, inspired the Department of External Affairs (DEA) to focus its efforts on post-war planning. For the first time in the DEA's short history, it began to vigorously "plan for the future". This took the form of Post-Hostilities Planning (PHP) Committees. The PHP framework was not only an exercise in post-war planning, but inter-service and interdepartmental relations. While the three Canadian military services were active participants in the work done, it was dominated by the DEA. Considerations of the military often tended toward more immediate wartime concerns. The PHP committees also served as a means of bringing the services into closer contact and communication with one another. However, political and diplomatic considerations dominated and the services were often sidelined during meetings. Thus, while the Canadian Chiefs of Staff and their representatives sat on the Committees, their ability to shape policy proved limited.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Canada