Search

Begin New Search Topic Military Affairs Political Geography Global Focus

51. Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: SDG Target 16.4

Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In September 2015 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000–15) with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. While reaffirming core MDG aims, such as poverty reduction and the promotion of health care and education, these SDGs and targets tackle a much broader range of factors driving underdevelopment, includ- ing violence and insecurity (UNGA, 2015a).
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, International Security, Military Strategy, Peacekeeping, Military Affairs, Weapons, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

52. Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: SDG Target 16.4

Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In September 2015 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000–15) with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. While reaffirming core MDG aims, such as poverty reduction and the promotion of health care and education, these SDGs and targets tackle a much broader range of factors driving underdevelopment, includ- ing violence and insecurity (UNGA, 2015a).
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, International Security, Military Strategy, Peacekeeping, Military Affairs, Weapons, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

53. Measuring Illicit Arms Flows: SDG Target 16.4

Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In September 2015 UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (2000–15) with a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. While reaffirming core MDG aims, such as poverty reduction and the promotion of health care and education, these SDGs and targets tackle a much broader range of factors driving underdevelopment, includ- ing violence and insecurity (UNGA, 2015a).
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, International Security, Military Strategy, Peacekeeping, Military Affairs, Weapons, and Sustainable Development Goals
Political Geography:
Global Focus

54. Dribs and Drabs

Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
This iconic line from the 2005 film Lord of War conveys widely held assumptions about international arms traffickers: that they are ambitious, well-connected, globe-trotting entre-preneurs who single-handedly arm criminals and militias throughout the world. The film’s fictional protagonist, Yuri Orlov, is based on five actual arms dealers, including Russian businessman Viktor Bout, whose vast global network of shell companies and unsavoury clients earned him the moniker ‘the Merchant of Death’ (Gilchrist, 2005). The composite image of Bout and his peers has become the archetypal arms trafficker, the image that comes to mind whenever the illicit arms trade is discussed. Yet most arms traffickers bear little resemblance to that image.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Security, Military Strategy, Mass Media, Military Affairs, and Weapons
Political Geography:
Global Focus

55. Chambering the Next Round: Emergent Small-Calibre Cartridge Technologies

Author:
N.R. Jenzen-Jones
Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Emergent ammunition technologies are likely to prove key in future firearms designs, while many also apply to legacy weapons. Emergent cartridge case technologies, the rise of the ‘general-purpose’ calibre, and other nascent technologies will affect the way in which firearms are designed, produced, managed in service, tactically employed, maintained, and sustained. Many of these technologies are focused on reducing the logistics burden on armed forces and security agencies, and on reducing the carrying load of the individual combatant. While these technologies also apply to medium- and large-calibre ammunition, this Working Paper restricts its focus to small-calibre ammunition—cartridges of up to 14.5 × 114 mm in calibre—which are commonly fired from firearms referred to as small arms and light weapons.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, Military Affairs, and Weapons
Political Geography:
Global Focus

56. Checks and Balances: Securing Small Arms during Peace Operations

Publication Date:
02-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
Since the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations released its seminal report in 2000, UN missions have grown considerably in size and com- plexity. As of November 2015, more than 100,000 uniformed personnel were serving in UN peace operations—a three-fold increase since 2000 and a 50 per cent rise since 2005 (UNDPKO, 2005; UNGA and UNSC, 2015b, p. 20). These troops, military observers, and police officers increasingly operate in large, underdeveloped countries, alongside violent armed groups that show little interest in political compromise and have few compunctions about attacking UN forces (UNGA and UNSC, 2015b, pp. 21–22). Succeeding in these environments requires that peacekeepers be well trained and well armed.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Politics, United Nations, International Security, Military Strategy, Peacekeeping, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

57. FROM EU STRATEGY TO DEFENCE SERIES New kid on the block The European Commission and European defence

Author:
Dick Zandee
Publication Date:
12-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
Abstract:
The newly launched European Defence Action Plan (EDAP) opens the door to EU spending on defence. This Policy Brief analyses why the EDAP has been launched, what it is and how it will work in practice. It argues that the plan is a step change in the European Commission’s growing involvement in defence and a potential game changer in solving the problem of European military shortfalls. European capitals should therefore embrace the new kid on the block and make full use of the potential offered by the EDAP.
Topic:
Defense Policy, International Political Economy, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Europe and Global Focus

58. Missile Defense: Challenges and Opportunities for the Trump Administration

Author:
Henry F. Cooper
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA)
Abstract:
This IFPA/Independent Working Group on Missile Defense white paper proposes the return to key elements of the Strategic Defensive Initiative (SDI) era, particularly to deploy space-based ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems, as part of an effective strategy to combat growing threats by rogue states or terrorists that have or may soon have the ability to conduct a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack
Topic:
Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

59. The Evolution of Arms Control Instruments and the Potential of the Arms Trade Treaty

Author:
Tom Coppen
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Although the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) has the potential to create an effective international legal framework for controlling the international arms trade, much depends on the subsequent development of its legal framework. This article therefore analyzes how the ATT, as a multilateral arms control treaty, can develop its own legal framework in accordance with international law and what role the organs established by it can play in that process. It will be shown that in its current form the ATT has significant shortcomings that may prevent it from achieving this goal, but there certainly is room for the lawful development of its norms, which will depend on amassing political will and the establishment of practice.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, International Law, Treaties and Agreements, and Military Affairs
Political Geography:
Global Focus

60. Detecting Cultural Factors in Conflictive Scenarios of Intervention: Military and Local Actors in Interaction

Author:
Marien Duran and Antonio Avalos
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
The integration of cultural elements into the operational planning process is a complex task that requires practical and theroretical tools for a wide comprehension of the context to help solve the problem. This article shows the results of an empirical research which presents conflicting cultural factors as the starting point for the construction of mediating structures. The main result of our research is a partial cognitive structure, a system of ideas, represented in a template listing the basic conflictive factors at the tactical level that military could find in the development of their tasks. The template is also a valuable aid to design military training curricula and to be applied to any post-conflict stability operation in complex environments resulting from irregular or asymmetric conflicts.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Culture, Peacekeeping, Military Affairs, Political stability, and Local
Political Geography:
Global Focus