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321. Getting Beyond Taiwan? Chinese Foreign Policy PLA Modernization

Author:
Michael A. Glosny
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, China's military modernization has focused on deterring Taiwan independence and preparing for a military response if deterrence fails. Given China's assumption of U.S. intervention in a Taiwan conflict, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has been developing military capabilities to deter, delay, and disrupt U.S. military support operations. The 2008 election of Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, however, has contributed to improved cross-strait economic and political cooperation and dramatically reduced the threat of Taiwan independence and war across the Taiwan Strait. Cooperation has included full restoration of direct shipping, flights, and mail across the strait, Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly, regularized cross-strait negotiation mechanisms that have already reached several agreements, and the recent signing of the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Arms Control and Proliferation, Communism, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States and China

322. Small Nuclear Reactors for Military Installations: Capabilities, Costs, and Technological Implications

Author:
Richard B. Andres and Hanna L. Breetz
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
In recent years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has become in - creasingly interested in the potential of small (less than 300 megawatts electric [MWe]) nuclear reactors for military use. 1 DOD's attention to small reactors stems mainly from two critical vulnerabilities it has identified in its infrastructure and operations: the dependence of U.S. military bases on the fragile civilian electrical grid, and the challenge of safely and reliably supplying energy to troops in forward operating locations. DOD has responded to these challenges with an array of initiatives on energy efficiency and renewable and alternative fuels. Unfortunately, even with massive investment and ingenuity, these initiatives will be insufficient to solve DOD's reliance on the civilian grid or its need for convoys in forward areas. The purpose of this paper is to explore the prospects for addressing these critical vulnerabilities through small-scale nuclear plants.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States

323. Conventional Prompt Global Strike: Strategic Asset or Unusable Liability?

Author:
M. Elaine Bunn and Vincent A. Manzo
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Abstract:
The Conventional Prompt Global Strike (CPGS) concept calls for a U.S. capability to deliver conventional strikes anywhere in the world in approximately an hour. The logic of the CPGS concept is straight - forward. The United States has global security commitments to deter and respond to a diverse spectrum of threats, ranging from terrorist organizations to near-peer competitors. The United States might need to strike a time-sensitive target protected by formidable air defenses or located deep inside enemy territory. Small, high-value targets might pop up without warning in remote or sensitive areas, potentially precluding the United States from responding to the situation by employing other conventional weapons systems, deploying Special Operations Forces (SOF), or relying on the host country.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Debt, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States

324. Franco-British military cooperation: a new engine for European defence?

Author:
Ben Jones
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
The St. Malo Agreement on European Defence Cooperation of 1998 set out a new approach to defence cooperation in pursuit of a new goal – an autonomous European military capability. By contrast, the Franco-British cooperation launched in November 2010 by Prime Minister Cameron and President Sarkozy is once again a new approach, but it is one that seeks to sustain the status quo – in support of sovereign foreign and defence policies.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, Europe, and France

325. Beyond Geopolitics: Common Challenges, Joint Solutions?

Author:
Gustav Lindstrom
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The 2010 Gstaad Process meeting was held in Switzerland from 16-18 September. Entitled “Beyond Geopolitics – Common Challenges, Joint Solutions?”, the event was organised by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) with the financial support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Additional partners and contributors were the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies in Monterey (California) and the PIR Center (Moscow).
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Science and Technology, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Europe

326. Disrupting the Supply Chain for Mass Atrocities

Publication Date:
07-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Human Rights First
Abstract:
Mass atrocities are organized crimes. Those who commit genocide and crimes against humanity depend on third parties for the goods and services—money, matériel, political support, and a host of other resources-that sustain large—scale violence against civilians. Third parties have supplied military aircraft used by the Sudan Armed Forces against civilians, refined gold and other minerals coming out of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and ensured a steady flow of arms into Rwanda. Governments seeking to prevent atrocities cannot afford a narrow and uncoordinated focus on the perpetrators of such violence. Rather, an effective strategy must include identifying and pressuring third-party enablers— individuals, commercial entities, and countries—in order to interrupt the supply chains that fuel mass violence against civilians.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, Crime, and Genocide
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

327. Bases, Bullets, and Ballots: The Effect of U.S. Military Aid on Political Conflict in Colombia

Author:
Oeindrila Dube and Suresh Naidu
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Does foreign military assistance strengthen or further weaken fragile states facing internal conflict? We address this question by estimating how U.S. military aid affects violence and electoral participation in Colombia. We exploit the allocation of U.S. military aid to Colombian military bases, and compare how aid affects municipalities with and without bases. Using detailed political violence data, we find that U.S. military aid leads to differential increases in attacks by paramilitaries (who collude with the military), but has no effect on guerilla attacks. Aid increases also result in more paramilitary (but not guerrilla) homicides during election years. Moreover, when military aid rises, voter turnout falls more in base municipalities, especially those that are politically contested.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Democratization, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
United States, Colombia, and Latin America

328. The President's Dilemma: Deficits, Debt, and US Defense Spending

Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Project on Defense Alternatives
Abstract:
The Obama administration's DoD budget plans lock into place the unprecedented rise in defense spending – 90% – that began in the late-1990s, consolidating a return to Reagan-era budget levels (when corrected for inflation).
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
Political Geography:
United States

329. Saudi Public Backs Iran Sanctions but Split on Military Action

Author:
David Pollock
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
A highly unusual and credible private poll of Saudi citizens taken in late November 2009 by a reputable regional firm shows solid popular support for tough measures against Iran, even though domestic economic issues loom larger in the public's perception. Conducted in partnership with Pechter Middle East Polls, a new, Princeton-based research organization, the survey involved face-to-face interviews with a representative sample of 1,000 Saudi citizens in the major metropolitan areas of Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam/al-Khobar. A comparable poll was conducted in Egypt during the same period, with a representative national sample of 1,000.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Economics, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Sanctions
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, Arabia, and Saudi Arabia

330. Sexed Pistols: The Gendered Impacts of Prolific Small Arms

Author:
Albrecht Schnabel, Vanessa Farr, and Henri Myrttinen
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Every day, small arms and light weapons (salw) kill, maim, wound and threaten millions of adults and children. The victims are combatants and civilians in war zones or communities in degraded “peacetime” environments characterized by large-scale criminal or political violence, and can also be found in “societies at peace” where SALW may be used in cases of domestic violence or shooting sprees. Due to their widespread availability, mobility and ease of use, prolific SALW play a significant role in maintaining social dislocation, destabilization, insecurity and crime in the build-up to war, in wartime and in the aftermath of violent conflict. Small arms are misused within domestic settings as well as in public spaces, and they affect everyone in the community regardless of sex or age.
Topic:
Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Gender Issues
Political Geography:
United Nations