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Begin New Search Content Type Journal Article Publication Year within 25 Years

10361. States, Citizens and the Privatization of Security.

Author:
Duane Bratt
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The rise of private security firms has become a high profile feature of international relations since the end of the Cold War. This was symbolized by the private military company Executive Outcomes operating in Africa in the 1990s and Blackwater operating in Iraq in the 2000s. However, these companies were not the only ones in existence; they were just the most visible. In fact, there were more American-based private security companies in Iraq than members of the United States Armed Forces. In addition, the privatization of security involves more than just the use of armed guards; it also involves the outsourcing of many military services, such as logistics, base management, and training. This transformation has raised a number of important questions for mature democracies: Has the state monopoly on collective violence been eroded? What is the extent of democratic control over military force? Should armies be made up of volunteers or conscripts?
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

10362. Mud: A Military History

Author:
Adam Lajeunesse
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The natural first impression when presented with a history of mud lies somewhere between amusement and curiosity. Have historians truly exhausted all other potential subjects and are now resorting to the study of moist dirt? Yet, if given more than brief consideration – and certainly after reading the book itself – the importance of mud to the history of warfare becomes obvious and undeniable. As Clyde Wood shows, the gooey substance has had a significant impact on the course of human conflict over the ages through its tendency to slow marching armies, wear down mechanized divisions and even ground air forces.
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

10363. The German Army and the Defense of the Reich: Military Doctrine and the Conduct of the Defensive Battle 1918-1939.

Author:
Matt Bucholtz
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
For decades historical research dedicated to the study of the German army, or Reichswehr, before the Second World War has been dominated by a single overriding question: How did the German army create Blitzkrieg? Studies, both popular and academic, have focused on German offensive doctrine and the leading figures responsible for its creation, in an attempt to understand the stunning German victories of the first half of the Second World War. While this has led to a fuller appreciation of the various characteristics of combined arms warfare, it has also generated a skewed vision of the German army that does not accurately portray its operation, activities, strategic outlook, and doctrinal breadth. Matthias Strohn's work, The German Army and the Defense of the Reich provides a much-needed counter-weight to the existing 'Blitzkrieg' centric historiography of the Reichswehr between the First and Second World Wars.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Germany

10364. The Legacy of the French Revolutionary Wars: The Nation-in-Arms in French Republican Memory

Author:
Matt Bucholtz
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Relying upon thousands of newly raised conscripts to augment the remaining professionals from the old monarchial army, Generals Kellermann and Dumouriez scored a decisive victory over the Duke of Brunswick and the forces of Prussia at the Battle of Valmy and thereby firmly established the foundation for the legacy of the volunteers of Year II and the military abilities of French citizen-soldiers. French victory at Valmy became the rationale for conscription laws across Europe in the following decades and served as the basis for a closer relationship between the military and society. Alan Forrest's book, The Legacy of the French Revolutionary Wars: The Nation-in-Arms in French Republican Memory, masterfully traces the evolution of the myths of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era through over 150 years of French and European military and political development. It stands as a concise single volume investigation of the nineteenth and twentieth century French political landscape and military affairs, as well as the ever-contested field of civil-military relations, expressed through a work centred on memory and myth.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Europe, France, and Prussia

10365. Ungoverned Spaces: Alternatives to State Authority in an Era of Softened Sovereignty.

Author:
Miloš Dimić
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The end of the Cold War was viewed by many as a time to usher in peace and stability throughout the world. As soon became apparent, however, the global crumbling of Soviet-style communism had precipitated an unforeseen period of fragility in the international system. Ethnic conflicts started to flare up in many parts of the world and the rapid spread of globalisation started to create a wealth gap, and thus, social tensions. The rise of American unilateralism in post-Cold War international affairs, combined with the momentous globalisation of the Third World (which is sometimes seen as either a direct or indirect product of American foreign policy), had precipitated a resulting rise in anti-American sentiment throughout many parts of the world. This development was particularly evident in the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world and ultimately culminated in the September 11 attacks on the United States.
Topic:
Cold War, Globalization, and Third World
Political Geography:
United States and Middle East

10366. Critical Commentary

Author:
Timo Leiter
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
No abstract is available.

10367. Author's Response to Critical Commentary

Author:
D.A. Neill
Publication Date:
06-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Science is about evidence, and Mr. Leiter has not provided any substantive response to either my evidence or my arguments. If he has any evidence to present, I would be delighted to consider it; however, appeals to authorities (argumentam ad verecundiam) and unsubstantiated complaint s about sources (argumentam ad hominem) do not constitute a scientific argument. Furthermore, it is peculiar to complain about anyone "disrespecting" the IPCC; the IPCC is an international organization that has made scientific arguments that are, therefore, open to scientific challenge. As US Democrats repeatedly reminded us during the George W. Bush Administration, disagreement is not disrespect. Moreover, my paper took the IPCC's conclusions as "the scientific reference point" of departure for my discussion, so I'm not entirely clear on why "disrespect" for the IPCC is even an issue.
Topic:
International Organization
Political Geography:
United States

10368. Editor's Forward

Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
The topic of this issue of the Journal of International Affairs requires little introduction, particularly at the end of a long year for autocratic rulers around the world. However, while many scholars have focused their attention on the causes of the Arab Spring revolutions—asking “Why there?” and “Why now?”—our aim is deeper. We asked our contributors, many of whom have first-hand knowledge of authoritarian regimes around the world, to examine the factors that underpin regime durability, not democratization. Our questions are, “Why not there?” and “Why not now?”
Topic:
Democratization
Political Geography:
United States

10369. State Institutions and the Survival of Dictatorships

Author:
Natasha Ezrow and Erica Frantz
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
Nominally democratic institutions such as political parties and legislatures are common in dictatorships, which rely on them to maintain control of the state. Parties and legislatures provide a means through which dictatorships co-opt potential opponents, distribute rents to supporters and mitigate elite conflicts. Indeed, regimes with these institutions have longer tenures than those without them. Using evidence from postwar dictatorships, this study demonstrates that parties and legislatures also enhance the ability of authoritarian regimes to withstand leadership transitions. Transfers of power are inherently destabilizing. Yet we find that dictatorships with parties and legislatures are far less likely to be associated with instability because these institutions insulate regimes from the disruptive effects of unconstitutional leadership transfers.

10370. State Power and Staying Power: Infrastructural Mechanisms and Authoritarian Durability

Author:
Dan Slater and Sofia Fenner
Publication Date:
09-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Affairs
Institution:
School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
Abstract:
The contemporary literature on authoritarian durability focuses more on democratic-looking institutions such as parties, elections and parliaments than the institution in which authoritarian regimes are most importantly embedded: the state itself. This article argues that state power is the most powerful weapon in the authoritarian arsenal. After clarifying the regime-state distinction and explaining why regime durability involves more than just duration, we discuss four “infrastructural mechanisms” through which authoritarian regimes stabilize and sustain their rule: (1) coercing rivals, (2) extracting revenues, (3) registering citizens and (4) cultivating dependence. Since state apparatuses are the institutions best geared for performing these tasks, their effectiveness underpins authoritarian durability in a way that no other institution can duplicate. And since state power is shaped by long-term historical forces, future studies should adopt the kind of historical perspective more often seen in leading studies of postcolonial economic development than of authoritarian durability.