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11521. Canada and Missile Defence: Saying No to Mr. Bush

Author:
Donald Barry
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
On 24 February 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin ended months of speculation by rejecting President George W. Bush's invitation to participate in his administration's ballistic missile defence (BMD) program. Martin had come to power in December 2003, intent on joining as a means of improving defence cooperation with the United States in the wake of Canada's decision not to endorse the US-led war in Iraq that had strained relations between Bush's administration and Jean Chrétien's government.2 But his plan was thwarted by several factors: public disapproval of the war, which by the time Martin took office had hardened into opposition to Bush's foreign policy; the June 2004 general election that reduced Martin's government from majority to minority status; opposition within Martin's Liberal party and among Liberal, New Democratic Party (NDP) and Bloc Québécois (BQ) members of parliament (MPs); and the ambiguous stance of the Conservatives, who had previously supported Canada's involvement. Also contributing to the decision were the Bush administration's non-committal approach to the negotiation, its failure to respond to Canadian concerns about US protectionism, and the president's ill-advised public intervention in the missile defence debate during his visit to Canada in late 2004.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
United States and Canada

11522. Northern Europe's Arctic Defence Agenda

Author:
David Rudd
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
During the 1970s and 1980s, the land, air, and maritime spaces above the Arctic Circle were considered by allied planners to be of immense strategic importance. The possibility of a nuclear exchange between the super-powers transiting over the polar regions spurred efforts to maintain a robust early warning and aerospace defence posture. The need to counter Soviet naval and air movements in the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic likewise prompted NATO allies to adopt defence strategies that would proactively engage Soviet forces close to their bases, while reinforcing NATO's northern flank with rapidly-deployable ground and air units. Although the non-aligned Nordic states firmly maintained their status, there is some evidence to suggest that they were not aloof from the East-West stand-off, and were consulted on territorial defence planning by their NATO neighbours.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
North Atlantic and Soviet Union

11523. Terrorism in Canada: Victims and Perpetrators

Author:
Alex Wilner
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
“Our imagined terrorist cell was initiated by an overseas source,” explains Major-General Edward S. Fitch, recently retired from the Canadian Forces (CF), in discussing preparations for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games (V2010). “They sent one man to Vancouver circa 2004,” he continues, “about one year after it was announced the city would host the 2010 Games.” After settling in, the foreign operative found “an apartment and a simple, low profile job” in the city and began to “plan, recruit, train, conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, and build improvised explosive devices (IED).” Over time, the operative assembled a terrorist cell of local Canadians, each recruit bringing “useful skills” to the operation, familiarity with Vancouver, Whistler, and surrounding areas, and an ability to blend into Canadian society. Over the subsequent months and years, the cell began acquiring weapons and other materials “through legal means” to use in their attacks. They remained discreet, followed the law, and avoided detection. The group's strategy, Major-General Fitch suggests, was to “force the cessation of the Games by breaking the Canadian public's will by causing casualties and demonstrating the impotence of the security forces.” Tactically, the imagined cell avoids targeting Olympic venues directly, which are deemed too heavily guarded, in favour of attacking “soft targets in public areas.” They do so using explosives in order to “leverage the strengths of the small cell” against Canada's much larger and better equipped security apparatus. Operationally, the fictional adversary is equipped, capable, and motivated to conduct any number of attacks, including mass-casualty bombings against Canadians and visiting foreigners.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Canada

11524. Contemporary Threats to Canada and the Canadian Forces

Author:
Scott Fitzsimmons
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Over and above the widely acknowledged threats of international terrorism and the Afghan insurgency, Canada and the Canadian Forces face a number of pressing threats from state and non-state actors, which range from the physical to the fiscal. This paper highlights threats posed by private security contractors in Afghanistan, pirates off the Horn of Africa, foreign states in disputed areas of the Arctic, and the current economic downturn within Canada. Each section of the paper highlights one or more specific threats posed to Canada and/or the Canadian Forces and discusses existing and proposed attempts to address these threats.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Africa, and Canada

11525. From Dogs of War to Soldiers of Peace: Evaluating Private Military and Security Companies as a Civilian Protection Force

Author:
Stephen Wittels
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Like many of its member-states, the United Nations (UN) did not have a clear place in the world when the Cold War ended. For forty years, great power rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union had relegated this organization, originally founded upon Wilsonian ideals of collective security, to the task of monitoring ceasefires. When the wall fell, many in the west believed that the UN was poised to realize its potential and could, thus, be relied upon to contain and diffuse conflict in the post-Cold War order. Unfortunately for all parties involved, this proved to be overly optimistic. As missions in Somalia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Rwanda all made manifestly clear, the UN was unprepared to restore order in situations of pervasive violence. By the mid 1990s, the international community was thus faced with a choice: Either it could provide the UN with the legal space and the material resources it needed to impose peace on conflict ridden societies, or a different actor would have to assume this responsibility.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
United States and United Nations

11526. The Geopolitics of Chinese Energy Security

Author:
Kelly Ogle
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
One way of understanding the modern world is to view it as broken up into rival political and economic blocs that compete for resources and markets through political, economic, and military power. Several well known scholars in the field of energy security, such as Daniel Yergin, Erica Downs, Carlos Pascual, and Ann Myers Jaffe, agree that energy policy is an integral part of a nation's external trade, foreign relations, and security policy. Today, governments of energy-consuming nations worldwide are concerned about the security of their energy needs more so than at any other time since the oil crises of the 1970s. Additionally, issues such as environmental stewardship, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, and human rights are factors in the contemporary energy debate.
Topic:
Economics, Government, and Human Rights

11527. Military Linguistics: Russian in the Red/Soviet Army

Author:
Nathan Hawryluk
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The development of military linguistics, a field similar to military anthropology or military history, would benefit the disciplines of linguistics and strategic studies. For linguists interested in society, the military offers another cultural group with which to contrast civilian society and a format for examining how institutions shape communication. Linguistic studies can aid strategic studies by explaining how discourse reinforces military culture and hierarchy, as well as the interaction between military and civilian society.
Topic:
Intelligence and Culture
Political Geography:
Russia and Soviet Union

11528. Editorial

Author:
Terry Terriff, James Keeley, and John Ferris
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Welcome to the Winter 2010 issue of The Journal of Military and Strategic Studies (JMSS). You have been specifically selected to join our forum and to receive quarterly issues of this Journal. (To be removed from the list, please refer to the instructions at the end of this email.) You may link to the JMSS at http://www.jmss.org As one of the few electronic journals dedicated to the study of security related issues in Canada, we are pleased to provide a forum in which security issues can be examined and discussed.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
United States and Canada

11529. The Necessity of (Some) Certainty - A Critical Remark Concerning Matthew Sklerov's Concept of "Active Defense"

Author:
Sandro Gaycken
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Cyber deterrence is clearly important. Secure passive cyber defense is impossible, so deterrence is the only feasible path. However, deterrence is pointless without attribution. This is logical from a strategic point of view. If retaliation does not hit the attacker, he will not be deterred. And it is of legal importance as well. Retaliation against the wrong actor is unjust and a crime of war. Thus attribution is a necessary condition for the law of war. An attacker has to be identified and, to make it an armed attack and not just a criminal act, the attacker has to be a state actor.
Political Geography:
Russia and China

11530. Russia, the United States, and the New Cold War

Author:
Bohdan Harasymiw
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
The phrase ‚New Cold War,‛ referring to the strained nature of United States-Russia relations, especially since Vladimir Putin’s coming to power in the year 2000, has become widely disseminated in commentary on world politics today. Journalists, pundits, and even politicians keep referring to, denying, or debating its existence. Many unquestioningly accept its appropriateness in explaining the two states’ foreign policies. Partisans of one blame the other for its initiation and continuation. It has almost become a term of opprobrium, making its validity problematic. What, if anything, does it mean?
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
Russia and United States

11531. Evaluating Military Balances Through the Lens of Net Assessment: History and Application

Author:
Thomas Skypek
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
For senior statesmen and their advisers, the task of evaluating external security threats and identifying strategic opportunities is a perennial challenge. This process is an exercise familiar to all states and is the antecedent of effective national strategy and policy. It requires significant intellectual effort, curiosity, creativity, and a tolerance for uncertainty in the exploration of alternative futures. But this task has vexed statesmen throughout history, who have frequently misperceived the threats and behavior of their competitors. This article examines one contemporary approach the United States has employed to understand the complex state-based military and security threats confronting it: net assessment.
Political Geography:
United States

11532. Arctic Energy Resources and Global Energy Security

Author:
Peter F. Johnston
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In recent years the world has become gripped with concerns about climate change and its impact on Arctic ice as well as the perception that increasing global energy consumption might surpass the capacity of energy markets. These seemingly unrelated issues come to a nexus in the Arctic region since melting ice coverage has led some analysts to believe that previously inaccessible oil and gas deposits may now be accessible permanently or periodically. Successful development of these reserves would help to alleviate the pressure on the global oil and gas markets and potentially enhance energy security as a result.
Political Geography:
United States

11533. The Past as Prologue: Sustaining Canadian Capacity for Defence, Diplomacy and Development

Author:
Colin Robertson
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Drive down Wellington Street, past the Parliament Buildings and, almost directly across from the Supreme Court are a pair of buildings buttressing both sides of Lyon Street. Built in the aftermath of World War II, the East and West Memorial Buildings once housed the Department of Veterans Affairs. Their architect had a sense of both history and the neighborhood. It is reflected in their chateau style, copper roofs and stone facing – not the usual cinder-block approach of later government buildings. Spanning the street and connecting the two buildings is an Arch.
Political Geography:
Canada, Germany, and Netherlands

11534. Reflections on the Military Armoury Disaster In Mozambique, March 2007

Author:
Dr. Adewale Banjo
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
By definition, an armoury is a building used primarily for storing arms and military equipment, especially one which serves as headquarters for military personnel. Thus, an armoury is a military structure or facility where weapons and equipments for the use of the armed forces are stored. It is also a complex constructed for repairing, receiving, storing and issuing of weapons and ammunition. Ammunition is a generic military term meaning an assembly of a projectile and its propellant. If a disaster is broadly defined as an unexpected, low-probability, high-impact event that threatens the viability of an organisation or community and characterized by ambiguity of cause, effect and means of resolution, then an armoury disaster can be defined as an unexpected, high-impact rapidly disruptive event caused by the detonation of high caliber, sensitive, stored military weapons, which are neither risk-free nor immune from unintended consequences. Furthermore, an armoury disaster can also mean sudden widespread or localized military weapon/arsenal or ammunition-related occurrences or accidents.
Political Geography:
Africa

11535. Knowing Left From Right: Ideological Identification in Brazil, 2002-2006

Author:
Barry Ames and Amy Erica Smith
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Ideology, typically defined on a left-right spectrum, should provide a means of communication between elites and masses. After years of leftist party rule, have Brazilian voters internalized ideological divisions? Longitudinal surveys conducted from 2002 to 2006 reveal high nonresponse and instability in ideological self-identification. We find that the capacity to think ideologically is in part a function of political and social context. This capacity has real political consequences. A Heckman selection model reveals that those who refuse to take an ideological position or who exhibit high instability in self-identification tend to be latent rightists and to choose rightist presidential candidates. Moreover, they interpret the ideological spectrum differently from those who are more consistent in ideological self-placement. We thus make two contributions, showing how contextual factors influence ideological thinking and how low levels of ideological thinking affect the measurement of Brazilian public opinion.
Topic:
Public Opinion
Political Geography:
Brazil

11536. The Ideological "Coherence" of the Brazilian Party System, 1990-2009

Author:
David Samuels and Kevin Lucas
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
This paper contributes to the debate about the ideological coherence of the Brazilian party system. Using discriminant function analysis of 20 years of surveys of Brazilian legislators, we find that the party system now exhibits relatively little coherence. Though the Worker's Party (PT) is clearly distinct, no clear ideological differences exist between the placement of the system's three other main parties. Moreover, the spatial distance between the PT and the other parties is diminishing over time. Given the importance of a coherent ideological map to any consolidated party system, we question the notion that the Brazilian party system has gradually consolidated. Indeed, our results suggest the opposite: in recent years the Brazilian party system has become relatively more “inchoate.”
Topic:
Power Politics
Political Geography:
Brazil

11537. The Judicialization of (Separation of Powers) Politics: Lessons from Chile

Author:
Druscilla L. Scribner
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Most analyses of the judicialization of politics focus on judicial policy-making and rights creation; however when judicialization of politics unfolds in a separation of powers political context courts are also involved in distributing power. The task of power delineation among branches of government is different from policy-making or rights adjudication. Judicializing political disputes about power gives courts the opportunity to alter the balance of institutional power, to create stronger executives (or legislatures) and a stronger (or weaker) role for themselves. To illustrate these points, this article examines how the Chilean Constitutional Tribunal (TC) adjudicated a specific type of separation of powers conflict between the Legislature and the Executive from 1990-2005. The analysis of the TC doctrine overtime highlights how the TC has shifted the balance of power in the policy-making process and augmented its influence within the political system.
Topic:
Politics
Political Geography:
Chile

11538. Unilateral Interpretation of Security Council Resolutions: UK Practice

Author:
Alexander Orakhelashvili
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
Unilateral interpretation of UN Security Council resolutions takes place where, due to political considerations of the day, one or more States attempt construing the resolution in question as falling short of, or exceeding, the agreement between the Council's Member States that the resolution on its face suggests. Whether unilateral interpretation indeed takes place depends on what the content of the resolution actually is, which question in its turn depends on the use of transparent methods of interpretation applicable to resolutions. After examining the applicability of the 1969 Vienna Convention in this process, the article turns to four instances of unilateral interpretation from the UK practice, and to reactions to the attempts of unilateral interpretation. These four instances demonstrate that the consistent use of interpretation methods, coupled with the reaction by other States to that effect, can help maintaining the adherence to the resolution's meaning. Where the national or international courts are available as forums to challenge unilateral interpretation, they can further enhance the maintenance of proper meaning of these instruments.
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Vienna

11539. The Legal Significance of Global Development Partnerships: European Development Cooperation and its Contribution to the International Law of Development

Author:
Markus Kaltenborn
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The global development partnerships of the European Union are embedded in a legal context which provides several constraints for stakeholders in Brussels. This legal framework consists both of the rules and principles of public international law and of the 'supranational' law of the European Union. After a short survey of the activities of the European Union referring to North-South relations, some of the prevailing legal problems of the Union's development policy as well as its contribution to the international law of development are discussed in this Article.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Europe

11540. Defending the Emergence of the Superior Orders Defense in the Contemporary Context

Author:
Jessica Liang
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Institution:
The Goettingen Journal of International Law
Abstract:
The defense of superior orders is one of the most controversial defenses to be pleaded under criminal law. In effect, it condones ignorance of the law and allows a subordinate to escape criminal liability on a basis other than culpability. It may therefore come as a surprise that sixty years after the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, the resort to superior orders has re-emerged as a complete defense for certain types of crimes. I argue that this defense is based on sound policy reasons of military necessity, and should be made available on the condition that the order is not 'manifestly illegal'. In contrast to blunt absolutist approaches, the manifest illegality doctrine presents the most workable test for distinguishing between the culpability of conduct committed by soldiers in circumstances of exigency. This 'middle-way' successfully balances the dichotomous ends of legality and military efficiency and should be the preferred test under international law.
Topic:
International Law
Political Geography:
Tokyo