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Numerous reforms in Soviet society and in the international activities of the Soviet Union, advanced with the arrival of M. S. Gorbatchov and summed up in the terms »perestroyka« and »new thinking« have provoked exceptional interest and attention of the group of countries in the immediate vicinity of the USSR, which includes Yugoslavia. The author believes that the Soviet government under M. S. Gorbatchov pursues in fact a policy of strengthening and furthering the Warsaw Treaty organization which happens to be not only contrary to the general Yugoslav platform of non-alignment, but even more precisely, contrary to the immediate interests of Yugoslavia’s safety. Therefore, he concludes, although in Yugoslavia there is much sympathy for the policy of »re-structuring« in the USSR, there is little likelihood that all its consequences will ha\e a politically, economically, and strategically positive impact upon Yugoslavia, at least not in short term perspective.Numerous reforms in Soviet society and in the international activities of the Soviet Union, advanced with the arrival of M. S. Gorbatchov and summed up in the terms »perestroyka« and »new thinking« have provoked exceptional interest and attention of the group of countries in the immediate vicinity of the USSR, which includes Yugoslavia. The author believes that the Soviet government under M. S. Gorbatchov pursues in fact a policy of strengthening and furthering the Warsaw Treaty organization which happens to be not only contrary to the general Yugoslav platform of non-alignment, but even more precisely, contrary to the immediate interests of Yugoslavia’s safety. Therefore, he concludes, although in Yugoslavia there is much sympathy for the policy of »re-structuring« in the USSR, there is little likelihood that all its consequences will have a politically, economically, and strategically positive impact upon Yugoslavia, at least not in short term perspective.
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The Socialist Republic of Slovenia is offering a new identity to Yugoslavia based on the programme of a civil society. This programme includes also a new view of the military issue demonstrated in terms of a specific conception of social defence. The basic tenets of this conception are incorporated into the three areas of the military issue: national equality, military economics and alternative movements.
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The agreement on the removal and destruction of Soviet and American medium — and short-range missiles (INF agreement) of December 1987 ought to be evaluated in the light of the superpowers real military and political interests. A substitution of the nuclear weapons comprised in the Agreement for the purpose of Western defence will take place in three ways: through strengthening NATO's conventional forces, through modernizing tactical nuclear weapons, and through nuclear armament outside the American central arsenal. The Mediterranean area might become a zone of renewed nuclearization as a substitute for the armament outlawed by the INF agreement. Missiles with nuclear warheads might become standard weapons on American ships in the Mediterranean. A Soviet answer to this would not be slow in coming irrespectively of initiatives for peace and negotiations.
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In order to successfully pursue its political interests in the WBSA, the EU needs first and foremost to develop close relations based on trust with all it partners in the WBSA. Shared values and a shared world view between like-minded states are crucial in this regard. The main challenge for the EU is to pursue the objective of democratizing the countries of the WBSA. Security is the second most important challenge which the EU faces in the WBSA, both in terms of addressing the ‘frozen conflicts’ (and other potential hotspots such as Crimea in Ukraine) which abound in the region and of constructing a stable security architecture. Similar to the challenge of democratisation, the logic goes that if the region is rid of its security problems, trade and economic cooperation will flourish and bring more prosperity to the EU and the region as a whole. The paper argues that by seriously addressing those two challenges (democratization and security) the EU may yet become an effective player in the WBSA.
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The purpose of the present study is to offer the reader a general view of the security strategy of the Czech Republic out of an evolutionary point of view. So rather than analysing in detail a specific security or military strategy we will focus on describing the development and evolution of the Czech Republic‘s defence strategies in the period after the “velvet revolution” till the adoption of the last military strategy in 2008.
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After it stayed for almost 50 years in the shadow of United States, Japan, due to the new threats to its security such as: the offensive nuclear program of North Korea and China’s remilitarization, as well as for the necessity of adapting to the new realities of contemporary international environment, have started to reconsider its security policy. By adopting a new legislation, the Japanese government allowed its SDF to engage in UN peacekeeping operations, to offer tactical support and fuel to the coalition forces in the war against terrorism from Afghanistan and even to participate to the human assistance and reconstruction of Irak. In the same time, through different stages of negociations, the US-Japan alliance acquired a new dimension through the expansion of the geographical areas and range of missions SDF can undertake. Also, by encouraging an active dialogue and security exchanges with its most important neighboroughs: China, South Korea and Russia, Japan tries to consolidate a safe regional environment in South-East Asia.
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The security sector reform started in the absence of formal security guarantees, but it did benefit from an internal continuity and external assistance, from NATO and EU. The process generated the creation and development of new capabilities, adapted to accomplish these new tasks, in a security environment characterized by new security risks and threats. The military reform has as its main goal to build modern Armed Forces, mobile and flexible, expeditionary, with high combat capacity, NATO interoperable and capable to deter and counter an armed aggression against Romania and its allies. The main result of the Romanian Armed Forces transformation will be represented by the simultaneous ensure the defense of the national territory by means of a military response to any aggression and to support the civil authorities in case of emergencies, natural disasters, NRBC events etc.
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The author believes that the Romanian legal framework of national security could be the source of confusions and misinterpretations for defence and security concepts such as defence planning. Taking into account several layers considered, the planning is a process with different connotations. It could be a political process, a tool for ordering the activities in a logical way or a resource allocation process. The implementation of Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation Process has been a leap forward in defence management due to this layout of planning on several levels as well as its irreversibility. Experts working within defence system could amend the legislation incoherence of security framework. Despite some elements of incoherence at the top of the system, the defence planning process goes forward. It should be highlighted the necessity and opportunity of keeping these stages in the defence planning process.
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The national security strategies of Argentina, Brazil and Chile are documents released by observing a geopolitical and realistic vision on the security environment and international relations system. An analysis developed by political and military decision factors identifies the main characteristics of the international security environment, with a particular interest in the regional South American one. The security threats and risks are common with those of different geopolitical regions of the world. Same approach could be made with regards to the national interests, vulnerabilities, and strategies of action or available resources. Specific features arise from the totalitarian experience, as well as from its heritage reflected on the social life of the three states. The documents are extremely large in two cases, namely Argentina and Chile. The national defense policy of Brazil is similar to the European security strategies or the North American ones and focused on specific action lines and objectives with a preference to regulate other aspects by law. Again, the difference concerns the intensity and dimensions of the heritage of military totalitarian experience, as well as the role and status of armed forces in the nowadays-social life of the mentioned states.
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The traditional approach of international relations, centered around the realist paradigm of Power Politics is being questioned by new approaches like constructivism or post-structuralism. Concepts like sovereignty, security or identity are reexamined and new questions are being raised: what happens with the centrality of the state in a new environment governed by the logic of globalization and interdependency? what happens with the traditional logic of security, now that we are confronted with new and uncommon threats? how are we to respond to the immigrants, now that geographical boundaries no longer bound? This paper focuses on the concept of security, as understood by Ole Wæver, a member of the Copenhagen School of Security Studies and examines it as a construct, rather a process than something a priori given. It does not suffice to identify a threat, but one should understand why and how certain issues become security problems. Should we treat them in terms of security or rather in terms of risk management? This kind of critical approach, by stressing on the importance of the implications of such a decision, promotes the concept of de-securization, or to use the mainstream formula, preventive security, or risk management.
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The author explores some of the most insidious aspects related to global security, as basic factor for the New International Order, being currently under construction. Purposely, he structured a way to set a common denominator of spotting the evolving risks, or preventing them to grow into emerging international security threats. The Concept of “Procedural Interoperability” has been proposed by the author in previous debates concerning the future of Euroatlantic Security Architecture, starting the year 2003. It makes sense in the global context, when security cannot be dealt exclusively with the specific means of the 20th Century. In order to make the reactions to global security challenges more efficient, there is a need to offer a networked set of means and ways to oppose them, preparing better the International Community for the 21st Century. The global actors, big or small, powerful or weak, have to consider, from now on, a wide spectrum of risk-factors, not only the International Terrorism, in order to make their policies compatible with the global security environment, and their strategies- coherent and credible.
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The present study takes into consideration one of the main themes that influences the academic debates regarding international security> the influence of the globalization process on the international security features in the 21st century. This study also presents the different paradigms of security during different ages (e.g. the Cold War and the post-Cold War era) in an attempt to emphasize the changes and adaptations that the modern security faces during the era of globalization> the occurrence of new international actors, the reforming of the security agenda and the threat imposed by new security risks – global climate changes, identity and cultural conflicts, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and economic based conflicts.
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Revived by the Bush administration after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the anti-missile defense system, although controversial, appears to be more justified today than in the middle of the last century. This Paper targets an analysis of the reasons and complexity of international security environment that led to an effective systematization of the anti-missile defense concept and its unprecedented geographical extension. The last evolutions of missile defense in Europe are highlighted with a focus on the NATO’s support and the results of the NATO Summit in Bucharest where the allies agreed upon the nature of threat, as well as the feasibility of anti-missile defense and the principle of security indivisibility. The main conclusions of the Paper stress the unquestionable utility of such a system in a world characterized by an increasing nuclear proliferation phenomenon where countering nuclear terrorist attacks is the key of a secure and safe international order.
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For the European Union as a political and strategic player, the access to natural energy resources is vital for the economic development and the well-fare of the populations. EU wants to set up energy partnerships with its main neighbors, especially with Russia, the country which provides the bulk of the natural gas and oil importations. But because Russia does not seem to always be a reliable partner, EU has to find alternative sources of energy, also trying to limit the pollution of the environment. Only when EU will manage to speak with “one voice” in the realm of energy and will convince Moscow that there is interdependency between EU and Russia, not a relation based on European dependency, there could be mutually advantageous relations for both of them.
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Due to the convenient geopolitical location, Black Sea Region is one of the most important areas in the world and plays an extremely important role in the modern global security affairs. As it is known, the fundamental changes on the political map of the region occurred at the end of 80s and the beginning of 90s of the last century, which was interrelated with the political changes in eastern Europe and post-soviet space, such as democratic transitions in Romania and Bulgaria, disintegration of the USSR and gaining the national independence by the former soviet republics from the greater Black Sea region - Russian Federation, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Today each state of the region has its own foreign policy and national security priorities.
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This paper is focused on making a comparative analysis of the Conceptions of the national security of the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, taking into account the influence of external and internal factors which all led to different or similar approaches in the realm of security. The comparative analysis takes into consideration the influence of those factors regarding the approaches on security visà-vis the so-called frozen conflicts (in Transnistria, Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh).
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This presentation has been displayed during the Crisis Management and Conflict Prevention Seminar, Brașov, Romania, 13-17 May 2008. It expresses the author’s personal views and it does not imply the institution of which he is part of.
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Accounts of Russia’s increasing military power and preponderance in the international system are not so infrequent these days. Starting from this assumption, this paper makes a connection between the great array of perceptions and self-perceptions about Russia’s international role, on the one hand, and the conceptualization of national security in strategic documents drafted after 1993, on the other. Therefore, the analysis entails an evolving and comparative approach of Russia’s national security documents, from the hesitant attempts in the early post-communism to regain international status to the development of a steady concern to engender a new international order in which Russia has a systemic significance.
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The wahabit terrorism appeared as a hazardous expedient of the Chechen people to resist the pressures of Russia. For them, it’s all about a necessary struggle for survival against a powerful aggressor that lasts for ages. From the Russian perspective, the territory from the Northern Caucasus represents a strategic interest and a matter of international image. The conflict augmented because of the inflexibility on both sides. In this case, the building site of a nation is in process right before the eyes of historians.
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