Defense Agenda Research Articles

Re-examining the Politics of U.S. Military Bases: A Study on South Korea and Türkiye (Turkey)

Allowing a foreign military in a sovereign country is often controversial. Yet, the United States has had hundreds of military facilities in foreign nations, including South Korea and Türkiye (Turkey) for nearly seven decades. The two American allies have traded partial autonomy in return for the military assistance of the U.S. This study selects the two G20 member states for a comparative case study, given their geostrategic importance to the U.S. defense agenda from the Cold War era to the present. This article aims to elucidate how American military bases are politically affected by the security situation and anti-Americanism in the host nations. Furthermore, this paper underscores the imperative for both countries to recalibrate their stances on American military bases amid the continuously evolving international political landscape, utilizing the Autonomy Security Trade-off Model as a framework.

One Man’s Terrorist Is Another Man’s Political Prisoner: Human Rights Organisations, the State and the Persecution of Hizb ut-Tahrir in Russia

Abstract This article explores the problem of persecution of Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (HTI) in Russia through the lens of a clash between the state’s security agenda and the human rights defence agenda of civil society actors. It aims to shed more light on the dynamics of the securitization-desecuritization ‘tug of war’ between law enforcement agencies and human rights watch groups which manifested itself in their conflicting framings of this transnational Islamist movement in the context of Russia’s ongoing campaign against terrorism and extremism. Drawing on court documents, legislative acts and statements of public officials, this study looks into the discursive construction of HTI as a key terrorist threat to Russian society. At the same time, it demonstrates how the state policies of ‘maximising’ the danger coming from HTI were countered by major human rights organisations attempting to reduce the intensity of the movement’s securitization even despite its alleged links to terrorism.

On the Intersection of International Security, Defense, and Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean

The purpose of this article is to show how the worsening of natural disasters due to climate change is considered as a growing threat on the security and defense agenda. To this end, a literature review is initially carried out, showing that this agenda tends to give little or less importance to this threat, often ignoring them. Then, we carry out a case study of ten Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela -, indicating evidence and future impacts of the worsening of this phenomenon at the regional level. The data are retrieved from EM-DAT, OCHA, UNDP, UNDRR, IPCC, WMO and World Bank, covering the 2000-2019 period. Finally, we accomplish a documentary analysis of these ten LAC countries analyzing how their main high-level official defense documents address issues related to climate change, natural disasters, and the environment. Although climate change requires that the governments adapt to more frequent natural disasters, we conclude that is not possible to argue that there is a close relationship between LAC countries that suffer most from such threats with how much high-level defense documents deal with it.

Threat Calls, Terrorism Challenges and Security Issues Towards Malaysia

National security receives threats from various angles through the process of globalization. Threat calls, terrorism and security issues pose a risk to the country as they affect the stability of the government and threaten the safety of the people. The rapid globalization process has led to the weakening of the nation and eroded by various demands and threats. Malaysia is also no exception to thechallenge of the speedy globalization process. The issue of security is not merely an issue that concerns the defense agenda of a country, but rather covers various aspects, especially those related to human society. Malaysia's experience in dealing with terrorism in the past has led governments to be cautious of any possible consequences. In fact, the threat of terrorism and issues related to security issues in Malaysia need to be clearly understood in order to look at the trends and long-term effects on society, the economy, politics and social as a whole. The activities and behaviors of terrorism and security threats are also unpredictable apart from its difficult to understand movement. Political stability, economic development and the well-being of thepeople are essential to maintaining peace and ensuring national security. This paper reviews the threats and challenges of terrorism and security issues specifically towards Malaysia.

Northern and Arctic Security and Sovereignty: Challenges and Opportunities for a Northern Corridor

Key Messages Key issues related to Canada’s security and defence agenda, which involve critical and essential infrastructure development, must be considered in the development and implementation of a Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC). Canada’s northern and Arctic security and defence agenda is related to several key policy domains that are relevant from a CNC perspective. These include infrastructure development, climate change, Indigenous sovereignty and natural resource development. A CNC will gain international attention and be internationally recognized as a strategy for Canada to assert its sovereignty over its Arctic territory, including the internationally disputed Northwest Passage. The CNC advocates for the inclusion and participation of Indigenous communities. Thus, Indigenous Peoples will also carry a significant role in the monitoring and surveillance of accessibility within and to the North, improved through enhanced infrastructure development. Canada’s investments in Arctic defence infrastructure are modest comparedto those of its Russian and American neighbours. A CNC, potentially adding strategically important infrastructure in the Canadian North, will directly tie into the discourse of Arctic security and power relations. In addition to natural disasters, the Canadian North is at significant risk of human-made disasters that pose serious prospective challenges for northerners and for federal and territorial governments. The CNC will likely foster the development of surveillance and monitoring assets. The CNC rights-of-way could trigger security concerns regarding the impactof foreign investment as a security threat, especially if natural resource development is coupled with the development of strategic transportation hubs, such as ports along the coast of the Arctic Ocean. CNC transportation infrastructure would also become a part of Canada’s defence strategy as it forms a potential key asset in the defence and safeguarding of Canada’s northern and Arctic regions. Future research should identify the role of dual-use infrastructure (infrastructure that satisfies both military and civilian purposes) in the CNC context and also examine to what extent security and defence stakeholders should be involved in the CNC’s planning and implementation.

Ciberseguridad y ciberdefensa en Colombia: un posible modelo a seguir en las relaciones cívico-militares

Este artículo se propone explorar el desarrollo institucional acerca del dominio del ciberespacio en Colombia y su incidencia sobre las relaciones cívico-militares en el país. Para ello, recurre a un análisis de fuentes primarias y secundarias, con el propósito de definir el ciberespacio y las ciberamenazas que surgen en él, así como describir las relaciones cívico-militares en Colombia y explicar el marco institucional referente a la seguridad y defensa del ciberespacio en el país. En este caso, y en contraste con la tradición del país, se evidencia que la iniciativa surgió del sector civil, lo que promovió una mayor participación de este sector en el campo de la seguridad y defensa. Así, la agenda de ciberseguridad y ciberdefensa puede ser la punta de lanza para replantear las relaciones cívico-militares.

Development as a historical component of the United Nations’ crime policy agenda: From social defence to the Millennium Development Goals

This article presents a historical analysis of the intellectual and institutional origins of the international community’s interest in the link between crime and development leading up to the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000. Drawing on a combination of documentary sources and interviews with long-time international crime policy insiders, it traces this interest back to the United Nations’ social defence agenda which emerged in the aftermath of the Second World War. We situate this agenda in relation to the Western aspiration to advance the Modernization project and reflect on how its shortcomings together with ideological, economic and geopolitical shifts at the international level contributed to the diversification of the United Nations’ crime policy agenda during the 1970s. These conditions collectively influenced the international community’s growing concern with crime as an existential threat to economic development during the 1980s. Our analysis highlights how this framing was reinforced by the rise of transnational organized crime as a threat to global capitalism following the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was against this historical backdrop that the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention was established to lead the international community’s fight against ‘uncivil society’. We conclude by reflecting on United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention’s tumultuous early years along with the omission of ‘crime’ from the Millennium Development Goals and suggest that these conditions, along with the adoption of the United Nations Conventions Against Transnational Organized Crime and Corruption, set the stage for the organization’s future advocacy for the inclusion of crime in the Sustainable Development Goals.

AWOL: Canada’s defence policy and presence in the Asia Pacific

Our focus is on Canadian defence and security activities in the Asia Pacific arena between 1990 and 2015. While governments have asserted the growing primacy of the Asia Pacific, we ask the following: What does Canada’s recent military and security record tell us about the policies and operational aspects of Canadian engagement? How might we assess these in comparison with Ottawa’s declared importance of the Asia Pacific? What might this tell us about the near-term future of Canada’s role and pursuit of interests and opportunities in this complex region? We present and analyze empirical materials drawn from primary sources that inform an assessment of Canada’s presence in the defence and security agenda of the Asia Pacific, during the period that saw Canadian governments declare a deep interest in relations with the Asia Pacific, yet fail to make Canada a full partner with sustained commitments.

La política exterior de la Unión Europea. Balance del Tratado de Lisboa en materia de Prevención de Conflictos

Study that examines the process that the European Union made in Security Policy matter. After the presentation of The Lisbon Treaty, Europe faces new mechanisms of the regional integration that posed more democracy and greater coherence and institutional visibility. Is in this process in which the Conflict Prevention is one of the most certain bets of the Union, which is reflected in the position of Europe in organizations and nations; this means, a greater cooperation between countries in the European Union. However, the nacional interest of each country is magnified by the crisis and the guidance change on the security and international defense agenda test these new transformations.

La Política Exterior de la Unión Europea. Balance del Tratado de Lisboa en materia de Prevención de Conflictos

Study that examines the process that the European Union made in Security Policy matter. After the presentation of The Lisbon Treaty, Europe faces new mechanisms of the regional integration that posed more democracy and greater coherence and institutional visibility. Is in this process in which the Conflict Prevention is one of the most certain bets of the Union, which is reflected in the position of Europe in organizations and nations; this means, a greater cooperation between countries in the European Union. However, the nacional interest of each country is magnified by the crisis and the guidance change on the security and international defense agenda test these new transformations.

English

The Visegrad Group needs success stories if its defence co-operation is to develop. The recent differences between Poland and the rest of the region, as well as the closing window of opportunity to improve interoperability through the ISAF mission, make the hunger for concrete examples of cooperation even more urgent. Education and training projects are not only comparatively easily to implement in terms of time and money, but also represent a way of bringing the region’s civilian and military leaders closer together in terms of strategic thinking. Regional defence collaboration is also one of the ways to materialize NATO’s Smart Defence agenda. For the whole region, the way to keep Visegrad defence cooperation alive is not straightforward and certain, but it is likely to prove rewarding in the long term. It presents not only a chance to keep the whole region better prepared militarily, but also to build a more cohesive strategic awareness, thanks to intensive communication at all levels.

EL PLANEAMIENTO ESTRATÉGICO MILITAR EN ARGENTINA (2003-2013): REFLEXIONES EN TORNO AL GOBIERNO POLÍTICO DE LA DEFENSA

The national defense policy of Argentina has experienced advances and regressions since the democratic return in 1983. This result has been connected to the dynamics that civil-military relations have inherited from the dictatorial period. The necessity to subordinate the Armed Forces dominated the defense agenda during most part of the democratic period, constituting the core problem of this jurisdiction.The democratic governments implemented various initiatives that underpinned the civil control of the Armed Forces and that also caused, from a normative point of view, what has been characterised as a “basic consensus”. These measures restricted the autonomy of the men in uniform, whether through the demilitarization of civil functions or through the specific delimitation of the martial responsibilities.The habilitation of the spaces required for the exercise of the political administration of the jurisdiction did not necessarily implied, however, that civilians have fully developed this task. The performance of the democratic authorities in the area of defense had its ups-and-downs. At times, these deficiencies were associated to the very restraints of the domestic political conjuncture; at others, they resulted from the planning of the specific agenda of the sector, though.This paper studies the performances of the Ministry of Defense demarches during 2003-2013. The analysis focuses on the conduction of the strategic dimension of the sector; punctually, on the relative responsibilities of the military strategic planning. In this frame, the demarches of ministers José Pampuro (2003-05), Nilda Garré (2005-10) and Arturo Puricelli (2010-13) are resorted to.The temporal cutout of the study object assumes that a battery of unprecedented measures were implemented. For the first time since the return of democracy, for example, an effective debate on the conduction of the strategic dimension of the defense policy was addressed. Nevertheless, for reasons that are object of analysis during this article, the empowerment process of the political conduction survived along with ambiguities and retrogressions that, during the same period, made the absence of solid consensus regarding the results of the sectorial agenda evident.

Speaking EU defence at home: Contentious discourses and constructive ambiguity

Using discursive institutionalism as an analytical framework, this article addresses how national actors build, coordinate and communicate discourses on EU defence policy (CSDP) at home. The empirical analysis is based on a comparative study of substantive and interactive discourses in France and Ireland, two contrasted cases. It demonstrates that France and Ireland frame and interpret elements of CSDP that best fit their needs, use them to promote their defence agenda in a legitimate and ‘European’ way and present CSDP as a natural continuation of their preferences. These defence agendas revolve around the preservation of France’s exceptionalism and Ireland’s neutrality. Discursive institutionalism, which methodologically sheds light on agents and institutional contexts, helps to understand the dynamics of constructive ambiguity, a discursive strategy often applied to CSDP and illustrated by these two cases.

Cooperation Opportunity or Confrontation Catalyst? The implication of China's naval development for China–US relations

Since the mid-1990s, China's navy has witnessed remarkable progress in force-projection capability build-up which has enabled it to move from coastal waters to the deep oceans. The continuing naval modernization process has aroused deep-rooted suspicions and two prevailing assumptions that these new capabilities will be used to challenge US maritime dominance and to fulfill national reunification of Taiwan. This article examines the validity of the hypotheses and points out that China has neither the intention nor the capabilities to pursue these objectives. By referring to the priority on China's defense agenda and imminent threat identification, this article suggests that naval modernization will enhance China's capabilities to contribute to global commons, including protection of sea lanes of communications and addressing nontraditional security threats, which will provide new opportunities and dynamics for China–US cooperation, rather than for confrontation.

La política exterior de la Unión Europea. Balance del Tratado de Lisboa en materia de prevención de conflictos

Study that examines the process that the European Union made in Security Policy Matter. After the presentation of The Lisbon Treaty, Europe faces new mechanisms of the regional integration that posed more democracy and greater coherence and institutional visibility. Is in this process in which the Conflict Prevention is one of the most certain bets of the Union, which is reflected in the position of Europe in organizations and nations; this means, a greater cooperation between countries in the European Union. However, the nacional interest of each country is magnified by the crisis and the guidance change on the security and international defense agenda test these new transformations.

Military Social Influence

King's discussion is pertinent to the British defence and security agenda, where influence was recently named as a key objective and capability. I argue that as stakeholders, it is our obligation to monitor the application of our psychological science in order to minimize or avoid the risks of its misinterpretation and misapplication. Academic scholars could contribute in a number of ways to military social influence campaigns. In doing so, we may realize that our understanding of social influence is limited. Future research on influence ought to consider its relevance for the social world we now live in. © 2011 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.

“Aid Where It Is Needed Most”: American Labor's Military–Industrial Complex

Between the late 1940s and mid-1960s, American organized labor emerged among the most enthusiastic supporters of the military–industrial complex. This study examines that emerging relationship, focusing on the efforts of a group of unionists to mold defense spending into a vehicle for promoting employment and addressing social and economic problems.During the Korean War, labor representatives drafted, lobbied for, and helped administration Defense Manpower Policy #4, a policy channeling defense spending to areas suffering high rates of unemployment. With the advent of the Eisenhower administration, preferential policies fell by the wayside, but organized labor continued to press, with some success for defense spending as a general antidote to economic downturns. Late in the 1950s, the Construction Trades Department of Congress of Industrial Organizations and the American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), reacting to double-digit unemployment in their ranks, became an active promoter of fallout shelter construction.Despite some initial success in reimplementing preferential policies during the early months of the Kennedy administration, organized labor's defense agenda quickly ran afoul of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's plans to systematize and rationalize the defense sector.In the end, resistance from military and business leaders greatly impeded labor's progress. At the very least, however, labor's defense agenda reflects a larger social vision and also suggests the very real attraction to many unionists of the military–industrial complex, a malleable economic realm, open to political influence and somewhat removed from the harsh forces of the market.

“Aid Where It Is Needed Most”: American Labor's Military–Industrial Complex

Between the late 1940s and mid-1960s, American organized labor emerged among the most enthusiastic supporters of the military–industrial complex. This study examines that emerging relationship, focusing on the efforts of a group of unionists to mold defense spending into a vehicle for promoting employment and addressing social and economic problems.During the Korean War, labor representatives drafted, lobbied for, and helped administration Defense Manpower Policy #4, a policy channeling defense spending to areas suffering high rates of unemployment. With the advent of the Eisenhower administration, preferential policies fell by the wayside, but organized labor continued to press, with some success for defense spending as a general antidote to economic downturns. Late in the 1950s, the Construction Trades Department of Congress of Industrial Organizations and the American Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO), reacting to double-digit unemployment in their ranks, became an active promoter of fallout shelter construction.Despite some initial success in reimplementing preferential policies during the early months of the Kennedy administration, organized labor's defense agenda quickly ran afoul of Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara's plans to systematize and rationalize the defense sector.In the end, resistance from military and business leaders greatly impeded labor's progress. At the very least, however, labor's defense agenda reflects a larger social vision and also suggests the very real attraction to many unionists of the military–industrial complex, a malleable economic realm, open to political influence and somewhat removed from the harsh forces of the market.

Fishing in the Cold War: Canada, Newfoundland and the International Politics of the Twelve-Mile Fishing Limit, 1958-1969

The intensification of offshore fishing by European trawlers in the northwest Atlantic in the 1950s and 1960s had many repercussions for the Newfoundland fishery. With only a three-mile fishing limit between themselves and the more technologically advanced Europeans, many people involved in the Newfoundland fishery demanded the federal government extend fishing rights to twelve miles from shore. The international debate on the extended fishing rights/territorial waters issue, however, was complicated by its entanglement in Cold War politics. Indeed, the Canadian government's attempts to find a solution in the aftermath of the failed United Nations Law of the Sea Conferences in 1958 and 1960 came face-to-face with the defence agenda of the United States Navy. In such an atmosphere, the Canadian government could do little to protect the resource without risking the wrath of its neighbour and largest trading partner.

Ten years in the wilderness — a retrospective Part 2: Cyber Security = National Security

Security experts, Richard Power and Dario Forte believe that it is only a matter of time until there is a serious cyber attack on the National Information Infrastructure. They believe that a cyber attack will occur in tandem with a physical one. Many information warfare attacks have occurred and are likely ongoing. A Japanese cult, which launched a gas attack on the Tokyo subway system, nearly succeeded in getting software that it developed implanted in the Japanese Defence Agency computer system. Al-Qaeda has also reportedly attacked the US infrastructure. In addition, it emerged in December that Chinese attackers made highly professional attempts to penetrate US Government computers without leaving barely a trace. Experts believe the attacks to be state-sponsored. Despite the evidence of information warfare activity, it has gone down in priority in the US Government defence agenda. Under the Clinton administration, the Government released a National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (NSSC). It also had a dedicated cyber security Tzar - Richard Clarke. But the emphasis fell away after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and the appointment of the new Bush administration. And citizens don't only have to worry about foreign information invasions. Information warfare can also be conducted domestically. Some experts believe that it is possible to meddle with electronic voting systems, causing a threat to democracy. The US General Accountability Office has voiced concerns including lack of encryption and memory card problems… This month's column is the second in a three part retrospective on this past decade in the field of Cyber Security. Where are we? How far have we come? Where are we going? Last month, we took inventory with “Nine False Notions About Cyber Security” and “Nine Steps to Success.” This month, we will explore the threat of Information Warfare both foreign and domestic in “Cyber Security = National Security.” Next month, in the third and final section of our retrospective, we will report on outstanding technical issues and industry trends.