Foreign Military Research Articles

Iran's Syria strategy: the evolution of deterrence

Iran has been a critical player in the Syrian war since 2011, crafting a complex foreign policy and military strategy to preserve its Syrian ally. What have been the drivers of Iranian decision-making in this conflict? And how has Iranian strategy evolved over the course of the war? This chapter argues that the logic of deterrence has been fundamental not just for shaping the contours of Iran–Syria relations since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, but also for determining the overall trajectory of Iranian strategy in the Syrian war. The authors outline Iran’s decision-making calculus and divide the country’s strategy on Syria after the Arab Spring into four primary phases: (1) a ‘Basij’ strategy to establish local militias in Syria; (2) a regionalization strategy to incorporate transnational fighters and militias in the war effort; (3) an internationalization strategy to incorporate Russia and balance the United States; and (4) a post-ISIS deterrence strategy to balance against the United States, Turkey and Israel. Iran’s Syria strategy progressively escalated in response to the possible defeat of its ally and the deterioration of its forward deterrence capacities against the United States and Israel. Today, the potential for direct inter-state conflict is rising as proxy warfare declines and Iran attempts to maintain the credibility of its forward deterrence.

Foreign Military Activities in the Exclusive Economic Zone: Remarks on the Applicability and Scope of the Reciprocal ‘Due Regard’ Duties of Coastal and Third States

Abstract This study examines the applicability and scope of the reciprocal ‘due regard’ duties imposed upon coastal and third states by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the field of military activities in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The applicability of these duties depends on the existence of a right of third states to conduct military activities in the EEZ of another state. Still, this preliminary issue remains extremely controversial because the rules established by the Convention do not offer any clear guidance. On the other hand, if such a right is recognized in abstracto and thus the applicability of the ‘due regard’ duties is triggered, an enquiry into the potential procedural and substantive scope of these duties is necessary to understand how conflicts between this right and coastal states’ rights and jurisdiction should be resolved in concreto.

Aid, Intervention, and Terror: The Impact of Foreign Aid and Foreign Military Intervention on Terror Events and Severity*

ObjectiveRelatively few empirical studies have analyzed the foreign policy options that leaders employ to counter terrorism, and the results have been mixed to date. This study takes a fresh look at two such policies: foreign aid and foreign military intervention.MethodUsing system generalized method of moments to control for endogeneity and a technique that identifies short‐ and long‐term effects, we examine the impact of both policy options within a sample of 122 countries from 1970 to 2005.ResultsThe results suggest that foreign aid may be associated with an increase in the number of terrorist incidents, fatalities, and casualties. They also indicate that foreign military intervention increases terrorist incidents in the short term and may eventually reduce them in the long term.ConclusionThese findings should give pause to those who consider foreign aid to be a possible antidote for both transnational and domestic terrorism. Unfortunately, policymakers searching for ways to reduce terrorist activity will find little solace if they turn to foreign military intervention since a surge in terror incidents in the short term after a military intervention establishes a significantly higher baseline of terror activity and violence. It may take decades for terror activity to return to its preintervention level. Policymakers searching for options to combat international terror should consequently approach both foreign aid and foreign military intervention with caution.

No Bases? Assessing the Impact of Social Movements Challenging US Foreign Military Bases

Militarism and militarization have inspired opposition for millennia. In the post–World War II era, dozens of social movements challenging the existence and operation of US and other foreign (extraterritorial) military bases have provided a prominent example of antimilitarization activism. Movements from Okinawa, Japan, and Jeju, South Korea, to Vieques, Puerto Rico, and Vicenza, Italy, have struggled to close existing bases, stop the construction of new bases, and reduce or eliminate the harms that bases frequently inflict on local communities. This article reviews the history and effects of antibase movements, including recent efforts to create a global “No Bases” movement. While these movements have achieved varying degrees of success and had complicated impacts at individual, local, national, and global scales, this article shows that antibase movements collectively have been important actors in international geopolitics, with significant global influence. Specifically, movements have disrupted everyday military operations and reshaped the global deployment of US bases abroad. Antibase movements thus provide an example of how antimilitarization movements can check, slow, and in some cases reverse militarization—although militarization can continue after base closures. The article concludes with seven tentative hypotheses explaining why some antibase movements are more successful than others in achieving their stated aims.

Seeking Possibility of ROK Armed Forces Transition to Volunteer Military System -Focused on Dynamic SWOT Analysis of Foreign Military Service System Example-

Seeking Possibility of ROK Armed Forces Transition to Volunteer Military System -Focused on Dynamic SWOT Analysis of Foreign Military Service System Example-

International Military Education and Training: Promoting Democratic Values to Militaries and Countries throughout the World

ABSTRACTThe International Military Education and Training program is the United States security assistance program that provides professional military education to officers from foreign militaries. As a tool of soft power, the program has the potential of helping the United States achieve its foreign and national security goals. Despite the potential benefits of the program, research on its effectiveness is limited. The present study contributes to the literature by inquiring into what benefits toward acquiring an understanding of democratic values and the United States society are expressed by foreign officers who have participated in the program.

Lessons learned from twelve years of HIV Seroprevalence and Behavioral Epidemiology Risk Survey (SABERS) development and implementation among foreign militaries.

Circumstances within the military environment may place military personnel at increased risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections including HIV. Since 2005, RTI International has provided technical assistance to the Seroprevalence and Behavioral Epidemiology Risk Surveys (SABERS) program and supported the development and implementation of SABERS survey instruments in 18 countries. RTI staff collaborated with the Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program and host country military and health care leadership to develop a fully tested, culturally appropriate survey and data collection instrument and build local capacity by identifying and training local interviewers. We summarize the critical steps, challenges faced, and lessons learned from 12 years’ experience developing, testing, and implementing SABERS instruments among military populations in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Tokyo's diplomacy in Eurasia: Successes and failures (1997–2017)

Abstract Eurasia has never been one of major directions of Japan's foreign policy, but its importance for Tokyo is growing. This article analyzes its increasing significance to foreign policy of Japan, causes and consequences of this policy's duality and inconsistency. It also studies the reasons for the limited success of Tokyo's diplomacy in Eurasia and discusses possible prospects for growing Japanese involvement in the region. It concludes that Japan's Eurasian policy is inconsistent and is likely to remain so since the cause behind it remains unchanged – that is, the contradiction between Japan's actual economic interests and its willingness to follow in the ideological and geopolitical footsteps of the U.S. The path Japan takes in the future will largely depend on the economic results of the implementation of the Silk Road Economic Belt, its linkage with the plans of the Eurasian Economic Union, the progress of Russian–Chinese cooperation, and the project of Greater Eurasian partnership put forward by Russia and supported by China. If the economic projects of Eurasia's non-Western players prove effective, Tokyo will be more tempted to cooperate with them despite its close ties with the U.S. However, if Eurasia's non-Western states, and particularly China, are overly active with their foreign policy and militaries in the Asia Pacific, it will push Tokyo to create a variety of structures that would curb and serve as a political counterbalance to Chinese and Russian influence.

Unmasking News in Cyberspace: Examining Censorship Patterns of News Portal Sites in China

Internet censorship has been attracting much attention from scholars and institutes, and several aspects have been studied, including IP blocking, keywords filtering and deletion in social media. However, although news is frequently subject to censorship, censorial practices in news websites have never been comprehensively described or quantified. In this paper, we present the first empirical study to systematically examine news deletion on major news portals inside China, focusing on NetEase and Sina Beijing. Sina North America, which was found not to delete news, was used as a control. To automatically detect and archive news deletions, we developed a computer program and from October 30, 2011 to September 27, 2012 crawled nearly two thousand news articles deleted from the two domestic portals and none from the oversea one. Many of deleted news stories overlap across websites, which implies systematic control of content, the quintessential component of censorship, as opposed to editorial operations. Moreover, statistical analyses have revealed common patterns that are associated with higher likelihood of news deletion, and they are negative news, domestic news, news occurring in Beijing and/or having a nationwide impact, topical news covering politics, food and drugs, foreign affairs and military. Indeed, these patterns are well aligned with the goals of censorship (Peleg, 1993) and further suggest censorship over journalistic management. Surprisingly though, party organs, those news organizations tightly affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, published a considerable amount of deleted news and did not give up the role of whistleblowers completely to commercial news media. Also distinct from prior studies, Tibet and other outlying areas were not predictors of news deletion, while they were for social media censorship (Bamman, O’Connor, Smith, 2012). Quite the opposite, news originating from Beijing and surrounding provinces was more likely to be deleted.

A Prelude to Total War? The Abyssinian War (1935–36) in the Eyes of Foreign Military Observers

The conflict between Italy and Ethiopia in 1935–36 has been framed as a prelude to the Second World War and as a watershed towards ‘Total War’. One perspective has so far been neglected: the assessments of foreign military observers. This article examines American, British, German, and Austrian views on the operations and thereby also analyses the mindset of European officers at the time. The core argument emerging from these reports is that the war was perceived as a rather ‘normal’ colonial conflict. Neither the use of gas, nor the employment of aircraft against civilians was seen as a taboo or created significant outrage among the military observers. Instead, they lauded the Italians’ steady logistical efforts and employment of artillery and airpower to overcome nature and the enemy’s resistance.

South Africans offering Foreign Military Assistance Abroad: How real is the Risk of Domestic Prosecution?

This article discusses the efficacy of the existing Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act 15 of 1998, and the proposed Prohibition of Mercenary Activities and Regulation of Certain Activities in the Country of Armed Conflict Act 27 of 2006, in regulating the private security industry and prosecuting those in contravention of the legislation. It discusses the motivations behind recent attempts to deny the citizenship of South African nationals who had taken up employment abroad in the private security industry. The article gives some guidance regarding the likelihood of prosecution for the new school of South African fighters taking up arms for foreign causes like ISIS, the IDF, and Nigeria.
 
 

A Study on Stabilization Measures for Foreign Military Product Quality Using the International Quality Assurance System

A Study on Stabilization Measures for Foreign Military Product Quality Using the International Quality Assurance System

Report of the Committee of Experts on Nation Rebuilding in Afghanistan

With the destruction of the Taliban regime, the international community is turning its attention toward the establishment of an interim government consistent with the Bonn Accords, and the identification of a process for selecting a more long-term governing arrangement. As is well known, these first steps toward establishing a new government in Afghanistan are the beginning of a long and difficult process for re-establishing peace. Absent a comprehensive and attainable plan for nation rebuilding in Afghanistan, the United States may find that despite its victory on the battle- field, it may be unable to adequately achieve its long term security objectives.While many groups and organizations were working within the shadow of the Bonn Conference to rapidly consider how best to accomplish a myriad of important objectives, such as reinstating the rule of law, promoting economic development, designing a program of agricultural reform, and creating a transparent form of democratic government, on November 30th, 2001 the Public International Law and Policy Group and the New England Center for International Law and Policy convened a Committee of Experts to consider broader questions which might properly shape the international community’s response to nation rebuilding in Afghanistan. In particular, the Committee of Experts examined the opportunity for constructive international community involvement arising from the recent development of contemporary norms of intermediate and evolving sovereignty developed from the recent precedents of Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, and East Timor, and the utility of creating a framework of conditionality to guide international involvement in Afghan nation rebuilding.The November 30 meeting of twenty-five prominent foreign policy, military, and international legal experts was held as part of the 'Intermediate Sovereignty' Project, which is funded by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Participants at the meeting included the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, President Clinton’s Special Envoy to Yugoslavia, the former Deputy Legal Counsel at the United Nations, a former legal adviser to the National Security Council, a former Ambassador, the Chairman of the American Bar Association’s Section of International Law and Practice, and five former members of the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State. Also participating were several leading academics, journalists, and experts from the U.S. Institute of Peace, the International Peace Academy, the Coalition for International Justice, the Public International Law and Policy Group, and the American Foreign Policy Council.This report, written by Professors Michael Scharf and Paul Williams, is the product of the November 30 Meeting of Experts. The report should not be taken to reflect the view of any particular participant on the Committee, all of whom served in their individual capacity.The report is divided into the following sections: relevant facts, the U.S. interest in participating in Afghan nation rebuilding, general goals for nation rebuilding, specific objectives for nation rebuilding, and the role of the concepts of intermediate sovereignty and phased recognition in achieving these goals and objectives.

Foreign Military Involvement in Filipino Relief Operations

Typhoon Hayain (locally known as Yolanda), believed to be the strongest typhoon ever to make landfall in recent history, has created much destruction and controversy. Estimates from the Philippine ...

When human capital threatens the Capitol

How does aid in the form of training influence foreign militaries’ relationship to domestic politics? The United States has trained tens of thousands of officers in foreign militaries with the goals of increasing its security and instilling respect for human rights, democracy, and civilian control. We argue that training increases the military’s power relative to the regime in a way that other forms of military assistance do not. While other forms of military assistance are somewhat fungible, allowing the regime to shift resources towards coup-proofing, human capital is a resource vested solely in the military. Training thus alters the balance of power between the military and the regime resulting in greater coup propensity. Using data from 189 countries from 1970 to 2009 we show that greater numbers of military officers trained by the US International Military Education and Training (IMET) and Countering Terrorism Fellowship (CTFP) programs increases the probability of a military coup.

Policy by Other Means: Collective Self-Defense and the Politics of Japan's Postwar Constitutional Reinterpretations

Policy by Other Means:Collective Self-Defense and the Politics of Japan's Postwar Constitutional Reinterpretations Adam P. Liff (bio) keywords japan, security policy, u.s.-japan alliance, collective self-defense, japanese constitution [End Page 139] executive summary This article analyzes Japan's landmark cabinet decision reinterpreting the constitution to allow the limited exercise of collective self-defense (CSD) in both a historical and a contemporary context and assesses its implications for the conditions under which Japan may use military force. main argument In July 2014, a historic cabinet decision reinterpreted Article 9 of Japan's 1947 constitution to allow the use of force to aid an ally under attack, overturning 60 years of authoritative constitutional interpretations categorically prohibiting Japan's exercise of CSD. The decision was followed by a revision of the U.S.-Japan Defense Guidelines and landmark legislation intended to transform Japan's security policy. Yet the change is evolutionary rather than revolutionary. Japan's self-imposed precondition for the use of force by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) remains uniquely strict: an armed attack posing an existential threat to Japan's security. Nor is this the first case of a major reinterpretation of Article 9. Though its original wording remains untouched, the article's effective policy significance has changed repeatedly over 70 years in accordance with shifting domestic political winds and perceived strategic exigencies. Specific to post-2014 developments, understanding what changed and why—especially how Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his allies' push for full exercise of CSD failed—elucidates the strategic, political, and normative factors shaping changes to Japan's security policy and the U.S.-Japan alliance. policy implications • While Japan may now legally exercise "limited" collective self-defense, unique, self-imposed conditions appear so strict that the use of force in support of allies or partners outside a defense-of-Japan scenario seems unlikely. • Security legislation in effect since 2016 opens up space for more expansive JSDF logistical support for U.S. military operations, bilateral planning, and exercises, as well as new authorities that somewhat resemble collective security or CSD operations in peacetime, including use of small arms during UN peacekeeping operations and protection of foreign militaries engaged in activities contributing to Japan's defense. • Without formal constitutional revision (at a minimum), however, more ambitious efforts to fundamentally transform Article 9's interpretation or the scope of scenarios in which Japan can use force overseas are unlikely without major domestic political realignments. [End Page 140] On July 1, 2014, global headlines were awash with news of Japan's historic cabinet decision "reinterpreting" its never-revised 1947 constitution to allow the country for the first time to exercise collective self-defense (CSD)—the UN Charter–sanctioned right to use force to aid an ally under attack. This substantively unprecedented, controversial decision spearheaded by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe overturned 60 years of authoritative government interpretations forbidding the exercise of CSD on constitutional grounds. It sparked a political firestorm domestically, and its policy impact was swift: in April 2015, Tokyo and Washington rewrote the seminal document articulating the allies' respective responsibilities and procedures for operational coordination. In March 2016, landmark legislation intended to transform and "normalize" Japan's security posture and expand the roles and missions of the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) came into effect. The debate that was sparked by the Abe administration's push to enable Japan to exercise CSD without formally revising the constitution's famous Article 9 "peace clause" became a revealing focal point for the latest intense contestation of core issues permeating Japan's postwar domestic politics. These issues range from the legitimacy and appropriate role of Japan's de facto military and alliance with the United States to deeply sensitive domestic political issues concerning civil-military relations, Japan's democratic institutions, and even national identity. The political atmosphere was highly incendiary. Domestic and overseas criticism of Abe's allegedly unprecedented affront to Japan's democratic norms and constitutionalism was widespread, while warnings of resurgent Japanese "militarism" abounded and opposition parties disparaged bills codifying the reinterpretation in law as "war legislation" (senso hoan) that would inevitably trap young Japanese in foreign wars "on the far side of the...

The Role of Culture in The Acquisition of Foreign Languages by Military Students

Abstract This paper highlights the importance of integrating culture in the teaching of foreign languages to military students. The first section of the paper offers some basic definitions of culture and key terms associated with it. The next part of the paper brings into discussion the relationship between culture and language acquisition. There is an intimate connection between language and culture; not only language is comprised in the definition of culture, but it also reflects culture, thus we cannot separate language teaching from culture. The final part of the paper focuses on the military students as future leaders that need to develop cross-cultural communication skills and be aware of the cultural differences in order to avoid potential failures during communication with soldiers from foreign militaries in theatres of operation or on other international missions that they are assigned.

Motivation for Education and Learners' Satisfaction with The Choice of Military Specialisation or Civilian Specialty

Abstract This article presents a research on the motivation for education and training activities and their relation with the satisfaction of choosing a military specialisation or a civilian specialty, based on the example of cadets and students from the Vasil Levski National Military University in Bulgaria. Motivation for education and training activities is the main research subject of the study which is conducted in a real educational environment. The object of the study is cadets in the last year of their education in the Military Science professional field, specialising in Organisation and Management of Military Units at a Tactical Level at the National Military University in Bulgaria. The study includes students and cadets in the first year of education as control groups for comparison. The study launched in 2012. It continues to the present. It is supported by military experts from over 11 foreign military educational institutions - universities and academies from all across Europe.

Global HIV Prevention, Testing, and Counseling in Military Populations.

Compared with the general population in low- and middle-income countries, military members tend to be male, young, travel more frequently away from their main sexual partners, drink more alcohol and have a consistent source of income. All of these factors may lead to an increased risk of contracting HIV. In response, the Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program advocates for the integration of HIV prevention "building blocks" into military health services to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV among foreign uniformed services. The building blocks include basic HIV education including outreach, condom promotion, enabling HIV policies, HIV testing services, screening for sexually transmitted infections, voluntary medical male circumcision where appropriate, prevention of mother-to-child transmission, and other supportive services. The Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs supports implementation of these building blocks though partnerships with foreign militaries. This comprehensive prevention package, when closely linked with HIV treatment services, is the cornerstone of creating an HIVfree generation in military and surrounding communities worldwide.

The Interpreters

The treatment of local civilians formerly employed by foreign militaries in Afghanistan is a source of shame for the soldiers with whom they served.