Military Relations Research Articles

Managing the military: the Joint Chiefs of Staff and civil–military relations

Journal Article Managing the military: the Joint Chiefs of Staff and civil–military relations Get access Managing the military: the Joint Chiefs of Staff and civil–military relations. By Sharon K Weiner. New York: Columbia University Press. 2022. 256pp. £100.00. Isbn978 0 23120 734 8. Available as e-book. Andrew Payne Andrew Payne University of Oxford, UK Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar International Affairs, Volume 99, Issue 3, May 2023, Pages 1361–1362, https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiad069 Published: 02 May 2023

GI Photos of Calcutta: Toward a Vernacular Understanding of War

Abstract During World War II, more than a hundred thousand US soldiers, popularly known as GIs, camped in Calcutta, India, to steer the Eastern Front war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the China-Burma-India theater. The port city became a strategically relevant transit hub for the soldiers to airlift food and military resources, alongside channeling information to war zones. But it also acted as a site for the rest and recreation of the soldiers. With higher salaries and added scope for leisure in Calcutta, the pervasive presence of the GIs introduced a new orientation of military relationship with the public—more cordial, touristic, and commercially transactional than the British officials. Military photographer Clyde Waddell captured the recreational activities of GIs in the streets of Calcutta at their behest and self-published sixty photographs in 1946. Though the images depict everyday scenes in the colonial city, their thematic elements and semiotics betray the ideological designs of the US Army in an era of changing global equations. Waddell's images inhabit a curious location between wartime reportage and personal memorabilia. This article undertakes a semiotic reading of such photographs by Waddell to situate the complex location of the American GIs in the erstwhile capital city of the disintegrating British colony.

The Rise of the Militarized State? African Developmental Militarism, Public Works Projects, and Praetorian Politics in Kenya

This article analyses the civil–military relations in Kenya in the context of civilian-activated politicization that is taking place the same way it happens in Latin America and the United States under the former Trump administration. In Kenya, this involves the use of the military in noncombat internal missions such as infrastructure development and management of public institutions especially where such institutions are perceived to be inefficient due to corruption both in public and private sectors. Judging from the outcomes of public works undertaken by the military, corruption and inefficiencies cannot be ruled out. This is demonstrated by the Kenya–Somalia Border Securitization Project where 34 million dollars was used to erect a 10-km fence in the war against terrorism. The outcomes of this study negate the logic of the proponents of developmental militarism in Africa who have been vocal in advocating the deployment of the soldiers to solve noncombat social challenges in the continent. Based on three case studies examined, deploying the military to engage in public works projects brings the military into a political minefield, is not productive, and proves to be an unreliable way to combat internal political corruption.

Nepal-China Military Relation

Any military relation with government to government or International or Regional Organizations would be the part of National Diplomacy and interests. In other words, it is Track Two diplomacy after Track One Diplomacy of the government. Bilateral Military relations consists of those activities of a government which are primarily concerned with its armed forces and development assistances too. The histories of bilateral military relations would be sweet and sour. Accordingly, Nepal-China military realties consists of many confrontations and supports. Nepal-China relation is a milestone in the diplomatic history of Nepal. Diplomatic relation is the combination of economic, trade and transit, cultural, military and many more aspects. Nepal – China (Sino-Nepal) Military Relation also begins since our diplomatic history with China. Any diplomatic movement and strategy directly relate with personal security and National security. Nepal –China Relations has two folds; Nepal used to have separate diplomatic relations with China and Tibet up to October 1950. So far, China claims that Tibet was its own part always and never an independent. We could find some events in Sino – Nepal Military relation. Which have been written in many documents, books, and journals. However, an exact document, proofs, archives lack to cover Sino-Nepal Military Relation from ancient period onwards. Background of Sino - Nepal relation, Nepal –Tibet Wars, Nepal –China War, are the main aspects to be highlighted. This article would be based on Qualitative research design applying secondary sources and interpretation of data is content analysis as well as based on Bilateral Relation Theory. Finding of the research paper is to create the separate domain as Nepal-China military relation based on military perspective. The limitation of this paper would be the only major bilateral military confrontations after 1744.

Militarism and the Politics of Covid-19 Response in Uganda

Within the broader context of securitized responses to Covid-19 globally, Uganda experienced an oversized military role, ranging from law-and-order and lockdown enforcement, to managing food-relief supplies, medical operations, and partisan political repression. What explains this excessive militarization? To address this poser, the article draws on secondary sources and key-informant interviews to test the hypothesis that military involvement in pandemic responses depends on pre-pandemic militarism. The findings reveal direct links between pre-crisis militarism and Covid-19 responses, contrary to the view that exceptionality and novelty of Covid-19 informed overly militarized responses. Through pandemic framing and institutional morphing, pre-pandemic militarism foregrounded military roles because Covid-19 provided Uganda’s ruling elites with a public health pretext to heighten militaristic rule, clutch the political arena in the context of elections, and deepen military presence in civilian public health realms. This excessive militarization of public health seriously impacts civil–military relations, specifically command and control, reporting and accountability, and resources management.

The Diplomatic and Political Relations between the Kingdoms of Aragon and Granada during the Reign of Pedro IV (737-789 AH / 1336-1387 AD)

This study investigated the diplomatic relations between the Kingdoms of Granada and Aragon during the reign of King Pedro IV (737-789 AH / 1336-1387 AD). The study also explored the political conditions of the two Kingdoms, and how such political conditions contributed to the exchange of embassies and the conclusion of a number of treaties between them, such as the treaty of 745 AH / 1344 AD, the treaty of 759 AH / 1357 AD, the treaty of 768 AH / 1367 AD, and the treaty of 779 AH / 1377 AD. The study also analyzed the correspondence and terms of treaties between the two kingdoms. The diplomatic correspondence and treaties emphasized the depth of the relationships of friendship and affection between the two kingdoms, and also emphasized each party’s pursuit to preserve the security of its kingdom’s borders and its political, diplomatic and military relations. This consequently had some positive consequences, such as assuring the Kingdom of Granada that the Kingdom of Aragon would not attack its lands. Indeed, this will leave it with only the Kingdom of Castile as an enemy, which was seizing every opportunity to recover some lands from the Kingdom of Granada because she considers it her territory that must be redeemed. Therefore, the Kingdom of Granada gained an ally against the Kingdom of Castile who can support her occasionally. However, for various reasons, some of these treaties are violated by Aragon from time to time. The study has a reached a number of findings, most notably: The relations between the kingdoms of Aragon and Granada were not severed, but they were sometimes interrupted due to wars, which led to the signing of a number of peace treaties between the two parties; the expansion of diplomatic exchange between the two kingdoms to include embassies, with the aim of resolving some contentious issues between the two sides, such as piracy, prisoners, and sometimes military interests that required each party to support the other in their wars, especially with Castile. It also became clear that the treaties of peace and peaceful coexistence between Granada and Aragon were characterized by fluctuation because they were fragile and weak due to wars at times and peace at others. Other factors contributing to this fluctuation include the Sultans of Granada's commitment to uphold the will of peace in relations that are compatible with the interests of their state, as well as King Pedro IV's policy of pursuing Aragonese expansion through diplomacy and aid and assistance. Because of this policy, he was able to sign peace treaties with the Kingdom of Granada. Keywords: Treaties, Granada, Aragon, Diplomacy, Politics, Treaties, Pedro IV.

China’s Rise in the Global South: The Middle East, Africa, and Beijing’s Alternative World Order by Dawn C. Murphy

Professor Murphy has significantly advanced scholarship on post-Cold War Chinese foreign relations with this well-conceived and well-executed assessment of Chinese foreign relations with the Middle East, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. The study is theoretically informed, empirically based, and very relevant to policy. Notably, it provides clear evidence and a persuasive conclusion showing just how far President Xi Jinping’s China has come in its ambitions to change the existing international order in ways advantageous to China and detrimental to the United States and other developed countries. The book fills a gap in providing the best available scholarly review of recent Chinese relations with the Middle East. It is well-designed to be of use in undergraduate and graduate courses dealing with Chinese foreign relations and to inform journalists, policy-makers, and readers interested in China with a thorough and easily understood assessment. Clearly presented introductory chapters define the purpose and scope of the study and relevant theoretical perspectives. The volume then features chapters providing a thorough examination of Chinese behavior in the two leading Chinese-led regional groups involving Africa and the Middle East, a unique assessment of the roles of Chinese special envoys dealing with major regional conflicts, and individual chapters that respectively assess systematically Chinese behavior in economic, political, and military relations advancing Chinese influence. A final chapter before the conclusion demonstrates how Beijing employs the multifaceted activities of the Belt and Road Initiative to use economic, political, and security measures to its overall benefit in the Middle East and Africa.

Risks and Fallacies of Expanding New Roles to the Military: The Case of the Spanish Emergency Military Unit; A Research Note

This article responds to the analysis about the Spanish Emergency Military Unit in the research note by Pérez et al. in Armed Forces & Society, which emphasizes the efficiency of the Spanish Emergency Military Unit and how it has enhanced the image of the Spanish Armed Forces. We believe that a more critical understanding of the development of this military unit is necessary, as its deployment pitfalls and the literature on civil–military relations were neglected. Consequently, four policy traps are identified: response to civilian emergencies has become a central task of the armed forces rather than an auxiliary role; behind the pragmatism of its employment, there is potential for a worsening of civil–military relations, as highlighted by the scholarly literature; there are serious inefficiencies in its organizational design, related to human and financial resources; and image improvement is an illusion, strongly conditioned by political cleavages, with potential long-term counterproductive results.

Driving innovation in air power: the cold war’s four generations of fighter jets

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to add an air power perspective to the innovation field, with emphasis on the development of jet fighters. Contemporary theory has not adequately addressed air power-related significant innovation, a shortcoming this article addresses. Using in-depth qualitive research methodology with eight diverse case-studies in the Cold War period, we show that innovation of jet fighters was typically initiated in response to hegemonic tensions, immediate threats and organsational factors such as civil–military relations, bureaucratic politics, and air force innovation culture. Moreover, through a comparative analysis we argue that significant and successful air power innovation is achieved through proficiency and knowledge gained by constant learning of air power theory and bottom-up innovation mechanisms. Looking forward, this study may be significant for assisting military professionals in making better-informed decisions about the use of fifth-generation air power by implementing past lessons learned into contemporary theory and future plans.

Soviet Historiography of Egypt 's relations with the USSR in 1967-1977

The subject of the study is Soviet historiography about Egypt's relations with the USSR. Soviet-Egyptian relations have a long history and have passed an unprecedented stage in their life. During the Cold War, Egypt was the main ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. Therefore, the prepared studies on the history of relations between the two countries at that time occupy an important place in Russian science. In this article, the author seeks to present the historical background, goals, objectives, methods and features of the USSR's policy towards Egypt, as well as its development in the 60s and 70s of the twentieth century. The novelty of the research lies in the coverage of various criticisms, comments and points of view of researchers, writers, politicians and diplomats who devoted their works to the goals of Soviet foreign policy towards Egypt during the Arab-Israeli conflict. The author of the article also spoke about the course of relations between the two countries, explaining their strengths and weaknesses. The article highlights the mistakes and crises of political and military relations and their impact on both countries, which helps to avoid future mistakes between Egypt and the Russian Federation. The history of the USSR is the basis of the history of modern Russia.

Military–Intelligence Relations: Explaining the Oxymoron

The field of civil–military relations has a rich literature firmly anchored in military history and security studies. Similarly, the emerging field of civil–intelligence relations has received growing attention in intelligence studies. But how do intelligence and the military interact as distinct professions and institutions of national security? This article explores the concept of military–intelligence relations, including its origins in theory and history, and its attendant problems in policy and practice.

Emerging Indo-Bangladesh Military Relations: An Analysis

Emerging Indo-Bangladesh Military Relations: An Analysis

Sexual Misconduct, Civil–Military Relations, and the Canadian Armed Forces

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), like most gender-integrated militaries, has a serious issue with sexual misconduct. However, despite the ubiquity of this form of violence, civil–military relations (CMR), arguably the dominant theory for addressing the politics of the civilian control of the armed forces, has paid little attention to gendered power relations. In this article, we utilize Canada as a case study to question the utility of CMR to address sexual misconduct. We find that major changes to the approach are necessary if CMR is to remain relevant to the study of emerging and increasingly complex challenges faced by militaries, like sexual misconduct. To this end, we suggest three strategies to develop the theoretical and analytical foundations of the CMR approach.

Nepal-China Relation: Tea Horse Road to Belt and Road Initiative

Nepal-China relationship is the oldest in the diplomatic history of Nepal. It is hard to find the beginning point. However, the evidence proves that Manjushree arrived from China to Kathmandu, then cut open a rocky hill called Chobhar to let the water from the enormous lake out whose mud when caked offered itself a fit place to live and cultivate. It is also important to note that the Tea and Horse Road back to the period of the Tang dynasty 618-907 and the Tibetan (Tubo) regime is the next evidence of Sino-Nepal relations, the oldest one. The Lichchhavi period, the Malla period, and the Gorkha Shah King dynasty are full of Sino-Nepal histories. The pilgrim trips from China and Tibet to Nepal and Nepalese trade with Tibet are the major sources of bilateral histories. The Military relationship is also very old, and it starts formally from the time of Kaji Bhim Malla’s military expedition in Tibet. Also, many wars took place between the two countries. However, we have got the best relation up to today and the military relation has been strengthening according to our diplomatic relations. I also would like to mention that the Sino-Nepal relationship has been running more formal rather than people-to-people communication due to our language and geographical barrier in comparison to our southern neighbor. There are many rooms to be researched from Ancient Tea and Horse Road onward present Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Security assistance, securitization, security systems, and insecurity in the Mediterranean mashriq and maghreb

ABSTRACT The Middle East and North Africa, of which the southern and eastern Mediterranean sub-region constitutes the bulk of the population and territory, is the world’s most securitized region. It is also the leading recipient of security assistance but provides the least security of any global region. A related paradox is that this region, the states of which are the world’s least democratic, receives the bulk of its security assistance from democracies. This article draws upon the causes and consequences of these two paradoxes to investigate relationships between securitization, security systems, and insecurity in the Mediterranean and broader MENA region. These paradoxes are products of historical legacies and limited access orders that characterize the region’s political economies. They are key drivers of ‘Faustian Bargains’ between providers and recipients of security assistance and the costs of those relationships. The article concludes with a review of proposals to improve the balance of costs and benefits of SA, recommending a dual strategy of seeking to reform recipients’ civil–military relations while changing military roles and responsibilities of both partners in security assistance relationships.

CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS AND POLITICAL MILITARY RELATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF THREAT RESILIENCY

On November 21, 2022, Dr. Carrie Lee, associate professor and Chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy at the US Army War College, presented on Civil-Military Relations and Political Military Relations in the Context of Threat Resiliency. The key points discussed included the importance of good civil-military relations, how they are critical in establishing resiliency, and some of the threats that require good civil-military relations. Received: 2022-12-05Revised: 2022-12-07

Stosunki wojskowe między Rzecząpospolitą Polską a Związkiem Radzieckim w latach 1921-1939

The article presents the military relations between Poland and the Soviet Union in the years 1921-1939, from the end of the war between Poland and the Bolshevik Russia until the beginning of World War II. Its content has been divided into four subchapters, in the first of which the author analyzes the state of research on the topic in question and the state of preservation of sources in Polish and foreign archives. In the following subsections, the author presents the military relations between Poland and the USSR in three periods: in the years 1921-1926, 1926-1935 and 1935-1939. The last subsection is key to the undertaken research problem. It contains findings on the changes in the mutual military relations to the disadvantage of Poland, in connection with the rapid expansion and modernization of the Red Army and the difficulties of the Polish military intelligence in their assessment and difficulties in recognizing the reconstructed cooperation between the USSR and Germany.

Stosunki rosyjsko-pakistańskie. Aspekty polityczne, gospodarcze i militarne

After the collapse of the Soviet Union into 15 independent states in December 1991, including the Russian Federation, there was a real opportunity to reset relations between Moscow and Islamabad. The Russian Federation did not take advantage of the new geopolitical situation to significantly improve mutual relations in the last decade of the twentieth century. However, in the first two decades of the twenty-first century, there was an intensification of political, economic and military relations between the two countries, which fluctuated. The author focused in the article on the premises that underline the improvement of mutual relations in these three areas. The premises that have inhibited and inhibit more intensive cooperation, especially in the political and economic fields, were also presented. In the end was formulated a few conclusions.

NATO's Pivot to the East: Motives and Problems

The article examines such a new phenomenon in world geopolitics as NATO's desire to expand its activities to the Asia-Pacific region. Along with Washington, in recent years, Western European states have been showing increasing concerns about China's growing economic and military relations, seeing it as a threat to their interests not only in the field of economics and technology, but increasingly in the field of security. China's economic, technological, and military-political ambitions are traditionally of particular concern to neighboring Japan. Promoting the idea of the indivisibility of the security of the Indo-Pacific and European regions, Tokyo intends to involve a number of European states in the geopolitical plan to contain China, despite the fact that geographically they are on the opposite side of the planet from China. The NATO leadership, which shares the concept of the indivisibility of the security of the two regions, in its own doctrinal documents, along with Russia, also brings China to the forefront as a threat to its security. In the Asia-Pacific region, NATO intends to strengthen security relations with Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. However, the coincidence of the interests of Japan and Western European states in containing the "rising China" makes Japan actually the main conductor of the expansion of NATO's activities in the Asia-Pacific region. At the NATO summit in Vilnius in 2023, Japan and the North Atlantic Alliance agreed on a document outlining 16 areas of cooperation until 2026. NATO's pivot to the Asian East causes wariness not only in Beijing and Moscow, but also in a number of Asia-Pacific countries. Critics of NATO's advance into Asia fear that it could lead to increased tension and destabilization in the field of regional security.

Russian-Serbian relations: opportunities and limitations

In 2022 was conducted a joint scientific research project of the two institutions – Institute of International Politics and Economics (Belgrade, Serbia) and Faculty of Political Science, Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow Russia). The project’s name was «Russian-Serbian relations: opportunities and limitations». In the conducted research, the following topics were analyzed: limitations concerning formal institutions and informal practices in the social and political life of Serbia and Russia, the foreign policy of the two countries and their priorities in current international relations, including relations with the EU, bilateral economic, energy and military relations, as well as scientific and technological cooperation. The conclusions reached by the researchers on this project are presented in eight points.