Government Forces Research Articles

Rugged terrain, forest coverage, and insurgency in Myanmar

This paper examines whether non-monotonic patterns exist between forest coverage and conflict processes in Myanmar. Specifically, the paper finds that forest coverage and civil conflict follow an inverted U-shaped relationship: conflict decreases at extremely low and high densities of forest coverage but increases at medium and somewhat high forest densities. Following the logic of the variability of rugged terrain, we argue that this pattern reflects the dual mechanisms of refuge and tactical advantages for rebel groups, who intentionally use such terrain to maximize logistical advantage while minimizing the military advantages enjoyed by better equipped government forces.

Platformization of Korean Internet portals toward mega-platforms: A historical approach

This paper documents the evolution of Korea’s digital platforms. By using a historical approach in tandem with platformization — helpful in determining the causes behind the changing processes of new technologies — we examine the advancement of digital platforms. The digital platform era can be divided into three significant periods based on major technical advancements and corporate transformations, including the early construction of ICT infrastructure between the mid-1990s and early 2000s; the early platformization period of Internet portals amidst the smartphone revolution between the mid-2000s and mid-2010s; and the duopoly market of Naver and Kakao from the mid-2010s, after the merge of Daum and Kakao, to the present. Multiple causes led to the advent of digital platforms, both in terms of technologies and systems. Power relations developed between several major players, such as the government, corporations, and global forces. This work ultimately describes the relationship between sociocultural transitions and accompanying structural changes in digital platforms and relevant policies.

Higher Education and Local Innovation Systems: Lessons From Public Attitudes in Shenzhen, China

This article examines public attitudes on the local innovation system of Shenzhen with a focus on the role of the local government and higher education (HE). Based on data collected from an online platform, Zhihu, this article examines netizens’ perceptions of local government, institutional environment, HE and labour force development. Text analysis reveals that netizens hold relatively positive attitudes towards the local government and the future development of Shenzhen due to its fair institutional environment. Local HEIs needs to be further developed to support Shenzhen’s economic transformation but the close linkage with Hong Kong universities help to mitigate the challenges in human capital supply. This paper presents a novel way of examining public perceptions on local innovation systems and the case of Shenzhen also provides policy lessons to other cities aiming at developing innovation centres.

BRICS-Plus: the New Force in Global Governance

The global economy is currently experiencing unprecedented changes as the BRICS nations establish themselves as a signifi cant power center and a crucial factor in the transformation of the international economic framework. Following China’s chairmanship of BRICS, which culminated in the BRICS+ meetings with a diverse range of emerging market economies, these and other countries have expressed their desire to join the BRICS group. The expansion process was largely catalyzed by the openness exhibited by BRICS through the BRICS+ format. The main question at this juncture is how the BRICS+ format will develop and whether it can enhance the position of BRICS in the global arena and among the Global South. This paper explores some of the opportunities presented by the BRICS+ concept in the creation of new global governance, particularly through the establishment of platforms – including those in the real sector and fi nancial platforms aimed at promoting greater cooperation among the sovereign wealth funds and regional development banks of the Global South. Another critical area is the launch of a new reserve currency that could serve as the foundation for greater economic integration across the broad platform of the developing world.

Does carbon mitigation depend on green fiscal policy or green investment?

Does carbon mitigation depend on the force of government or the autonomy of enterprises? We should first distinguish the roles of green fiscal policy and corporate green investment to test whether they can independently guide enterprises to reduce carbon emissions. Because a clear relationship will help resolve the embarrassment caused by their different goals. Then we use theoretical and empirical methods to analyze green fiscal policies and corporate green investment mechanisms, which have nonlinear impacts on carbon mitigation in mathematics. Furthermore, we have empirically verified then in three effective paths: the promotion of green fiscal policies on green investment, the mediator of green investment in the influence of green fiscal policies on carbon mitigation and enterprise performance, and the difference in firm heterogeneity on green investment. The results show that green fiscal policies support enterprises in realizing carbon mitigation by pressure, stimulating green investment, and achieving Innovation Compensation. Carbon mitigation depends on the trigger of green fiscal policies and the catalysis of green investment. That means the green fiscal policy is an effective instrument for the government to stimulate green innovation only when they are vital in reducing carbon emissions. Finally, we can summarize the evolutionary process of carbon mitigate from mandatory green fiscal policies to independent green investment, which is helpful for green governance and the low-carbon development of enterprises.

Rebel Capacity, Intelligence Gathering, and Combat Tactics

AbstractClassic and modern theories of rebel warfare emphasize the role of resource endowments. We demonstrate that intelligence gathering, made possible by these endowments, plays a critical role in determining specifics of how rebels launch complex attacks against better equipped government forces. We test implications of a theoretical model using highly detailed data about Afghan rebel attacks, insurgent‐led spy networks, and counterinsurgent operations. Leveraging quasi‐random variation in opium suitability, we find that improved rebel capacity is associated with (1) increased insurgent operations; (2) improved battlefield tactics through technological innovation, increased complexity, and attack clustering; and (3) increased effectiveness against security forces, especially harder targets. These results show that access to capital, coupled with intelligence gathering, meaningfully impacts how and where rebels fight.

Economic Actors as Human Rights Watchers: The Effects of Government Sexual Violence on Foreign Direct Investment

AbstractDo reports of sexual violence by state forces influence foreign direct investment? While studies have examined the impact of government human rights performance on FDI, how investors react to civilian victimization during wartime remains understudied. We investigate this with a focus on conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). We argue that sexual violence by state governments results in the loss of FDI during conflict due to reputational and economic costs faced by foreign investors. With increasing international developments on CRSV, ties to governments that perpetrate sexual violence can be harmful to how the global community perceives foreign corporations. Moreover, government sexual violence signals that the government is relatively weaker than its opponent, creating uncertainties for foreign corporations regarding future investment opportunities in the host state. Analyzing sexual violence by government forces for all civil conflicts from 1989 to 2008, our findings show a decline in FDI as government sexual violence increases.

A Critical Review Of "Zia ul Mulk Mulla Ramuzi: The Founder Of Gulabi Urdu" By Prof Bashir Ahmed Soz

Mullah Ramuzi is known in Urdu literature as the inventor of Gulabi Urdu. Gulabi Urdu in its own words means to change the order of the words in the sentence. For example, first the verb then the subject and the object, in this way, the style of translation from Arabic to Urdu is created. Of course it is fun, but after a while the reader gets tired. The atrocities of the government, social injustice and social ills force him to write whatever he writes under the guise of humor

For Children or Grandchildren?-The Motivation of Intergenerational Care for the Elderly in China.

Considering our aging society and declining birthrate, we studied the motivations for intergenerational care for the elderly in China and analyze it through different generations of children and grandchildren. This paper mainly uses logistic regression analysis, descriptive statistics, heterogeneity analysis, robustness analysis, and other quantitative methods to analyze the data of the China Household Tracking Survey (CFPS) in 2018. According to the relevant research results, we believe that both children or grandchildren may be motivations. However, the proportion of factors is higher because the proportion of parents choosing alternate-generation care has increased based on the financial support provided by their children, and underdeveloped children are more likely to be favored by their parents to provide alternate-generation care. This paper is more inclined to consider children to be the main motivator for intergenerational care under the dual motives of "feedback" exchange and altruism through "helping the weak". Next, the influence factors of a series of control variables are analyzed for the groups that take care of the next generation, and it is found that the intimacy between the elderly and their spouses, the number of meals with their families per week, and the use of electronic products will all affect the degree of care provided by their fathers. Based on this, this paper proposes that the three forces of government, society, and family are needed for joint support of the elderly when they are taking care of each other. We will make generational care less responsible, free and burdensome, and at the same time respect the right of the elderly to say "no" to providing care.

Promoting ICT adoption in rural entrepreneurship: more neighbourhood effect or more institutional incentives?—Empirical evidence from China

AbstractAlthough digital village projects have been vigorously promoted in China in recent years, the application rate of information and communication technology (ICT) is still low, while the ways in which governmental technology promotion turns into endogenous initiatives and the impact of informal institutions remains unclear. This study found that the neighbourhood effect, rather than institutional incentives, is decisive for ICT adoption. Perceived well‐being benefit was found to be an indispensable internal driver for ICT adoption, whereas government incentives varied across industries, producing a variety of impacts. The findings of this study provide practical insights into the effective promotion of ICT adoption, suggesting that government and community forces should be integrated, and that both cognitive and affective psychological drivers should be considered.

Border vigilante/Militia activity, the National Security State, and the Migrant “Threat”

ABSTRACT The relationship between border security and immigration has always been contentious and politically divisive. Using the cases of the War on Drugs (WoD), the War on Terror (WoT) and then the Migrant “Caravan” of 2018, I show that border security and enforcement have followed a historical pattern of racialised and gendered hierarchies using the prominent language frames of crime, war and invasion to negatively construct the migrant as “other” and the national security state as protector. These policies have shaped an environment by which state violence and state-sanctioned violence of non-state actors, such as vigilante/militia groups, become an acceptable response to protect the “Homeland” from vilified “others”. Racialised and gendered hierarchies are deeply entrenched in the US national security state, have (re)produced through time and thus, historically, the system has been designed to promote an environment by which practices of exclusion and expulsion become justified by both state and non-state actors. This calls into question definitions of terrorism, which do not adequately address the violence perpetrated by government forces and/or those non-state actors who are explicitly and implicitly supported by the nation-state.

Utopische Träumereien?

This paper argues that the common argument, that a state’s monopoly of violence is a necessary condition for peace, is flawed. First, it rests on anthropological assumptions about violent tendencies in human nature that may be valid for our society but cannot claim to correctly picture the (universal) human nature. Secondly, monopolies of violence are in reality less functional than they would need to be; most importantly, their agents distribute more violence than necessary or legitimate. Given their structural and institutional nature, this is hardly surprising, maybe even unavoidable. Therefore, the claim that a monopoly of violence is an indispensable or at least the best means to establish peace should be viewed more critically. For this reason anarchist proposals should not only not be scorned, they should rather be openly discussed and re-evaluated.

Can the International Criminal Court prevent sexual violence in armed conflict?

Human rights activists, international organizations, and certain governments have championed prosecutions as a strategy to prevent conflict-related sexual violence, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) has focused extensively on prosecuting sexual violence crimes during its first two decades of operations. However, even as a growing body of empirical evidence suggests that the ICC contributes to improved human rights practices and the prevention of other atrocity crimes, such as violence against civilians, claims concerning the preventive effects of prosecutions on sexual violence remain largely untested. The purpose of this article is to test these claims. To this end, we analyzed the effects of ICC jurisdiction, interventions, and cross-case actions on sexual violence by government forces in intrastate conflicts from 1989 to 2018, using the Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (SVAC) dataset. Contrary to the optimistic claims of proponents of prosecutions, we found that ICC jurisdiction and cross-case actions have negligible effects for this category of actors. We also found that ICC interventions are associated with increased sexual violence by government forces in intrastate conflicts. These findings suggest that prevention might require alternative—and, in some cases, potentially costlier—interventions.

Casting a shadow over war zones? Hard truths about the ICC’s efforts to deter wartime atrocities

Twenty years after the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC or Court) entered into force, the ICC’s role in preventing atrocity crimes remains controversial, with skeptics arguing that it is unrealistic, pessimists that it overlooks the potential of the Court to escalate conflicts, and optimists contending that it can work for both government and rebel leaders. I argue that during civil wars the ICC is only likely to deter rebel forces, given that Court officials are likely to have an easier time pursuing their leaders should they commit atrocity crimes. This article systematically evaluates these competing claims by providing the most extended look yet at the ICC’s record in African civil wars, the primary focus of the Court’s efforts to date. I find that existing perspectives do not tell the full story of the ICC’s impact in war zones. The results suggest that the ICC has failed to deter African government forces. However, I uncover highly suggestive evidence that the more actions the ICC takes to pursue suspected war criminals during ongoing conflicts, the more likely it is to deter rebels. Notably, most of these ICC actions have targeted rebels. Importantly, I find no indication that the ICC is associated with increased civilian killings by either government or rebel forces. With the permanent ICC, the shadow of criminal prosecution now extends to modern-day conflicts. This study helps to broaden our understanding of how and when the ICC might contribute to deterrence.

The Decline of Two Forces in Chinese Law and Governance

The Decline of Two Forces in Chinese Law and Governance

Land use change, policy dynamics and urban governance: A case study of urban village redevelopment in Shenzhen

<abstract> <p>Urbanization in China is a complex process. The expansion of urbanization has pushed the government to tackle the long existed rural/urban divide by redeveloping urban villages. However, not many studies have focused on the relationship between urban redevelopment and urban governance in relation to specific policy elements, that is, how land use change and policy dynamics reinforce urban governance. By conducting a case study of urban redevelopment in Shenzhen, this article first evaluates the redevelopment background, theoretical perspectives on land use and the policy context of urban villages. Based on the analysis of the case, it was concluded that land use change has played a significant role in urban governance, in which the policy dynamics of urban villages in China are crucial to understanding the redevelopment process. Findings show that an integrated approach was adopted to redevelop the village, which combined both government and community forces. Furthermore, the forces of land use change and the policy dynamics manifested in a co-management process engaged by stakeholders, and eventually reinforced urban governance.</p> </abstract>

Хуту против тутси в Бурунди: почему местные «линчеватели» – это угроза будущему государства?

Burundi has a long history of political violence and vigilantism that were particularly widespread in the context of the 1993–2005 civil war. During this period, various armed groups and militias emerged and engaged in violent attacks against civilians, rival rebel groups, and even government forces for ethnic or political reasons. In the aftermath of the civil war, the government of Burundi has struggled to address the legacy of violence and establish a stable political system. Yet vigilantism remains a significant issue in Burundi, with reports of civilians taking the law into their own hands in response to perceived threats and injustices. In some areas, local communities have organized vigilante groups to protect themselves from different crimes, while police as the only legal law enforcement actor to fight crime remains unsuccessful in providing proper security. However, vigilante groups also engage in extrajudicial acts of violence, such as lynching, or mob justice, and can exacerbate existing ethnic tensions and conflicts. The article concludes that long-term interethnic antagonism, coupled with experience of mutual extermination, can become the main catalyst for vigilantism that presents a threat for the overall stability of political system.

Reformulation of Agrarian Regulations Within a Human Rights Framework

The complexities of land and natural resource cases involve multiple stakeholders ranging from the government and security forces to corporations. The conflicts that drive these cases are reflected in the Indonesian Commission on Human Rights data and in complaints from civil society. One contributing issue is driven by regulatory factors in the agrarian sector that is not in line with international human rights principles and norms. The analysis of these problems will be described in three discussions: one identifying the meaning of agrarian followed by a model for internalizing human rights instruments and principles in domestic regulations, and one affirming the responsibilities of the State and of corporations in the business. This paper concludes that differences in agrarian terms in various laws cause problems in norms and practices that affect multiple conflicts. Second, it emphasizes the urgency with which key players must evaluate different sectoral rules related to land and natural resources as well as harmonize domestic regulations with human rights principles and norms; and third, it underscores the importance of strengthening the responsibility of the State in regulating corporations to respect human rights and to make remedies for victims.
 Keywords: land and natural resources, agrarian reform, human rights instruments and principles, state and corporate responsibility

漢詩에 형상화된 壬辰倭亂, 그 항쟁과 수난의 양상

The Imjin War(Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592) lasted for seven years. It did Joseon big damage and had a great impact on the change of situation of Northeast Asia. In this paper, I analyzed Korean ancient poems expressed disastrous scenes of the Imjin War. The main subject is divided into three sections: first, the defeat and sacrifice of the government army; second, a struggle and activity of a commander of volunteers; third, sufferings and injury of the people.
 Kim, Je-gap, the governor of Wonju, died a glorious death on the field of battle at Youngwon fortress. Won-ho, a deputy commander of Gangwon province, won a victory in battle at Yeo-river but eventually died in battle at Kimhwa. Shin-gak won a victory in battle at Haeyou-ryeong of Yangju. It was the first victory of Joseon in a land battle. But he was put to death unfairly due to a wrong report. After the war, Lee, Hae-su wrote Nanhu- domangrok and Gu, Sa-maeng wrote Nanhu-jomangrok. Each book is a collection of poems lamenting the war dead. They both wrote condolence poems for Kim, Je-gap, Won-ho and Shin-gak. These poems show the whole problems of government forces; insufficiency for the enemy’s surprise attack, disuse of steep landform, betrayal of uncontrolled inside people, carelessness due to only one victory, a false punishment due to wrong communication, etc.
 Woo, Seong-jeon as a commander of volunteers defended the Japanese invaders at Kimpo and Ganghwa. Lee, Jeong-am, the governor of Yeonan, defended the fortress against the enemy. Lee, Hae-su, Gu, Sa-maeng, Hwang-seom, and Dasan wrote poems about these two people. Reading the poems, we come to know that a victor did not get any special privilege but did receive a reprimand instead. Hwang-seom and Dasan praised Lee, Jeong-am’s contribution to keeping the fortress. And Dasan also praised Shin-gak’s contribution to defensive preparation of Yeonan before.
 Lee-Dal and Heo-Gyun described sufferings and hurts of the people in their poems. Lee-Dal portrayed a grandfather who held a memorial service for his son died in a war, a young widow who lost her husband in a war and has raised her daughter by herself, and an elderly couple who was fleeing to neighboring province losing their son and daughter-in-law. Heo-Gyun wrote a long piece, Nogaekbuwon, which described a woman’s checkered life in a war.

The Shifting Face of the Enemy: ‘Less than Lethal’ Weaponry and the Criminalised Protestor

From checkpoints in Palestine and cities in other war-torn places to Istanbul, Ferguson and Paris: anti-riot and other so called ‘non-lethal’ weaponry is used worldwide against civilians by government forces. The use of such violence (even if framed as ‘non- or less-than-lethal’) against protestors in major cities, often turning the city streets into scenes from battle fields, is worrying as it shows an increasing disrespect for human and civil rights by states with an obsession with ‘keeping the order’. What is less visible, however, is how technologies and weapons that are used against protestors, and the ways they are marketed, (re)produce the image of the protestor as a legitimate target. Studying this process in more detail can help understand the criminalisation of protests and protestors along with other democratic tools. In this article I will investigate the global sale and marketing of ‘anti-riot’ or so-called ‘non-lethal’ or ‘less-than-lethal’ weaponry and technology that are used against protestors on a global security market. I will argue that this industry constructs a new enemy and by doing so criminalises our cities’ populations and the democratic tools they have at their disposal to voice their concerns. Instead of looking at police actions of repression of protest, I will thus approach this issue through the weaponry that is used against protestors and what that tells us about repression of their civil rights. I will do this by focussing on the Israeli security industry.