Security Partnership Research Articles

Space-Based Missile Warning: An Opportunity to Deepen U.S.-Japan Security Cooperation

executive summary: This article explores Japan's pursuit of missile-warning satellites and the opportunity this presents for the U.S.-Japanese security partnership in space. main argumentIn recent years, Japan has taken steps toward developing its own missile-warning satellites. Developing a space-based missile-warning system is a challenging feat, one that is complex and expensive, evidenced by the fact that only a few countries operate such systems. Given that the U.S. already shares some missile-warning information with Japan, Tokyo's pursuit of its own satellites reflects, at least in part, the country's push toward achieving a more independent capability. However, this push should not be construed as sudden or a shift away from its longtime ally. Rather, it represents (1) a continuation of latent historical efforts to acquire missile-warning satellites, and (2) a response to technological developments that have made potential adversarial missile systems more threatening and developing missile-warning satellites more feasible. Japan's pursuit of missile-warning satellites fits within the country's broader acceleration as a defense power and contributor to the U.S.-Japan security relationship. It also presents a compelling opportunity for more extensive collaboration between the two allies. policy implications• Japan has had a long-standing interest in space-based missile-warning systems and more broadly in mitigating missile threats using space-based technologies. Even if Japan does not acquire these assets soon, the issue of whether to acquire them will continue to be central to its defense debate. • Japan's development of a space-based missile-warning system, alongside the U.S.'s development of its own next-generation missile-warning capabilities, could offer opportunities for heightened collaboration between the two countries. Partnering on these assets could lead to financial savings and the potential for the alliance to develop a better protected and more capable missile-warning architecture.

The Impact of Property Crime on Public Infrastructure Development in the Nigerian Cities

Property crime in Nigeria incurs billions of Naira in annual rehabilitation costs, significantly straining government budgets and hindering resource allocation for sustainable urban development. This study investigates how public infrastructure development in Nigerian citiesis impacted by property crime focusing on the Lagos metropolis. Utilising both primary and secondary data, including in-depth interviews with five building industry professionals and government records analysis.The research adopts parallel data analysis to assess the financial impact of property crime, its relationship with environmental decay, economic losses, social consequences, and its effect on project delivery timelines. It exemplifies the use of triangulation as a methodological metaphor for drawing inferences from qualitative and quantitative findings. The findings demonstrate that property crime severely hampers public infrastructure development, resulting in increased government expenditure, environmental degradation, economic setbacks, public suffering, and delays in project completion. The study underscores the need for comprehensive strategies to mitigate property crime and ensure sustainable infrastructure development. Effective measures, including enhanced security partnerships and community engagement, are crucial for protecting public assets and informing policymakers in the development of effective policies for managing and maintaining the nation’s public infrastructure.

China's Motivation to Improve Bilateral Relations with South Korea After the Polemic of THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense)

North Korea's aggressiveness in launching ballistic missiles has threatened the security stability of East Asia. As a state under threat, South Korea formed a joint security partnership with the United States through the deployment of THAAD in 2016. However, China has opposed it by arguing that THAAD would threaten domestic and regional security stability. As a result, China's rejection led to the presence of the phenomenon of economic retaliation which resulted in a decrease in the value of South Korea-China bilateral trade and distrust. Nevertheless, after negotiations, the two countries decided to improve bilateral relations in 2017. This paper aims to determine China's motivation in improving bilateral relations with South Korea as a foreign policy decision after rejecting the deployment of THAAD under the guise of threatening to trigger bilateral polemics. This research will be analyzed through qualitative methods with the conceptual framework of foreign policy determinants by Shannon L. Blanton and Charles Kegley. In this conceptual framework, there are five determinants that influence foreign policy decision making namely military capabilities, economic conditions, type of government, global distributions of power, and geopolitical factors. Furthermore, Blanton & Kegley's conceptual framework identifies that each of these determinants influenced China's motivation to improving bilateral relations with South Korea after the THAAD polemic.

Exploring hybrid security strategies in Ghana: State and private sector partnerships

ABSTRACT Mounting security challenges in the Global South provoke scholarly discussions on multi-actor and multi-dimensional interventions, especially the role of private security organisations. Yet, while broadly revealing the growing influence of private security firms and/or anecdotes of periodic private-public security collaborations in contemporary security provision in developing countries, the related literature offers little discussion about the potential for sustained systemic partnerships between public and private security organisations to tackle contemporary security challenges. Contributing to the broader discourse on hybrid governance, this research examines the potential of private-public security operational collaborations and how they could address contemporary security dilemmas in Ghana. The article draws on semi-structured interviews with actors from private and public security sectors to demonstrate the potential of effective private-public security partnerships in the areas of intelligence gathering and logistical (re)enforcement; community education and operations; and surveillance. The data suggest that while private and public securities operate under different structures, codes, and conditions, the three areas present real possibilities for a hybrid security context, which could significantly reduce crime and general security concerns in the country.

Locating the Evolving Vietnam–India Security Partnership in Hanoi’s Hedging Strategy with Major Powers: A Neoclassical Realist Analysis

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Vietnam has consistently strengthened its security ties with India. However, notable gaps remain in theorizing the burgeoning security partnership in the context of Hanoi’s foreign policy decision-making. Common arguments revolve around structural, material, and utility-maximizing motivations. However, these overlook the dynamism of Vietnamese foreign policy vis-à-vis the emerging structural power dynamics and the motivations behind domestic-level decision-making. While the role of structural forces has been irrefutable given Hanoi’s desire to hedge with major powers since the Cold War period, they are not enough to determine the nature, motivations, speed and scope of the Southeast Asian state’s strengthening security ties with India since the beginning of the twenty-first century. Therefore, through a neoclassical realist analysis, this article seeks to explain how enhancing security ties with India fits in Hanoi’s overarching hedging strategy since the mid-twentieth century in ways beyond utility-maximizing models.

Shifting balance of power and the formation of AUKUS in the Indo-Pacific region

ABSTRACT The US network of military alliances and security partnerships in the region has allowed it to influence Indo-Pacific affairs. But, a rapid shift in the balance of power in favour of China has threatened the US interests and security commitments with its regional allies. Hence, the AUKUS is a continuance of the US strategy of pivoting to Asia conceived by the Obama administration and a part of broader US efforts to balance revisionist China in the Indo-Pacific. Through AUKUS, the US has an opportunity to enhance the capabilities of its ally, Australia, to balance aggressive China. Convergence of security and foreign policy objectives with the US has encouraged Britain and Australia to be the parties of AUKUS. AUKUS would boost Australia's capabilities for shaping its regional strategic and security environment and develop a durable strategic power balance in the region. As a natural ally of the US and Australia, Britain also opposes China's illegal territorial claims and activities in the South and East China Seas and has developed a policy of integrated and collective actions with allies to protect the common interests through the AUKUS partnership.

From Russia with Love: A Historical Analysis of Russia Foreign Policy toward North Korea

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the fall of communism has changed the policy of Russia toward North Korea. However, North Korea has been associated as the closest ally of Russia, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union. This article will explain the transformation of the Russian and Soviet Union relationship using a zero-sum approach. This article shows that Russia prefers to maintain a close relationship with North Korea, with extensive opportunities to improve its economic and security interests within the region of East Asia. Russia will avoid high-risk conflict because it focuses on economic stability. As the closest and critical ally of Russia, North Korea tends to depend on Russia as the sole partner in economic and security. This research will employ a historical approach to unpack the foreign policy dynamics of Russia toward North Korea. The historical analysis is critical to explaining significant factors toward stable relations between two countries.

Indo-French Defence and Security Partnership

The article aims to describe the regional security challenges and major threats for India in South Asia. Since 1947, India has been suffering from external security threats such as, a form of proxy warfare and terrorism from its neighbouring countries. To this purpose, the article also examines recurring issues where India has major border issues with China, in the Himalayan terrain to the eastern region of India. This article looks at the defence cooperation between India and France through the prism of India’s security threats in the South Asian region. India's soft power policy reflected in a neo-realist approach and expanded its long-standing defence cooperation with France. Therefore, India has been receiving support from the French government whenever the country needs defence equipment and other assistance. The article uses empirical and discourse analysis methods to answer the questions, and to draw a proper conclusion to the study. Finally, as a result of the study, we can see that India’s serious security threats in the South Asian region are pushing the country to purchase defence equipment from France. The relationship between India and France is strengthening the bilateral cooperation at a broader level and shaping a strong strategic partnership by uniting South Asia and the Indo-Pacific as well.

Remember Kabul? Reputation, strategic contexts, and American credibility after the Afghanistan withdrawal

ABSTRACT We examine how a great power’s past behavior toward an informal security partner affects the broader credibility of its security commitments, focusing on the implications of America’s dramatic troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 as perceived by the U.S., South Korean, and Chinese publics. Against conventional wisdom, we show that knowledge about a great power’s decision to abandon an informal partner in one region of the globe can help increase confidence about its alliance commitments elsewhere. Our survey experiments identify a striking disjuncture: Although Americans tend to believe that the abandonment decision in Afghanistan will hurt their country’s credibility in East Asia, no such effect is found in South Korea and China. In fact, East Asian respondents who are reminded of the Afghanistan withdrawal become more confident about American security commitments when alerted to the possibility that this decision will help Washington to concentrate additional military capabilities in their region.

The AUKUS Anvil: Promise and Peril

The nascent Australia–United Kingdom–United States security partnership, known as AUKUS, aims to secure for the Royal Australian Navy from the US and the UK a capability in nuclear-powered submarines to bolster allied deterrence in the Pacific. The partnership’s strategic loft and immense ambition have already afforded it almost mythical status. But its pathway is hardly free of potential obstacles, which include limited defence-industrial capacities, production delays, personnel shortfalls, cost overruns and geopolitical change. If AUKUS is seen as strengthening the strategic linkage between the US and Australia, as an American endorsement of a close ally, and as Britain’s claim to great-power status, unravelling it would likely have the reverse effect. As the project unfolds, and particularly as divisive issues become more urgent, maintaining political and strategic alignments among the three capitals will inevitably become more challenging.

Կարմիրգծերեւկանաչլույսեր.ԻրանիբալանսավորմանքաղաքականությունըՀարավայինԿովկասում

After the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020, some Iranian political statements that support Armenia's security interests and ongoing "wars of words" between Iran and Azerbaijan led to the development of a theory in the international (including Armenian) scientific and analytical community that Iran has fundamentally altered its stance toward the South Caucasus states. This tendency had a substantial impact on Armenia’s public perception of Iran. As a vivid example, Iran is considered as Armenia's most significant security partner by 54% of questioned Armenians, according to a 2023 survey conducted by the International Republican Institute. This article explains Iran's broad geopolitical and security interests in the region and Iran’s balance of power approach via analyzing Iran-Azerbaijan relations using the theory of Cautious Realism. The article demonstrates that Iran's goals and interests in the region have not changed, and it continues its balancing policy and in relations with Azerbaijan uses tools of creating contra threats, as well as rapprochement.

Bound to Lead: US-Taiwan Relations, Security Networks, and The Future of AUKUS

In 2021 the US, UK, and Australia established a trilateral security partnership known as AUKUS. This new security arrangement carries strategic implications for Taiwan's national security and prospects for regional order in Asia. It also leads to empirical puzzles: how will members of multiple alliances respond to rising threats? Under what conditions can a patron state avoid unwanted entrapment and imperial overstretch? This article contributes to existing scholarship in US foreign policy and alliance management in Asia. It offers concrete thoughts on how a US policy of strategic clarity toward Taiwan and its contingency would enhance AUKUS's resilience, while US allies in Asia and Europe could maintain a collective stance of strategic ambiguity that would lessen internal tensions among the member states. Such an arrangement could not only help stabilize Asia's regional order, but also secure Taiwan's autonomy against Beijing's forced reunification.

Real-Time Surveillance of Dog Bite Incidence in Islamabad: A Cross-Sectional Study from December 2019 to July 2020

Rabies is a neglected viral zoonotic disease with an almost 100% fatality rate. A pilot project was initiated by the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, in collaboration with Health Security Partners (HSP) to establish a real-time dog bite surveillance in humans in public sector secondary care hospitals of Islamabad. The main objective of this study was to analyze different characteristics of dog bite cases, identify gaps in surveillance, and recommend suggestions to improve and strengthen real-time dog bite surveillance systems. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in two major public sector hospitals in Islamabad from December 2019 to July 2020. Data on demographic information, site of the dog bite, category of the dog bite, and treatment was collected via a WVS mobile-based application. Descriptive analysis was carried out for different variables at a p-value of <0.05. A total of 338 dog bite cases were captured in the World Veterinary Service (WVS) application, and most cases (n = 226, 85.6%) were reported in December 2019 with a male-to-female ratio of 2:1. Most cases were reported from the age group of 22 to 31 years (n = 178, 53%). Out of the total number of cases, 263 (78%) presented with a single anatomical location, and 174 (51%) had Category II wounds. All dog bite patients were given only the first dose of the anti-rabies vaccine at the hospital level. Real-time dog bite surveillance via a mobile-based application proved to be effective for the timely recording and management of dog bite cases. Young people were reported to be mostly affected by dog bites, and nearly half of the cases were managed in hospitals. Refresher training was conducted for medics and paramedics for mobile-based applications, dog bite management, and proper referral of cases to tertiary care hospitals.

The Impact of the Aukus Trilateral Security Pact on South Pacific Regional Security

The AUKUS Trilateral Security Pact is a form of collective security cooperation, and this study examines its effects on South Pacific regional security. To stabilize regional security in the South Pacific, which is a main target of China’s maritime ambitions, the authors emphasize the urgency of AUKUS’s presence. To shed light on the issue, the authors used the collective security concept to dissect the framework of cooperation, the motives of AUKUS, and the Security Dilemma concept to explain how geopolitical shifts affect the security stability of the South Pacific. This research employed qualitative methods with an explanatory type of research. In this type of research, the formulated hypothesis was tested to see how the variables under study affected one another. According to this research’s findings, AUKUS’s approach to military confrontation as a partnership for collective security actually encourages an aggressive coalition and poses a security risk, thereby increasing the likelihood of further conflict in the South Pacific region.

Understanding the Decline of Pakistan-US Alliance and the Growing Influence of China in Pakistan

This article examines Pakistan's strategic options in order to understand its puzzling behavior, which can be seen as a hedging strategy against the uncertain future of China-US relations in South Asia. The study sheds light on Pakistan's perplexing conduct towards its alliances with China and the US under the theoretical framework elucidated by Kuik Cheng-Chwee (2008). On one hand, Pakistan fears becoming excessively dependent on the US for security and economic support, particularly as India and the US forge a stronger alliance to counter China. On the other hand, it worries about getting enmeshed in the growing influence of China in Pakistan, which could come at the cost of its financial, conventional military, and strategic ties to the US. The study maintains that Pakistan is striving to position itself as a crucial security partner of the US in the fight against terrorism, which is currently a fading alliance, and as a strategic ally of rising China, an idea that has received scant attention in academic scholarship.

A review of competitive advantage theory applied to the global rare earth industry transition

The strategically vital rare earth industry is in a period of transition. The twelve trade-aligned Minerals Security Partnership nations leading this transition are currently addressing two major challenges – single-nation dominance of the production stream and increasing production capacity. Working with their national industries, their bold, post-transition vision of diversified, multi-national production with increased production capacity is being supported by massive government subsidies and new industry strategies. Meeting these two challenges are necessary short-term actions; however, a third challenge that is not being addressed puts the long-term success of the transition at risk. Competitive advantage theory suggests that re-building national competitive advantage determinants as the basis for firm profitability is a necessary condition for long-term transition success. Without a successful transition, critical societal goals such as clean energy transition which are dependent on a stable rare earth industry, are at risk. Long-term benefits from a larger, stable industry accrue to all rare earth industry nations through positive-sum productivity growth. This paper examines relevant research for using competitive advantage theory as an analysis framework for the rare earth industry transition. We noted a literature gap in applying competitive advantage theory to the rare earth industry, providing an opportunity to extend the literature in this important area. Searches of three databases, as well as our repository of articles from previous ad hoc library searches, yielded 51 articles for critical analysis. We found support for using competitive advantage theory as a transition analysis framework, noting theory extensions from two sources that will be required to address gaps in the theory when applied to the rare earth industry transition. The critical analysis revealed the underlying dynamic feedback structure of competitive advantage theory, supporting the use of dynamic simulation modeling for the study of the transition dynamics.

A Security Perspective on Turkey-Africa Relations: Analysis of Smart Power Strategy

Somalia and soft power diplomacy in East Africa has been the first and most important step in Turkey's engagement with the African continent. In this way, with its opening to Africa initiative and investments in Somalia, Turkey has demonstrated to the international community that it will be among the important actors contributing to the future of the African community. Today, starting from East Africa, Turkey has been developing and strengthening its influence and presence in many regions of Africa, including North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Sahel Region, through its multidimensional foreign policy. Moreover, it has successfully supported its soft power diplomacy in the continent with its initiatives in the field of the defense industry and its Smart Power strategy and has come to the forefront as a security partner of the African countries.

All Containment and No Engagement: Australia's Contemporary Policy towards the Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Australia's interactions with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), henceforth known as North Korea, have ebbed and flowed throughout their seventy‐five‐year history. In times of détente on the Korean Peninsula, Australia actively engaged North Korea and sought to facilitate its integration into the international system. However, during the recent détente in 2018–2019, Canberra broke with tradition and watched on as Trump, Moon, and Kim sought to negotiate a deal towards Pyongyang's denuclearisation. Why has Australia not followed its security partners and engaged, despite being an Indo‐Pacific middle power and an advocate for non‐proliferation? Answers to this question remain unknown in the international relations literature. Therefore, I conducted process tracing and identified seven “critical junctures” in Australia's relationship with North Korea while analysing its responses using middle power theory. Australia's preference for non‐engagement is due to a shift towards a “maximum pressure” policy reliant on sanctions, reducing incentives to engage. This stems from a normative objection to Pyongyang's violation of the Treaty on the Non‐Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and limited material capabilities to persuade North Korea to denuclearise unilaterally. I aim to give an up‐to‐date account of Australia‐North Korea relations and draw attention to a neglected area in Australia's non‐proliferation policy.

France–India Security Partnership: An Assessment of Dynamic Evolution

With France’s support to the Indian vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, defence industrialization and joint development, India and France have expanded their strategic security relations significantly. Such developments point towards convergence in matters of regional and global consequence. The first part of the article examines the historical background of military ties as well as cooperation on non-traditional security threats. The second part attempts to examine the evolving France–India relations in the wake of Chinese aggression along with their engagement in the Indo-Pacific region. The concluding third part extrapolates the findings on to the future to study the challenges to their partnership.

Behind the Uniform: Police Violence and Abuse before EndSARS Protests in Nigeria (1999-2020)

This study explores the violence and abuse by personnel of the Nigeria Police before the EndSARS protests in Nigeria in October, 2020. Adopting the library research method, the study made use of documentary evidence from reports of reputable organizations, journals, working papers and newspaper articles to highlight that despite the existence of the constitution, international conventions, Police Codes, etc which are instituted and deployed to regulate the conduct of Nigeria Police, police violence and abuse of citizen’s rights were rampant and widespread before the EndSARS protests. It was found that while it may be considered that poor governance and poor funding contributed to Police violence and abuse in Nigeria, the root cause is situated in the history of having served as the instrument by which colonialists perpetrated the culture exploitation of Nigeria through violence, brutality, abuse and gross violation. It recommends the adoption of strategic police reforms that will emphasize re-orientation of the police in Nigeria through concerted training and re-training programs to wean it off the colonial vestiges of class inequalities and contradictions in the exercise of its powers. This will vitiate the usual resort to gross violation, the culture that encourages violence and rights abuse and make the Nigeria Police not just an efficient and effective body, but also a trusted and affective partner in security and nation building.