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Core values and the expeditionary mindset : armed forces in metamorphosis
- 2011. - 1
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Samlingsverk (redaktörskap) (refereegranskat)abstract
- There is quite some consensus that today’s international security environment has substantially changed following the end of the Cold War in 1989/90 and that this requires the transformation of modern armed forces from conventional ones to something else. This ‘something else’ may indeed be an expeditionary military. The military metamorphosis that is needed seems to be nothing less than a substantial overhaul of the armed forces in various dimensions. One obvious dimension is organizational structure. The second dimension is technology and especially armament technology where weapons and equipment need to be adapted to present-day conflict and combat challenges including a shift in focus of procurement policies. The third dimension rests with the assumption that the given, current security political landscape necessitates a change not only in the military’s organizational format and technological posture, but also in mindset. Changing the conventional military mindset towards one that is focused on expeditionary operations calls into question how such a transformation will influence the core values of the military. The fourth and final dimension is educating and training the soldiers because expeditionary operations call for additional skills and expertise compared to those required for a Cold War military mission.The contributions to this book focus on the mindset and the core values of an expeditionary military and take different avenues to approach these themes. At times, they also reach out into the other dimensions. The book is divided into two parts. The first part covers concepts and conceptual approaches, while the second part contains contributions that basically carry case-study character. The contributors belong to a wide range of academic disciplines, which allows for different avenues and perspectives on our topic, thus enriching our knowledge of the problems involved. The book is of great interest and relevance to academia, military practitioners and political decision-makers.
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| 2. |
- Friedner Parrat, Charlotta, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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The English School as a theory and a scholarly community
- 2020
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Ingår i: Cambridge Review of International Affairs. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0955-7571 .- 1474-449X. ; 33:4, s. 483-486
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- It is becoming customary to define the English School (ES) as a group of scholars participating in a common inquiry related to a few central concepts, notably that of international society. Although the roots of the ES are often attributed to the British Committee on the Theory of International Politics, it is now said to be more of an open society of impersonal ties rather than an exclusive community based on personal relations. But how true is that assertion? If the School is theoretically open to anyone, why are its members predominantly male, white and Western? In this piece, we discuss three obstacles that prevent the ES from becoming a more inclusive venture.
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| 4. |
- Weissmann, Mikael, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Sweden’s approach to China’s Belt and Road Initiative : Still a glass half-empty
- 2017
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Rapport (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- In 2013 China’s President Xi Jinping launched the “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) initiative, later renamed the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which involves China undertaking to make infrastructure investments worth billions of US dollars in the countries along the old Silk Road connecting China with Europe. While commonly seen as an infrastructure initiative aimed at strengthening the Chinese economy, it is also a political project with far-reaching strategic aims.This UI Brief outlines how China has approached the BRI with Sweden, how Sweden has responded and the perceptions of major Swedish stakeholders. It finds that Swedish officials are often highly cautious, maintaining a wait-and see policy. While also cautious, members of the business community are cautiously optimistic and have been more actively following BRI-related developments, seeking out avenues for potential business. The actual impact of BRI in Sweden, however, is so far very limited.The Brief concludes that Sweden’s approach to BRI has been too reactive and too passive. It argues that both the government and the business community need to engage more actively with the BRI in order to maximize its possible benefits. To this end, a national strategy is needed that includes the government and the business sector. Better coordination is also needed between government agencies and to link existing intra-governmental cooperation with the business community. Their importance cannot be overemphasized as the BRI is a political project, not an idealistic free-market endeavour.
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| 5. |
- Newlove-Eriksson, Lindy, et al.
(författare)
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Governance Beyond the Global: Who Controls the Extraterrestrial?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Globalizations. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1474-7731 .- 1474-774X. ; 10:2, s. 277-292
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- How is outer space governed? This article argues that private authority is gaining salience in space politics, even with respect to the traditionally state-centric security and military aspects of space. Further, while commercial actors have always played a role in space programs, three significant changes can be detected: transnational conglomerates and consortia as opposed to individual corporations are emerging as key partners in space politics; private partners are gaining stronger and wider responsibilities for the development and management of space programs (including manned spaceflights); and public accountability is increasingly at stake due to a widening of security in space policy. The latter development includes a blurring of key distinctions between military and civilian usage (also referred to as dual-use or dual-role application), as well as between the public and private realms.
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| 6. |
- Norman, Jethro, et al.
(författare)
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The crisis in the palm of our hand
- 2024
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Ingår i: International Affairs. - 0020-5850 .- 1468-2346. ; 100:4, s. 1361-1379
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The rapid global proliferation of smartphones and their associated information infrastructures has been a defining feature of the past decade's global crises. Yet, while the digital is now a topic of keen interest for scholars working on virtually everything that constitutes the international, the smartphone as an object of study in and of itself has been largely elusive. Moreover, emerging studies of contemporary crisis, such as ‘polycrisis’, often downplay the role of the digital. How can we conceptualize the ambiguity and ubiquity of the smartphone, as it impacts diverse fields of human action, from war to humanitarianism to democracy? And how can we empirically study this phenomenon and its distributed effects? We contend that smartphones are both embedded in and embed global crises. We conceptualize this as ‘global crisis ecologies’: new spaces that are not simply geographical, or easily framed in terms of North/South divisions, and that include the informational infrastructures that mediate the way crisis is apprehended. This framing helps us understand how multiple civilian, state and non-state actors at different societal levels participate in crises through everyday smartphone use. It foregrounds how the speed, audio-visual capabilities and inherent scalability of smartphones shape how crises are perceived and managed
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| 7. |
- Weissmann, Mikael, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Introduction to the Special Issue : Power, Narratives, and the Role of Third Parties: Understanding Power (Shift) in East Asia
- 2019
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Ingår i: Asian Perspective. - : Project Muse. - 0258-9184 .- 2288-2871. ; 43:2, s. 215-221
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- "POWER" REMAINS A CENTRAL, IF NOT INDISPENSABLE, CONCEPT IN THE SOCIAL sciences and humanities. In no discipline is this clearer than international relations (IR), where the distribution of power is believed to explain many outcomes in international politics, particularly the propensity for war and peace (Mearsheimer 2010; Friedberg 2011). The importance of the concept notwithstanding, academic and policy debates about international power have long occurred within overly restrictive conceptual boundaries, focusing on the distribution of power defined as tangible assets to explain international politics at the expense of other ways in which power is exercised. Even though this materialist theory of power has failed to help us understand some of the most conspicuous international developments of recent decades, it continues to permeate the literature about international politics.There are few places in the world where power is as crucial to shaping international dynamics as in East Asia. The critical question of whether a power shift is ongoing in the region, from Japan and the United States to China, is a central preoccupation of contemporary IR. Given the actors that are involved, the region is arguably the epicenter of a possible global power shift from the West to the East, and from the North to the South. In the East Asian region, a power shift has been seen as impending for more than two decades (Betts 1993; Friedberg 1993; Roy 1994). Today, the concept of a regional power shift is widely accepted both among scholars and observers outside of academia (Shambaugh 2005; Mearsheimer 2010; Layne 2018). A consensus has emerged that there has been a redistribution of capabilities among the major players in the region, although there are different opinions about the extent and outcome of such power shift (Li and Kemburi 2014; see also the Asian Perspective special issue "The East Asia Power Shift: A Critical Appraisal," vol. 38, no. 3, 2014; of particular interest is the introduction by Linus Hagström and Bjorn Jerden).This special issue goes beyond materialistic power theory to examine the role and impact of narratives themselves in the (apparent) power shift in East Asia. It investigates the extent to which the narratives produced and spread by key actors succeed in producing effects on third [End Page 215] parties, exploring if and how they succeed in shaping their preferences, interests, and identities regarding contested issues in East Asia. Its focus is on the narratives about China, Japan, and the United States. The underlying idea is that it is the narrative(s) that ultimately define(s) the dynamics of the East Asian security setting and IR more broadly, creating a framework for what actions are possible, when, and for whom. In short, it is ultimately the victorious/dominant narratives that themselves define what is seen as legitimate and illegitimate, what is normal and abnormal, and ultimately what is within the realm of possibility and what is not.Special emphasis is put on third parties, as it is they who are the audiences and ultimately the judges of what narrative to accept or is most attractive. For example, the fact that narratives about a more "assertive" and "threatening" China have received increased attention and acceptance is limiting China while at the same time opening new space for Japan and US foreign policy, as they are perceived as important to manage China's purported rise.This special issue starts with an article by Mikael Weissmann titled "Understanding Power (Shift) in East Asia: The Sino-US Narrative Battle about Leadership in the South China Sea." Weissmann analyzes competing US and Chinese narratives about the South China Sea. He argues that the practice of calculating power shifts in terms of changing distribution of material capabilities is inadequate. The article aims to complement existing literature by taking ideational and normative dimensions of power into account. The article asks what the Chinese narrative of power and leadership in the South China Sea looks like and how it is perceived by others in comparison with the dominant US narrative. Weissmann concludes that while a "hard" power transition is ongoing, China's preferred narrative has yet to become widely accepted and...
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| 8. |
- Weissmann, Mikael, 1977-
(författare)
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Understanding Power (Shift) in East Asia : the Sino-US Narrative Battle about Leadership in the South China Sea
- 2019
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Ingår i: Asian Perspectives. - : Johns Hopkins University Press. - 0066-8435 .- 1535-8283 .- 2288-2871. ; 43:2, s. 223-248
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this article I study the competing US and Chinese narratives about the South China Sea. Arguing that the practice of calculating power shifts in terms of the changing distribution of material capabilities is inadequate, I complement existing literature by taking ideational and normative dimensions of power into account. I ask what the alternative Chinese narrative of power and leadership in the South China Sea looks like and how it is perceived by others in comparison with the dominant US narrative. While a "hard" power transition is ongoing, China's preferred narrative has yet to become widely accepted and the US narrative will remain dominant for now. Nevertheless, China has been making progress in shifting the narrative of what the future could look like with China's vision for a post-US regional and global order now seen as a possible alternative.
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| 9. |
- Ávila-Zúñiga Nordfjeld, Adriana, 1977-, et al.
(författare)
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Proposing a Mathematical Dynamic Model to Develop a National Maritime Security Assessment and Build a National Maritime Security Plan
- 2023
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Ingår i: Journal of Maritime Research. - : Universidad de Cantabria. - 1697-4840 .- 1697-9133. ; 20:3, s. 123-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A proper assessment of maritime security risks at the national level is crucial to a national maritime security plan (NMSP) in order to secure the concerned country’s ports, vessels and territorial sea. Thus, the importance of implementing a national maritime security assessment (NMSA) to counter security threats and ensure the continuity of national and international trade. The most important set of international regulations concerning maritime security is the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which includes revision, approval and control of compliance of the Port Facility Security Plan (PFSP), which shall be based upon the Port Facility Security Assessment (PFSA). This paper proposes a mathematical dynamic model that calculates in real time the residual risk for the whole country and each of its ports by adapting and expanding the formula and procedures established in the Code, which since it has already been implemented around the world, gives the opportunity to take advantage of this quantitative solution to administrate maritime security risks on a nation-wide basis and create an effective national maritime security plan, which would allow the concerned authorities to improve situational awareness and adapt to security changes through a better planning of human, economic and material resources to deter security threats. The model was tested with the use of five encoded categories as countries, each of them with three ports, which encompassed three port facilities. The results indicate that this methodology is easy to implement and widespread use of that model could strength robustness in national security.
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| 10. |
- Ben Jaffel, Hager, et al.
(författare)
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Conclusion : Towards New Intelligence Studies
- 2022
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Ingår i: Problematising Intelligence Studies. - : Routledge. - 9781032071206 - 9781003205463 - 9781032071213
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Bokkapitel (refereegranskat)
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