Ecuador's Gabela case heightens Moreno military woes

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
State Crime ◽  
Sufficient Evidence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Military

Subject Miilitary challenges. Significance A multi-party legislative commission on November 16 announced its findings on the death of former air force commander Jorge Gabela and handed the case to the public prosecutors to investigate. The commission declared there was sufficient evidence to suggest his death in 2010 was a state crime and recommended officials linked to the case -- including former President Rafael Correa -- be investigated. The developments come amid allegations of corruption within the military and possible links with dissident Colombian guerrillas, as well as escalating violence on the Ecuador-Colombia border. Impacts Moreno will use the Gabela case to demonstrate his government’s willingness and capacity to investigate corruption. The discovery of connections between the military and FARC dissidents might cause tensions with Colombia’s government and armed forces. Facing pressure to increase military spending, Moreno will need to ensure greater transparency to prevent corrupt practices recurring.

Indonesian military set to expand civilian influence

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Important Player ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Military Units

Subject Executive-military relations. Significance The Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) are once again becoming an important player in political and economic activities. The army in particular has increased its direct involvement in government-sponsored agricultural development and infrastructure projects, raising fears that it plans a full-scale political comeback. These fears are exaggerated, but the military is expanding its activities beyond the core area of defence -- with President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's support. Impacts Comprehensive security sector reforms are unlikely. Local communities will suffer intimidation and coercion where military units need access to land to accelerate food security programmes. However, since the public at large trusts the military, Jokowi faces limited pressure to loosen executive-military ties.

Predictors of self-legitimacy among military police officers in São Paulo, Brazil

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Viviane de Oliveira Cubas ◽  
Frederico Castelo Branco ◽  
André Rodrigues de Oliveira ◽  
Fernanda Novaes Cruz
Keyword(s):  
Police Officers ◽  
Sao Paulo ◽  
Least Square ◽  
São Paulo ◽  
Military Police ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Organizational Variables ◽  
Ordinary Least Square ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Military

PurposeThe authors examine predictors of self-legitimacy for police officers belonging to the Military Police force of São Paulo (Brazil). Considering the variables mobilized by the literature on self-legitimacy, the authors seek to identify what explains the self-legitimacy of militarized police officers.Design/methodology/approachA survey was applied to 298 frontline police officers in the city of São Paulo, analyzing indicators separated into two groups: relationship dimension and organizational dimension. An ordinary least square model is used to test the “relationship” and “organizational” variables on police officers' self-legitimacy.FindingsEffectiveness is the strongest predictor for self-legitimacy. Organizational justice and distributive justice also present important effects, as the perception of citizens' attitudes toward police reinforces the conception of self-legitimacy as a dialogical construct, comprising here the public's expectations of police work as well as the police officers' perceptions that they are respected and considered important by the public.Originality/valueThere are no other studies on self-legitimacy related to Brazilian police officers or exploring these aspects among police officers submitted to a militarized structure. These results contribute to the ongoing debate on the militarization of police activities and their possible effects on police legitimacy.

scholarly journals The Chilean Military after Antuco: Shortcomings of a Post-Secular Discourse

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Cristobal Bellolio
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Institutional Arrangements ◽  
Local Version ◽  
Liberal Neutrality ◽  
The Public ◽  
Catholic Faith ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
The Military

In their two hundred years of existence, the Chilean armed forces have had a close relationship with the Catholic faith, especially with a local version of the Virgin Mary (Virgen del Carmen), who is held as the patroness of the military. After its greatest tragedy in peacetime, when 44 soldiers—half of them Christian evangelicals—died buried in the snows of the Antuco volcano, the army and other branches of the military felt compelled to add Protestant chaplaincies to their repertoire of religious assistance, hitherto reserved for Catholics. This has been understood as a move towards a more egalitarian and inclusive understanding of religious freedom, but also as opposing exclusivist versions of liberal neutrality, in which the state fulfils its duty by taking religion out of the public sphere altogether. According to the times’ intellectual climate, the Chilean authorities have been framing these developments—not only in the military, but elsewhere—as the embodiment of a post-secular strategy, in which religion (all religion) should be welcomed back into public life and state institutions. This article presents five concerns with this chosen strategy: (a) whether inclusive secularism is a practical impossibility, since there is no way to accommodate all religious and non-religious expressions; (b) whether a post-secular narrative is adequate for states that that have not gone through the previous (secular) phase; (c) whether post-secular institutional arrangements—which entail welcoming religion in the public sphere—are adequate in countries without religious pluralism; (d) whether post-secular institutional arrangements—which entail welcoming religion in the public sphere—are not actually disparaging for non-religious people; (e) whether sponsored religious expressions and practices within public institutions put undue pressure on dissenters. This way, I offer the case of the Chilean armed forces as a proxy to illuminate the normative problems that an incipient process of growing religious pluralism and a move towards religious egalitarianism, framed as a post-secular discourse, faces in hegemonically Catholic countries.

Possible Philippines police change could hit security

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Government Policy ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Drugs And Crime ◽  
Turf Wars ◽  
The Military

Subject The police, military and government in the Philippines. Significance Social Weather Stations polling released on October 6 gave President Rodrigo Duterte 64% net approval, implying that, for all his drugs and crime crackdown's international controversy, most voters support him. However, Duterte's approach to the crackdown risks undoing post-Marcos efforts to separate the functions of the police and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), and to remove the army from involvement in law and order issues. Impacts Duterte's pledges of further funding for the military and police will be popular with these organisations. This should mitigate the risk of any police and military plots against Duterte, rumours of which occasionally surface. The army's role in the practical delivery of government policy is likely to grow. Turf wars between the military and police are still a risk, and could undermine security efforts. Further extensions to the crime crackdown are likely.

Turkey's army reform could turn into power grab

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
The State ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Constitutional Reforms ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Turkish Society

Subject The impact of the failed July coup on civilian-military relations. Significance The psychological impacts of the attempted coup across political life cannot be understated; it has far-reaching implications for the political, bureaucratic and even ideological structures of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). In the aftermath of the attempted putsch, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is more determined than ever to alter the civilian-military machinery of government in Turkey radically. Impacts The purge and radical reforms will bring into question the TSK's operational and strategic reliability for Western partners. A permanently weakened TSK would ease the way for constitutional reforms strengthening Erdogan's grip on the state. It will take years to rebuild the confidence and prestige the military has lost among broad swathes of Turkish society. Any criticism of the TSK reforms, domestically or from abroad, will meet the authorities' fierce condemnation.

Iran's military set for more aggressive stance in Gulf

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
General Staff ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Defence Budget ◽  
Intelligence Collection ◽  
Gulf States ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military ◽  
Major General

Significance Tensions between the Gulf states and Iran have escalated significantly in 2016, in the wake of Iran's signing of a landmark deal in 2015 that brought to an end the decade-long dispute over its nuclear programme. The response of Iran's military to the heightened tensions will be partly influenced by the new chairman of the Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS), the country's top military body, Major General Mohamad Hossein Bagheri. Impacts A more assertive and non-compromising IRGC will increase pressure on President Hassan Rouhani as he seeks re-election in 2017. Improvements in intelligence collection and dissemination are likely in Syria, aimed at reducing Iranian casualties. The military and government are likely to clash soon over the defence budget and its allocation. The government will try to keep the IRGC in check by tipping the media off about alleged financial wrongdoings. With the next US president expected to adopt a harder-line stance on Iran, the diplomatic rapprochement may be reversed partially.

Persistent insecurity will test Burkinabe government

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Community Support ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Old Regime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Slow Pace ◽  
Public Pressure ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military

Subject Counterterrorism in Burkina Faso. Significance Despite recent gains against jihadist groups, in recent months attacks have moved beyond the more insecure north and started to occur more frequently in the east and parts of the centre. Separately, authorities are growing increasingly intolerant of public dissent and protest, while revelations of abuses by the military risk scuppering crucial local community support necessary for counterinsurgency operations. Impacts The government will face growing political and public pressure to end persistent strikes. Patriotic support for the armed forces remains widespread, but growing revelations of abuse will tarnish its image. Opposition criticisms of the government’s counterterrorism strategy will increase but avoid directly blaming the military. Public dissatisfaction may grow with the Sahel Group of Five (G5) regional force if the slow pace of its operations persists. The prosecution of alleged coup plotter Gilbert Diendere will enjoy public backing amid calls for justice for victims of the old regime.

Military profile rises but coup is unlikely in Brazil

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Senior Officers ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Military

Subject The political role of the armed forces. Significance The armed forces have recently assumed an unusually high political profile. The current government has appointed generals to high-level positions and ordered a large-scale intervention led by the army in Rio de Janeiro state security institutions. These measures, many of them unprecedented, are an attempt by President Michel Temer to boost his popularity as a ‘tough-on-crime’ leader. The armed forces are one of the few public institutions enjoying high levels of trust among Brazilians. Impacts Despite recent protest calls for a military coup, support for such a move is restricted to a radical minority. Resistance against further reliance on the military for domestic law enforcement will rise, including among senior officers. Bolsonaro will focus his message on crime, promising to bring more military members into his cabinet, including the Education Ministry.

Greek GDP will plunge despite latest stimulus package

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policy ◽  
Budget Deficit ◽  
Public Investment ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
Arms Race ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Defence Expenditure ◽  
National Defence ◽  
Stimulus Package

Significance The speech set out the government’s economic policy guidelines for the remainder of 2020 and 2021, largely extending the package of fiscal measures in place since April 2020. Mitsotakis also announced the start of a new investment cycle in national defence, in response to rapidly deteriorating relations with Turkey. Impacts The latest stimulus package will widen the 2020 primary budget deficit to about 3.5% of GDP. The announced increase in military spending is fuelling fears among the public of an arms race with Turkey. The rise in defence expenditure will divert public investment into economically unproductive ends.

scholarly journals The Relationships between Military Expenditures and Unemployment in G-20 States

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmet Fatih Aydemir ◽  
Dilek Özdemir ◽  
Ömer Selçuk Emsen
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Military Spending ◽  
Military Expenditure ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Military Expenditures ◽  
Liberal Approach ◽  
The Military

The effects of the military expenditure on the economic growth and consequently on the employment has been the primary topic of the discussing in the literature of economics. Considering that the military expenditures generally emerge as a sub-item of the public spending, it has been asserted by the liberal approach that the principle of the non-productiveness of the public sector would be even more applicable in the military expenditures. None the less, using the military spending as a tool to lead an economy that feature underemployment constitutes the positive aspect of the views to the military expenditure and this is also the case of the prediction of the Keynesian economy. In this study, the effects of the military expenditure on the unemployment, which is a reflection of the effects of the economic growth, are analyzed as the subject matter. The findings revealed that the military spending has positive effects on the unemployment in some G20 states while it also has negative effects in some and has neutral effects in others. In addition, it is further indicated that the positive effects are experienced in relatively advanced economies, the negative effects emerge in relatively less developed economies, and the countries with abundant natural resources experience neutral effects.

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