scholarly journals The Spy Power, Technological Innovations, and the Human Dimensions of Intelligence: Recent Presidential Abuse of America’s Secret Agencies

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Loch K Johnson
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Human Dimensions ◽  
Technological Innovations ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Effective Policy ◽  
Human Side ◽  
The Many

The purpose of national security intelligence is to provide policy officials with an advantage in the making of effective policy, based on the collection and analysis of accurate information from around the world that can help to illuminate a decision. Foreknowledge is invaluable in the service of a nation’s security; and, in the gathering of useful information, technological innovations in the world of intelligence can result in a stronger shield to protect citizens against the many dangers that lurk across the continents in this uncertain and hostile world.  Despite all the marvels of modern espionage tradecraft, the governments that rely on them must still deal with the human side of intelligence activities. Unfortunately, arrogance, shortsightedness, laziness, frenetic schedules, and the corrosive influences of power (among other flaws) often lead policy officials to ignore or warp the advantages they could accrue from advanced intelligence spycraft, if they would only use these sources and methods properly. This article examines some of the problems that imperfect human behavior has created for intelligence in the United States at the highest levels of government over the past two decades.

scholarly journals Preface to the Russian Publication: Michael Jabara Carley. A Near-Run Thing: the Improbable Grand Alliance of World War II (1929–1942)

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-74
Author(s):  
N. A. Ostroglazova
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Wide Audience ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World ◽  
Human Side ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Individual

The work of Michael Jabara Carley gives a unique perspective on the diplomatic relations of the key world powers in the pre-war period and appeals to a wide audience who are not indifferent to the history of the world. The events described took place almost a century ago and over the years have received a variety of interpretations in the domestic and foreign literature about those times. Painstaking work with archives combined with s fine psychological approach made it possible to recreate and visualize the peculiarities of international relations of those years. This thorough analysis resulting in a vivid cultural description of the fateful period falls neatly within the framework of historical cultural studies and adds to our understanding of the intricacies of world diplomacy. Looking into the past, the author sees in the faded lines of the archived documents more than mere facts: there are people with their principles and insecurities, societies striving for peace and countries earning for power and security at all costs. Sketching portraits of the main characters with a few sharp strokes, Michael Carley manages to immerse the reader in the thick of events and understand the human side of diplomatic relations between countries, which could be allies should things have happened somewhat differently. The translation of the paper does not give verbatim quotations from the Russian language archives, but rather follows the author’s conception. The intention behind the book is not limited to a chronological compilation of dispatches, diaries and reports. On the contrary, it becomes obvious that written documents record dry facts, and only taken in a broader context can they truly shed light on the complex, uneven negotiations. The unique features of the era, traced in the text along with the individual characteristics of the persons involved, deserve readers’ attention as the non-trivial optics with which the author approaches the subject will allow a fresh look at the foreign policy relations of the USSR in 1933-1934. One will see how the cultural canvas through major trends and minor happenings influences the fate of the world. The vision that can be projected to the many and many other events of the past and present.

Refuge in the National Security State

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
María Cristina García
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Policies ◽  
Us Foreign Policy ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Department Of Homeland Security ◽  
The World ◽  
National Security State

In response to the terrorist attacks of 1993 and 2001, the Clinton and Bush administrations restructured the immigration bureaucracy, placed it within the new Department of Homeland Security, and tried to convey to Americans a greater sense of safety. Refugees, especially those from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, suffered the consequences of the new national security state policies, and found it increasingly difficult to find refuge in the United States. In the post-9/11 era, refugee advocates became even more important to the admission of refugees, reminding Americans of their humanitarian obligations, especially to those refugees who came from areas of the world where US foreign policy had played a role in displacing populations.

Remaking Retirement

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Older Persons ◽  
The United States ◽  
Older Population ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cost Of Education ◽  
The World ◽  
Low Interest Rates ◽  
Key Aspects

Around the world, people nearing and entering retirement are holding ever-greater levels of debt than in the past. This is not a benign situation, as many pre-retirees and retirees are stressed about their indebtedness. Moreover, this growth in debt among the older population may render retirees vulnerable to financial shocks, medical care bills, and changes in interest rates. Contributors to this volume explore key aspects of the rise in debt across older cohorts, drill down into the types of debt and reasons for debt incurred by the older population, and review policies to remedy some of the financial problems facing older persons, in the United States and elsewhere. The authors explore which groups are most affected by debt, and they also identify the factors causing this important increase in leverage at older ages. It is clear that the economic and market environments are influential when it comes to saving and debt. Access to easy borrowing, low interest rates, and the rising cost of education have had important impacts on how much people borrow, and how much debt they carry at older ages. In this environment, the capacity to manage debt is ever more important as older workers lack the opportunity to recover for mistakes.

Narrative Misdirection? UK Strategic Communication for Afghanistan and Beyond

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-392
Author(s):  
Thomas W. Cawkwell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Strategic Communication ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Issue ◽  
Counter Terrorism ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
The World ◽  
Communication Approach ◽  
The Uk

Britain’s war in Afghanistan – specifically its latter stages, where the UK’s role and casualties sustained in the conflict rose dramatically – coincided with the institutional emergence of Ministry of Defence-led ‘Strategic Communication’. This article examines the circumstances through which domestic strategic communication developed within the UK state and the manner in which the ‘narratives’ supporting Britain’s role in Afghanistan were altered, streamlined and ‘securitised’. I argue that securitising the Afghanistan narrative was undertaken with the intention of misdirecting an increasingly sceptical UK public from the failure of certain aspects of UK counter-insurgency strategy – specifically its counter-narcotics and stabilisation efforts – by focusing on counter-terrorism, and of avoiding difficult questions about the UK’s transnational foreign and defence policy outlook vis-à-vis the United States by asserting that Afghanistan was primarily a ‘national security’ issue. I conclude this article by arguing that the UK’s domestic strategic communication approach of emphasising ‘national security interests’ may have created the conditions for institutionalised confusion by reinforcing a narrow, self-interested narrative of Britain’s role in the world that runs counter to its ongoing, ‘transnationalised’ commitments to collective security through the United States and NATO.

Alliances, Military Basing, and Logistics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc C. Vielledent
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Strategy ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Fiscal Constraints ◽  
Security Environment ◽  
National Security Strategy ◽  
The World

The United States has long enjoyed an essentially unopposed ability to project power and sustain its security forces dispersed throughout the world. However, the uncertainty facing the global security environment, including tenuous alliances, fiscal constraints, and a decline in overseas basing, has increased tensions in emerging areas of potential conflict. These factors are driving change regarding the United States’ defense posture and access agreements abroad. While the preponderance of overseas capability outweighs the preponderance of U.S. forces, deterrence continues to underpin the overarching national security strategy. However, deterrence options impacted by the lack of resilience and investment in distributed logistics and sustainment are generating an additional range of variables and conditions for operators on the ground to consider in shared and contested domains.

scholarly journals Obama's National Security Exceptionalism

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudha N. Setty
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
National Security ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Norms ◽  
Global Community ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
War Criminals ◽  
The World ◽  
International Obligations

Published: Sudha Setty, Obama's National Security Exceptionalism, 91 CHI.-KENT L. REV. 91 (2016).This Article discusses how continued national security exceptionalism engenders a view of the United States as considering itself to be above international obligations to investigate and prosecute torturers and war criminals, and the view by the global community that the United States is willing to apply one standard for itself, and another for the rest of the world. Exceptionalism not only poses real challenges in terms of law, morality, and building useful relationships with allied nations, but acts as a step backward for the creation of enforceable international norms and standards, and in efforts to restore a balance in the rule of law when it comes to national security matters.

scholarly journals Developing Asia – Dynamic but fractured

2021 ◽  
pp. 211-229
Author(s):  
Robert Wihtol
Keyword(s):  
Economic Transition ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Territorial Disputes ◽  
Socialist Market Economy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Governance Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
Socialist Market

In the past seventy–five years, developing Asia has transformed more rapidly than any other region. What is behind this success? Will Asia go on to lead the world, or will its rise encounter obstacles? Asia is politically diverse, with democracies, hybrid governments and numerous authoritarian regimes. Several are unstable. Paths to prosperity have varied, including the East Asian model, China’s “socialist market economy”, Indian self–reliance, and economic transition in Central Asia. Regional cooperation is chronically weak, due to the youthfulness, dispersion and diversity of Asia’s sovereign states. China’s rise threatens to fracture the region further. As the region emerges from the Covid–19 crisis, East Asia is well positioned to lead an economic recovery. However, many challenges remain. Political and governance systems are weak. Territorial disputes could escalate into open conflict, including Taiwan. Human capital is poorly developed, and populations are aging. Finally, the region could be polarized between the United States and China.

scholarly journals Publication Trends on Mitophagy in the World and China: A 16-Year Bibliometric Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingli Chen ◽  
Xin Li ◽  
Yifan Jia ◽  
Zhongyuan Xia ◽  
Jishi Ye
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Cell Biology ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Progress ◽  
Publication Trends ◽  
Quality Of Results ◽  
The Past ◽  
The World

In the past 16 years, research on mitophagy has increasingly expanded to a wider range of subjects. Therefore, comprehensively analyzing the relevant progress and development trends on mitophagy research requires specific methods. To assess the hotspots, directions, and quality of results in this field worldwide, we used multiple tools to examine research progress and growing trends in research on the matter during the last 16 years (from 2005 to 2020). We also compared the quantity and quality of the literature records on mitophagy published by research institutions in China and other developed countries, reviewed China’s contribution, and examined the gap between China and these developed countries. According to the results of our bibliometric analysis, the United States and its research institutes published the most papers. We identified cell biology as the most commonly researched subject on mitophagy and AUTOPHAGY as the most popular journal for research on mitophagy. We also listed the most cited documents from around the world and China. With gradually increased funding, China is progressively becoming prominent in the field of mitophagy; nevertheless, the gap between her and major countries in the world must be closed.

scholarly journals The great Chinese transformation: cynicism and the future of the world (article two)

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-23
Author(s):  
Grzegorz W. Kolodko ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
The United States ◽  
Chinese Economy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Chinese Characteristics ◽  
The World ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Right ◽  
Supranational Level

The huge leap made by the Chinese economy over the past four decades as a result of market reforms and openness to the world is causing fear in some and anxiety in others. Questions arise as to whether China’s economic success is solid and whether economic growth will be followed by political expansion. China makes extensive use of globalization and is therefore interested in continuing it. At the same time, China wants to give it new features and specific Chinese characteristics. This is met with reluctance by the current global hegemon, the United States, all the more so as there are fears that China may promote its original political and economic system, "cynicism", abroad. However, the world is still big enough to accommodate us all. Potentially, not necessarily. For this to happen, we need the right policies, which in the future must also include better coordination at the supranational level.

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