The crisis of moral consciousness in Russia and the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905.

The monograph is devoted to the events of the Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The main idea postulates that military victory depends not only on the economic or military forces of the state, but also on the level of development of the moral consciousness of the nation as a whole. For a wide range of readers interested in the history of military affairs and wars.

Myanmar

This article examines how atrocity prevention efforts have had a limited effect on the violence and atrocities being committed in Myanmar. Myanmar’s military forces, the Tatmadaw, remain free to commit atrocities against vulnerable populations in the country, particularly against the Rohingya minority in Rakhine state. These efforts have been stymied at both the international and regional levels, especially now that the Tatmadaw rule the country following a coup d’etat in February 2021. UN efforts have fallen short as the Tatmadaw refuse to cooperate with the international community due to a lack of trust in UN processes and a subsequent siege mentality over heightened international outrage over the treatment of both the Rohingyas and protesters against the coup. Prevention efforts through asean, of which Myanmar is a member, have also fallen short. This is due primarily to a lack of accountability for erring members, and a long-standing principle of non-interference in members’ domestic affairs. Currently, there are no incentives for the Tatmadaw to negotiate and stop the violence committed against their own people. Indeed, the failure of these prevention efforts and the increased notions of nationalism they foster may be used by the Tatmadaw to continue their current policies of isolation and maintain power.

Building NATO Collective Defence Capabilities in Northeastern Europe I

The basis of NATO’s existence is the collective defence of Allies, its population and borders. Assurance and deterrence measures and activities implemented in Northeast Europe aim to build NATO’s common defence potential and deter potential aggression against NATO members. Assurance activities began in 2014, defined at the NATO Summit in Wales. They respond to the changed security situation on NATO’s eastern borders with Russian activities, the illegal annexation of Crimea, destabilisation activities and military involvement in eastern Ukraine. Increasing military activities and concentration of Russian military forces near NATO’s eastern borders, accompanied by hybrid warfare activities against the Northeastern European NATO members, followed. After the NATO Summits in Warsaw (2016) and Brussels (2018), NATO assurance and deterrence measures have been launched as a response to perceived threat. They aim to strengthen the Eastern Allies’ defence and deter and prevent any potential aggression while building Allied collective defence capabilities.

Epidemiological Indicators of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) and Vaccination Effectiveness on the Report of Positive Cases in the Colombian Army

The description of the epidemiological indicators of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19), such as the mortality rate (MR), the case fatality rate (CFR), and the attack rate (AR), as well as the geographical distribution and daily case reports, are used to evaluate the impact that this virus has had within the Colombian Army and its health system. As military forces around the world represent the force that defends sovereignty, independence, the integrity of the national territory, and the constitutional order, while maintaining migration controls in blocked border areas during this critical pandemic times, they must carry out strict epidemiological surveillance to control the situation among the servicemen. Up to date, the Colombian Army has faced a very high attack rate (AR = 8.55%) due, among others, to living conditions where active military personnel share bedrooms, bathrooms, and dining facilities, which facilitate the spread of the virus. However, being a mainly young and healthy population, the MR was 1.82 deaths/1,000 ha, while the CFR = 2.13% indexes consistently low if compared with those values reported for the national population. In addition, the effectiveness of vaccination is shown in daily cases of COVID-19, where, for the third peak, the active military population presented a decrease of positive patients compared to the dynamics of national transmission and the total population of the military forces (active, retired, and beneficiaries).

The (Un)governable City: Productive Failure in the Making of Colonial Delhi, 1858-1911 by Raghav Kishore

Delhi has always been a crucible of political disquiet, and the seat of manifold state and aesthetic desires to order, control and design the city. Even at this moment, we find ourselves before a ubiquitous impulse to change the appearance of the city through the Central Vista Project which proposes to cater to needs of increase in government office space. There are layers to the city and obvious enough, it is not monolithic. The vestiges and architectural remnants of subsequent ages narrate the relentless saga of power, domination and settlement. A historical analysis of the spatial structures reflects the reasons behind its physical organization. To talk about colonial designs within this very broad spectrum is but, only a brief moment in a longue duree of human settlement in this region. Yet, it is necessary to understand the spatial synchrony, for much of it is what we have inherited today and this is what shapes our experiences of this city even at present. Raghav Kishore’s The (Un)governable City (2020), makes an intervention in this corpus of historical analysis with his impeccable research and endless forays into the archives. This is a welcome addition to studies in the field of urban development of Delhi, with Pilar Maria Guerrieri’s Maps of Delhi (2017) being one precursor, which painstakingly curates maps of Delhi from the precolonial times, to the modern municipal Master Plans to contemporary digital mappings. Kishore unearths curious details from local sources and twines those with debates among colonial policy makers and personnel to highlight issues of political ideology, statecraft and governmentality. This volume juxtaposes notions of policing, control and accessibility with debates and discussions on sanitation, traffic, communication, railways and the building of military cantonments, which are significant if we think of the British rule in India as a garrison state, heavily dependent on the easy mobility of its military forces. The success of the control was conditional on the ability to gather up huge military forces to curb parallel sporadic outbursts at their very onset. The broadening of roads, regulation of quarters and delimiting encroachments and concerns over connectivity, were carefully thought out strategisations towards the goal of containment and territorialisation.

Military force structures in small states: Providing for relevant and credible military capability

<p>Small states are perceived as lacking military power. Nevertheless, most maintain military forces. Given their shortfalls in power and capacity what choices do small states make about maintaining military forces and what utility do they gain from them? This issue is not well addressed in small state literature which considers the security of small states but focuses less on their defence planning or the military instruments they maintain. This thesis addresses that issue by examining how small states structure their military forces, why they do so, and whether they provide for relevant and credible military capabilities. This is achieved by examining the structural balance of small state military forces; developing and applying a methodology to describe the process and priorities within the military systems of small states; and developing expectations for military forces in small states from small state literature and military theory as testable propositions to provide a basis for comparison of their military capabilities. The results of this comparison are then analysed with regard to the utility that small states may gain from their military forces and related to wider themes within the field of small state studies to ascertain the benefit that they may gain from them. Four cases of small state military force structures are used. Ireland provides limited military capabilities to meet discrete tasks and roles within a benign strategic environment and its policy of military neutrality. New Zealand, like Ireland, does not face a direct military threat but it has a wide range of security interests. This is reflected in a broad force structure, albeit with modest capabilities based on utility and the benefits of its international partnerships. Norway, on the other hand, does perceive a direct military threat and functions within the NATO security alliance. It maintains forces that are able to operate throughout the conflict continuum as part of the NATO framework but, as a small member of the alliance, it faces the challenges of balancing defence concerns within the alliance framework. Singapore also perceives itself to be strategically and militarily vulnerable. However, unlike Norway, it does not participate in a military alliance and instead provides the most capable military forces of the four cases as it aims to be self-reliant in the face of perceived vulnerability. The four cases possess markedly different military force structures as a result of their varying assessments of strategic discretion and differences in their approaches to the various security environments they encounter. All four face challenges with economies of scale, critical mass and fixed costs in providing for their military capabilities. However, the extent of these challenges differs between each of the four cases and they gain different utility and benefit from maintaining their military instruments. Hence while small states have some common military characteristics they cannot be considered as a homogenous group. This should affect the manner in which they, other states and international organisations perceive them.</p>

Military force structures in small states: Providing for relevant and credible military capability

<p>Small states are perceived as lacking military power. Nevertheless, most maintain military forces. Given their shortfalls in power and capacity what choices do small states make about maintaining military forces and what utility do they gain from them? This issue is not well addressed in small state literature which considers the security of small states but focuses less on their defence planning or the military instruments they maintain. This thesis addresses that issue by examining how small states structure their military forces, why they do so, and whether they provide for relevant and credible military capabilities. This is achieved by examining the structural balance of small state military forces; developing and applying a methodology to describe the process and priorities within the military systems of small states; and developing expectations for military forces in small states from small state literature and military theory as testable propositions to provide a basis for comparison of their military capabilities. The results of this comparison are then analysed with regard to the utility that small states may gain from their military forces and related to wider themes within the field of small state studies to ascertain the benefit that they may gain from them. Four cases of small state military force structures are used. Ireland provides limited military capabilities to meet discrete tasks and roles within a benign strategic environment and its policy of military neutrality. New Zealand, like Ireland, does not face a direct military threat but it has a wide range of security interests. This is reflected in a broad force structure, albeit with modest capabilities based on utility and the benefits of its international partnerships. Norway, on the other hand, does perceive a direct military threat and functions within the NATO security alliance. It maintains forces that are able to operate throughout the conflict continuum as part of the NATO framework but, as a small member of the alliance, it faces the challenges of balancing defence concerns within the alliance framework. Singapore also perceives itself to be strategically and militarily vulnerable. However, unlike Norway, it does not participate in a military alliance and instead provides the most capable military forces of the four cases as it aims to be self-reliant in the face of perceived vulnerability. The four cases possess markedly different military force structures as a result of their varying assessments of strategic discretion and differences in their approaches to the various security environments they encounter. All four face challenges with economies of scale, critical mass and fixed costs in providing for their military capabilities. However, the extent of these challenges differs between each of the four cases and they gain different utility and benefit from maintaining their military instruments. Hence while small states have some common military characteristics they cannot be considered as a homogenous group. This should affect the manner in which they, other states and international organisations perceive them.</p>

Brief analysis of foreign experience in arrangement of purchasing weapons and military equipment

for weapons, military and special-purpose equipment, supplies and services to support military forces of five states, which are world leaders in the military field: USA, UK, France, Germany and China. A special emphasis is made on shipbuilding. Materials and methods. The review is based on modern strategic documents and legislative acts regulating the procurement activities of major state military agencies. Main results. A detailed consideration is given to specific procurement systems operating in foreign countries, similar features and differences are identified, national specifics are mentioned. Recommendations are given regarding lessons to be learned by Russian military departments. Conclusions. Based on the foreign experience it is found advisable to combine centralized purchasing of major military products and equipment and decentralized procurement of some general-purpose items.

Damascus can manage fragmented military forces

Significance President Bashar al-Assad's two principal foreign backers, Russia and Iran, support and to some extent direct sizeable forces in Syria on which Assad relies. That contributes to a complex constellation of pro-Damascus forces, which raises a question over the level of Assad's control. Impacts Military and militia predation on local populations is a general problem, not necessarily tied to specific units. Israeli claims that specific army units provide cover for a growing Hezbollah presence in southern Syria are plausible but hard to prove. Iran-backed militias can offer relatively high salaries, helping their local recruitment campaigns including a recent drive in Deir ez-Zour.

The global prevalence of depression, suicide ideation, and attempts in the military forces: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of cross sectional studies

Background Given the wide range of depressive disorders, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in various military studies around the world, determining the exact prevalence of these disorders in line with health planning as well as care and treatment service designing for military forces can be useful. The aim of the present meta-analysis was to determine the pooled prevalence of depressive disorders, suicide thoughts, and attempts in the military. Methods The present systematic review and meta-analysis study was performed based on PRISMA criteria in 5 steps of the search strategy, screening and selection of articles, data extraction, evaluation of article quality and meta-analysis. International databases (PubMed (Medline), Scopus, Web of science, Embase (Elsevier), PsycInfo (Ovid), Cochrane CENTRAL (Ovid)) were searched using related keywords extracted from Mesh and Emtree. After screening and final selection of articles, data were extracted and qualitative evaluation was performed using the NOS checklist. Results The results of meta-analysis showed that the prevalence of depression in active military forces and veterans was 23% (%95 CI: 20–26%) and 20% (%95 CI: 18–22%), respectively. In addition, the prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts in the military was 11% (%95 CI: 10–13%) and 11% (%95 CI: 9–13%), respectively. The prevalence of suicide ideation and attempts in drug-using military was 18% (%95 CI: 7–33%) and 30% (%95 CI: 23–36%), respectively. The prevalence of suicidal ideation and attempts in military consuming alcohol were 9% (%95 CI: 4–13%) and 8% (%95 CI: 7–10%), respectively. In militaries with AIDS / HIV, the prevalence of suicide attempts was 5% (%95 CI: 4–8%). Conclusion Therefore, it is necessary to develop and design training and intervention programs in order to increase the awareness of the military, especially veterans, to prevent the occurrence of suicide and depression.