Narratives in conflict and the limits on the interpreter’s agency: A case study from the UN Peacekeeping mission in Lebanon

This article presents a socio-linguistic analysis of interpreting in conflict zones and paints a picture of the limits on the interpreter’s agency when working in the field. It focuses on the interpreter’s behaviour towards cultural and linguistic barriers in communication between foreign military personnel and the civilian population in Lebanon. The aim is to analyse the level of agency that the interpreter has when working in a military deployment, taking into account the context and the narrative features that require mediation. Data were gathered through interviews with interpreters in Lebanon and analysed by applying narrative theory. Knowing and appreciating both the theoretical context and the linguistic and cultural barriers identified through the analysis are fundamental to understanding the difficult role that the interpreter-mediator plays in conflict settings and to reflecting on interpreter training that is appropriate to this context.

The geopolitics of militarism and humanitarianism

In this article, we trace the interconnections between humanitarianism and militarism. We highlight the significance of a geographical perspective in emphasizing the spatial and multiscalar dimensions of this changing relationship, particularly in Western states. In doing so, we reveal the violent geographies produced through militarized humanitarianism and demonstrate the ways political violence can be obscured through invocations of humanitarianism. We look at five overlapping lines of enquiry: the way humanitarianism is used to modulate war; the rationalization of military intervention as humanitarian; military deployment in response to humanitarian crises; the military take-up of humanitarian-style practices; and weapons development and humanitarianism.

Air refueling optimisation for more agile and efficient military deployment operations

Strategic airlift is a crucial capability for any country that wants to protect its global interests around the world. Air refueling may offer more agile and efficient airlift capabilities by increasing cargo aircraft payload and shortening airlift time. We investigated whether air refueling can shorten the total time of an airlift operation and decrease the number of cargo aircraft sorties required in a deployment scenario, especially where the distance between origin and destination is within the range of cargo aircraft. We introduced two mathematical models to compare the total airlift time and number of cargo aircraft required for given origin-destination and tanker base locations and total freight to be moved. We optimised initial cargo and fuel amount for cargo aircraft along with rendezvous point coordinates to minimise total airlift time. We used a numerical example to show that substantial airlift time and cargo aircraft sortie savings are possible through air refueling.

US global military deployments, 1950–2020*

Recent research has shown the importance of studying military deployments and their effects on a wide range of social, political, and economic outcomes. In particular, it has demonstrated how the US has shaped the international system through the largest, and most enduring, military footprint in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. However, data on US military deployments have been limited in scope and are often difficult to access, making it harder for researchers to use them more widely. In this article, we focus on three goals. First, we discuss the evolution of the quantitative US military deployment literature in recent years, highlighting some of the insights this work has generated for scholarship on international relations and US foreign policy. Second, we update the existing troop data assembled by Kane (2004) through 2020. We also include new data on deployment levels specific to US service branches. Third, to facilitate the use of these data we introduce troopdata, an R package containing the updated data and convenience functions to allow scholars to more easily access these data.

Experiences of children who have been separated from a parent due to military deployment:a systematic review of reviews

AimsTo conduct a systematic review of reviews to investigate how military deployment of a parent affects his/her child, and the extent to which the child's own perspectives have been documented.BackgroundLengthy but finite disruptions to parenting in any form may affect child development and mental and physical health.Military deployment means weeks or months of separation from one parent.2016 figures for the U.S. military showed that 40.5% of military personnel have children, and of these 1.7 million children the largest percentage are aged between 0–5 years (37.8%).MethodSeven databases were searched: AMED, Web of Science, Scopus, EMBASE 1947, Joanna Briggs Institute EMP database, Ovid MEDLINE 1946 and PsycINFO 1806 from the inception of each electronic database until 31st March 2018.Inclusion criteria:Child and young adults aged 0–24 yearsEnglish language papers onlyAll papers being systematic reviews or meta-analysesA focus on documenting the effects on child outcomesData extracted included the review methods and child outcomes reported, including educational attainment; physical symptoms; mental illnesses or disorders; changes to behaviours, and effects on peer and parental relationships.ResultThe eight reviews identified included 32 common and relevant studies.Across the various studies, only about 20% of data came directly from children.Five papers extracted from the reviews identified parental deployment as having a negative effect on school attainment.Nine studies extracted from the review papers found a positive correlation between having a deployed parent and a greater chance of experiencing depressive symptoms and feelings of anxiety.Strong correlations of increased prevalence of both externalising & internalising behaviours were conclusively found in 7 of the reviews.Increased resilience was detailed in only one study featured in multiple reviews.Just one study featured across the reviews reported on physiological measures - adolescents with deployed parents had higher blood pressures and significantly higher heart rates and stress scores than civilian children.ConclusionMore research obtaining the viewpoint of the child directly and observation of such children is required to properly understand the effects on children with a deployed parent, without the interference of parent or teacher reporting bias. Additionally, with only one study reporting on increased offspring resilience there has been limited exploration of potential positive correlates, so further research regarding these is important.