Sudan stand-off will persist beyond Hamdok’s exit

Significance His departure is ostensibly a blow for Sudan’s military leaders and a symbolic victory for Sudanese calling for the military to leave power. However, the stand-off between the two groups remains fundamentally unchanged. Impacts If leaders cannot find enough civilians to form a cabinet, they may offer some posts to serving or retired military. Protests and possible strike action will continue but may have only limited impact, unless rising casualties trigger a new flashpoint. Significant new international sanctions are unlikely to materialise.

HORSE-RIDER IMAGE ON THE COINS OF THE EASTERN CELTS AND THE CULT OF CELTIC WAR GODDESS

The article deals with the iconography of the Celtic coins which come from the South-Eastern Europe. Main attention is paid to the coins found in the Trans-Carpathian region of Ukraine. The aim of this article is to shed light on symbolism of the Celtic coins, in particular on a horse-rider figure on the reverse of these coins. Research methodology is based on the structuralist approach. The scientific novelty. The author shows how the imagery of the coins was connected to the Celtic religious beliefs and cults. The Celtic issues from the Trans-Carpathian region were derived chiefly from the coins of Philip II and Audoleon. A horse-rider image is present on almost all of the Celtic coins from the Trans-Carpathian area and nearby regions. While on most of coins the rider’s figure is highly schematized, some of them contain a detailed image of a female figure. There is no reason to suggest that the Celtic women used to lead their communities or were widely involved in the warfare as military leaders or individual fighters. At the same time, their significance in the religious and ideological spheres of warfare was great. One can assume that the horse-rider depicted on the Celtic coins was considered rather as an image of deity associated with war, fertility and horse-breeding. It is highly probable that this deity in fact was Epona or other related goddess. The coins were widely used in both trade and ritual practices. In particular, the Classical sources mention the Celtic ritual of devotion of coins to the goddess of hunting. The findings of coins with chop-marks, similar to those found in the Gallic and Gallo-Roman sanctuaries, should be mentioned in this context as well.

The Relationship Between Soldier Height, Weight and Army Combat Fitness Scores

The United States Army recently implemented the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) which was designed to more accurately measure functional-combat fitness constructs. The ACFT replaced the former Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT). The three advent APFT consisted of: two-minute push-ups (PU), two-minute sit-ups (SU), and a timed two-mile run (RUN). The ACFT consists of six events; 3 Rep Max Deadlift (MDL), Standing Power Throw (SPT), Hand Release Push-up (HRP), Sprint-Drag-Carry (SDC), Hanging Leg Tuck (LTK), and a timed two-mile run (2MR). This study investigated the relationship between Soldier height and body mass kg on ACFT scores of 655 male U.S. Army National Guard Soldiers in a Field Artillery Brigade. For the purpose of the investigation body mass index (BMI) was calculated as the metric representing the Soldier(s) height and weight. The mean and standard deviation (sd) were calculated for the ACFT event and total scores. Pearson correlation coefficients (PCCs or r) were calculated between BMI and ACFT event and total scores. Likewise, PCCs were calculated between the ACFT event and total scores. The ACFT mean(sd) scores were as follows: MDL=92.2(31.8) (3 maximum repetitions), SPT=9.5(2.2) (meters), HRP=24.6(13.1) (repetitions), SDC=119.8(21.7) (seconds), LTK=6.2(5.4) (repetitions), 2MR=1095.0(233.7) (seconds), ACFT total score=442.3(54.4) (points). Significant positive correlations were found between the ACFT total score: MDL (r=0.70), SPT (r=0.50), HRP (r=0.74), and LTK (r=0.76) events. Conversely, significant negative correlations were identified between ACFT total score: SDC (r=-0.68) and 2MR (r=-0.53) events. Within the parameters of this study, Soldier BMI demonstrated no to weak association with individual ACFT event or ACFT total scores. Further, the range of PCCs between the ACFT event scores were no to moderately high. Military leaders may consider the results provided as combat and fitness tests continue to evolve.

Should Russian Military Leaders Opt for Tactical Escalation in the Baltic States and Kaliningrad?1

Russia once again pushes its way to emerge as a major power in the international order after losing this status in the modern ‘time of troubles’ in the 1990s. Its political and military strategic leaders demonstrated willingness to employ all instruments of power as means of escalation to achieve this goal. Meanwhile, tactical military commanders are the ones in direct control of military escalation means and therefore their motivations, agility and rationality are also important factor in the Russian escalation processes towards the West. This research will look at these processes through lenses of game and decision-making theories.

Вооружение и знамена ойратов Джунгарии середины XVIII в. по материалам «Циньдин Хуанъюй Сиюй тучжи»

Introduction. The article deals with “Qinding Huangyu Xiyu tuzhi” (QHXT), the Qing source of the second half of the 18th century, namely its chapter (juan) 41 devoted to the weapons and military symbols of the Oirats of the Dzungarian state (1635–1758). The chapter in question has not been translated into Russian, neither has it been the subject of a special study so far. The aim of the present article is to introduce the evidence of this part of the Qing source on the weapons and banners of the Dzungars. Results. The compilation of the document was initiated by Emperor Qianlong after the territory of the Dzungar state was annexed to the Qing Empire. A group of Qing officials and of European specialists was sent to explore the newly acquired lands. The work in Dzungaria was largely carried out in 1756–1757, while the study of East Turkestan was completed in the spring of 1759. The work on the text itself began the same year to continue for about 23 years (1759–1782). Manchu military leaders who participated in the war in Central Asia took part, among others, in the compilation of the document. The source includes descriptions of Dzungarian weapons for distant and close combat, armor, and two types of Dzungarian banners. Each item is supplied with description and transcription of its original name. In some cases, the material used for their manufacture and typical sizes are indicated. The data of the written source under study compared with authentic samples of Dzungar weapons and pertaining visual materials has shown that the Qing officials described the features of their construction and decoration with high degree of reliability. Some of this information is unique and can be found in no other sources of the period. The data of the source is of special relevance for attributing various types of weaponry cited in Mongolian sources of the 17th–18th cc., as well as in the Mongolian and Oirat epics. The Qing authors made comparisons of the original names of the Dzungar weapons and armor with their construction features, which opens new avenues for elaborate studies of written works and epics of Central Asian populations. Conclusion. The analysis undertaken in the present article has shown that to date QHST is the most valuable and detailed Qing written source on the weapons and banners of the Dzungars of the middle of the 18th century.

The History of South Korea, 1945–1987

This chapter explains the flow of modern Korean political history by looking at events beginning with the 1948 election and ending with the 1987 democratization process. The historical events before 1987 can be largely divided into four periods: the period of the First Republic; the period of the Second Republic and the Park Chung-hee administration; the period of the Yusin regime; and the period of the Gwangju Uprising, new military leaders, and the Democratization Uprising in 1987. The purpose of this chapter is to show the macro-flow of modern Korean politics through historical events, focusing on the causal relationships explaining each regime change by describing the characteristics and tendencies of each regime. The events and changes explain how the structure of conflict in modern Korean politics changed from democratization versus authoritarian forces to progressive versus conservative forces and show where the pro-democratization tendency of Korean politics began.

Artificial Intelligence as a Decision Making Tool for Military Leaders

Capable of processing the volume, variety, accuracy and speed of data at rates and precision impossible for humans to achieve, artificial intelligence-enabled systems offer great potential in supporting the decision making. However, the impact of the use of AI will not be solely for future leaders, but will also affect those they lead. This article means to highlight these possible effects on leaders, by presenting some important connections between AI and leadership.

SPEECH STRATEGY OF DISCREDITATION OF RUSSIAN COMMANDERS IN THE RUSSIAN-SPEAKING SEGMENT OF THE INTERNET

Statement of the problem. The study of the mechanisms of speech influence on the addressee is an important issue in linguistic research of modern political communication, which takes place in the context of conflict-generating communication between ideological opponents. One of the fields of information confrontation is Russian military history with its key events and iconic personalities. In our work, from a linguistic point of view, we consider the speech strategy of discrediting Russian military leaders. Negative-evaluative means of language are analyzed, as well as stylistic techniques aimed at updating negative information about them and providing a psychological impact on readers. The study of conflict-generating texts about Russian military history allows us to describe the features of the actualization of linguistic units in them that can lead to the creation of a conflict, which can beused in the development of measures to prevent possible social tensions. The purpose of the article is to identify and provide a linguo-pragmatic analysis of conflict-generating texts about Russian military leaders. Methodology (materials and methods). The material for the study was the conflict-generating texts about Russian military leaders posted on the Russian-language segment of the Internet. The main methods of analysis are the method of linguo-pragmatic analysis, the method of linguo-stylistic analysis, the method of contextual analysis. Research results. In the course of the work, a number of speech tactics of the discrediting strategy are identified: the tactics of demythologization, ridicule, equating to the followers of an ideology based on violence, etc. Defamation and irony are distinguished as the most frequent techniques. The predominance of vocabulary with negative evaluative connotations is noted.

Вооружение и знамена мусульманского населения Восточного Туркестана и сопредельных территорий середины XVIII в. по материалам «Циньдин Хуанъюй Сиюй тучжи»

Introduction. The article deals with the juan (chapter) 42 of the Qing source “Qinding Huangyu Xiyu tuzhi” written in the second half of the 18th century and devoted to the weapons and banners of the Muslim population (Huibu) of the former Dzungar state. The chapter has not been previously translated into European languages and has not been the object of a special study either. The purpose of the research is to examine and introduce this new data for scholarly attention and further inquiry. Results. The compilation of the document was initiated by Emperor Qianlong after the territory of the Dzungar state was annexed to the Qing Empire. A group of Qing officials and of European specialists was sent to explore the newly acquired lands. The work in Dzungaria was largely carried out in 1756–1757, while the study of East Turkestan was completed in the spring of 1759. The work on the text itself began the same year to continue for about 23 years (1759–1782). Manchu military leaders who participated in the war in Central Asia took part in the compilation of the document, too. The chapter under study describes three types of bladed weapons of the Muslim population in the region (kılıç, selem, hançer), spear (naiza), ax (aibalta), bow (yay), arrows (ok), quiver (saadak), chain mail (sauyt), plate armor (kuyak), quilted soft armor (olbog), mirror armor (char-ayna), helmet (duulga), and plate belt (beldemchi). Special attention was given to such parts of military suits as quilted liners of helmets and upper trousers (shalbars). Also, two types of battle banners are described in detail, such a salam, the small banner of beys and tug, a big banner. Each item is supplied with a description and the transcription of its original name. In some cases, the material used for their manufacture and typical sizes are indicated. Conclusions. The data of the written source under study compared with authentic samples of weapons and pertaining visual materials has shown that the Qing officials described the weapons and banners of the region with high degree of reliability. Some of this information is unique and can be found in no other sources of the period. The authors pointed out correlations between the original names of the weapons and armor with their constructive features, which opens new avenues for further research of the written works and epics of the Turkic population of Central Asia.