The Concept of War in Ancient Mesopotamia: Reshaping Carl von Clausewitz's Trinity

In this article, the author investigates the concept of “war” during the Akkadian period (ca. 2234–2154 BCE) through fragments and clay tablets that have remained from that period in history more than 4,000 years ago. Given the special place that the divine realm took in the Akkadian worldview, manifesting even in everyday interaction, the author reworks the well-renowned trinity from the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz. The author argues that Clausewitz’s analysis of war, which relies on the main trinity of the people, the government, and the armed forces, is not applicable to the beginning of human history in Mesopotamia due to the specific circumstances that societies then faced. The main method of inquiry herein will be a textual analysis of Akkadian scriptures that relate to the campaigns of Sargon, the first ruler of the Akkadian Empire, and his reign in constituting the first empire of humankind, as well as sources that explain the role of religion in this historical epoch. Although many of Sargon’s groundbreaking military innovations—such as establishing a standing professional army, securing lines of communication and supplies, and fortifying strategic positions—can be analyzed in a purely descriptive way, the focus of this article will be on his constructed relation to the Akkadian pantheon, which had a direct influence on the way warmongering was perceived.

Interpretation of military power in the context of realism paradigm

The article seeks to reveal the possibilities of a theoretical interpretation of power in the broad sense and military power in the narrow sense in the context of the realism paradigm, with a deep focus on including intangible resources in the interpretation of power. In the article, the interpretation of power is consciously grounded on the synthesis of power as resources and power as relation perspectives meanwhile applying this synthesis to the analysis of military power. Thus, military power is perceived as covering not only material but also non-material resources and as being contextual in nature. The article forms assumptions that the interpretation of military power depends on the security environment perception of the political and military elite: by changing warfare concepts and force employment methods they introduce military innovations, while military doctrines are an instrument of power conversion – through them the security environment perception is imparted and the structure of military power is changed. Such an interpretation of military power, combining different insights based on the paradigm of realism, allows the formation of an alternative approach to the interpretation of military power.

ELECTRONIC WARFARE IN THE BRICS COUNTRIES: CURRENT STATE AND ISSUES OF LEGAL REGULATION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (THE EXAMPLE OF BRAZIL, INDIA AND SOUTH AFRICA)

The subject of the research in this article is the means and systems of electronic warfare in the BRICS countries on the example of the approaches of Brazil, India and South Africa in the context of the protection of intellectual property rights by means and mechanisms, such as patents and trade secrets (know-how). The relevance of the study is due to the fact that modern states, and the selected BRICS countries are no exception, are aware of the importance and practical significance of electronic warfare and strive to develop such tools and systems or acquire them from those who have achieved success in their development. This requires an understanding of their approaches, including the development and implementation of such tools and systems from the perspective of law. The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the goal itself and the results of the work. Thus, it was revealed that in Brazil the issues of providing the country with innovative military equipment, including electronic warfare, are solved both by national companies and military institutions independently, and in cooperation with foreign military and industrial corporations; in India work is underway to create a new generation of ground- and air-based electronic warfare systems with an extended range, South Africa has a number of achievements in this area. As for the protection of such technical achievements by the provisions of the intellectual property law, South Africa (unlike Brazil and India) openly proclaims a system of keeping military innovations secret, while in the other two countries the emphasis is made on patenting.

Crude Calculations: Productivity and the Profitability of Conquest

For many centuries, conquest was commonplace, and its attractiveness was central to the character of international politics. Why has it declined? Existing theories cannot explain why powerful countries no longer conquer states with easily extractable wealth. We develop an explanation based on the relationship between a potential conqueror's economic productivity and its ability to profit from conquest. Productivity has opposing effects on conquest's profitability: it raises the opportunity cost of each asset diverted to conquest, but also reduces the quantity of assets required for conquest. The net effect is determined by the composition of investment in innovation. We document that since at least 1950 investment has been predominantly aimed at civilian, not military innovations, so that rising productivity should reduce conquest's net profitability. Using cost analyses of comparable wars, we estimate bounds on the profitability of conquering the oil and gas reserves of the Persian Gulf, a very tempting target, for the United States and Iraq, two potential conquerors of widely differing productivity. Though both mechanisms operate, we find that the net effect of higher productivity is to reduce the profits from conquest. Moreover, this net effect is large enough to render conquest generally unprofitable for contemporary high-productivity states.

Using Modern Education Technologies in the Development of Unit Cohesion Skills in Novice Officers

В современных условиях, когда Россия столкнулась с комплексом вызовов, возрастает необходимость в усилении ее обороноспособности, построении новой армии, что требует серьезной реформы военного образования, подготовки будущих офицеров к боевому слаживанию, применения современных образовательных технологий. Цель исследования состоит в том, чтобы обосновать использование современных образовательных технологий в процессе формирования компетенции боевого слаживания у будущих офицеров. Гипотеза нашего исследования формулируется в предположении, что уровень компетенции боевого слаживания у будущих офицеров повысится, если в процессе подготовки применять компьютерные, тренинговые, диалоговые технологии, а также те, которые воссоздают условия современного общевойскового боя. На основе применения методологических подходов к исследованию (системный, компетентностный, опытно-экспериментальный), анализа работ по подготовке будущих офицеров были определены понятия «боевое слаживание», «компетенция будущего офицера боевого слаживания». На основе анализа понятий «технология», «образовательная технология», тенденций модернизации Вооруженных сил Российской Федерации обосновано использование современных образовательных технологий для эффективного формирования компетенции боевого слаживания у будущих офицеров. Применение описанных в статье технологий в процессе подготовки будущих офицеров к боевому слаживанию показало их эффективность. Это было подтверждено результатами обучающего эксперимента, который проходил в 2019/2020 учебном году в Рязанском гвардейском высшем воздушно-десантном ордена Суворова дважды Краснознаменном командном училище имени генерала армии В. Ф. Маргелова. Nowadays, when Russia is facing a whole number of challenges, it is especially important to strengthen its defence capacity, to introduce military innovations and army reforms, which requires profound military education reforms associated with the development of unit cohesion skills in novice officers on the basis of modern information technologies. The aim of the research is to substantiate the use of modern education technologies in the development of unit cohesion skills in novice officers. The hypothesis of the research consists in the supposition that the use of computer-mediated and dialogue-based training solutions enhances novice officers’ unit cohesion skills. The article uses a number of methodological approaches to investigate the issue (systemic approach, competence approach, experimental approach), it analyzes the process of novice officers’ training and defines such notions as unit cohesion and novice officers’ unit cohesion skills. The analysis of such notions as technology and education technology and the examination of modernization tendencies associated with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation enable the authors to employ modern education technologies to efficiently develop unit cohesion skills in novice officers. The article underlines the efficiency of the described technologies aimed at the development of unit cohesion skills in novice officers, which is proved by the results of an experiment conducted in the 2019/2020 academic year at the General V. F. Margelov Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Command School.

Global technological trends in the field of weapons and military equipment

Technology is the fundamental factor of social change, offering new opportunities for the production, storage and dissemination of knowledge. This is especially true in the military sphere, because progress in military technology can have both positive and negative consequences: improved capabilities for measures to mobilize and use force, or more powerful capabilities for cause harm and destruction. Current innovations in artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomous systems, space technology, 3D printing, biotechnology, materials science and quantum computing will bring unprecedented transformations. Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming the "defining technology of the future", both in everyday life and in the military sphere. For developing a military potential suitable for the geostrategic challenges of the present and the future, it is important to navigate military innovations and new technologies, which is what this work is devoted to. Based on the analysis of publications of the international analytical and consulting organizations, foreign governments, NATO, SIPRI, the Munich Security Conference, the EU the latest forecasts for the introduction and adaptation of new technologies and methods originating from the civilian sector into military programs were presented. In particular, this applies to technologies of the fourth industrial revolution - artificial intelligence, robotics, autonomy, cybersecurity, etc., as well as space, nuclear technologies, technologies of new materials, biotechnologies - for military transformation. The future of military success will now belong to those who design, build and use combinations of information technology with existing technology and military capabilities to form a new combat force - smart, interconnected, distributed and digital. This change manifests itself in new forms of war - hyper war, memetic war, cyberspace war. The future scientific and technological landscape in the military sphere will be characterized (and at the same time guided) by the following: - Intelligence: built-in artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and decision-making capabilities across the entire technology spectrum. - Autonomy: autonomous systems with artificial intelligence that are capable of up to a certain level of autonomous decision-making. Such autonomous systems can be robotic, platform-based, or (digital) agents. - Humanistic intelligence: seamless integration of psycho-socio-technological systems supporting human and machine connectivity, as well as synergistic behaviour. - Interconnection: overlay of real and virtual domains, including sensors, organizations, institutions, individuals, autonomous agents and processes.

Civil Participation in Military Innovation: Cooperation between the Defense Industry of Indonesia and Turkey 2010 - 2018

Studi pertahanan memiliki pemikiran bahwa inovasi militer suatu negara memiliki kaitan dengan politik luar negeri suatu negara; kemudian memberikan motivasi bagi mereka untuk melakukan diplomasi pertahanan. Namun, masih sedikit akademisi yang memberikan perhatiannya dalam hal industri pertahanan, khususnya berkaitan dengan negara middle power dan new emerging power. Penelitian ini bertujuan menjelaskan hubungan antara faktor-faktor pendorong dengan kebijakan Indonesia dalam melakukan kerjasama industri pertahanan dengan Turki. Temuan penelitian ini adalah partisipasi sipil dalam inovasi militer dan kepentingan nasional strategis merupakan faktor penting yang mendorong kerjasama tersebut. Kerjasama Indonesia-Turki meliputi riset dan pengembangan, produksi dan pemasaran bersama beberapa alat peralatan pertahanan dan keamanan. Penelitian ini menggunakan konsep inovasi militer dan diplomasi pertahanan dan melihat bahwa Indonesia mengejar agenda kemandirian teknologi pertahanab. Untuk itu, Indonesia mulai melebarkan relasi pertahanan di luar mitra tradisionalnya.Kata kunci: kerjasama, industri pertahanan, partisipasi sipil, kepentingan nasional strategis, diplomasi pertahanan. The study of defense sees that military innovations has a connection to foreign policy; therefore, motivate them to conduct defense diplomacy. However, just few scholars have their concern to defense industry subject, especially amongst middle power and new emerging power. This paper aims to explain the interaction between causal factors and Indonesia’s cooperation policy with Turkey in term of defense industry. The research has found that civilian participation within military innovation and strategic national interests were supposed to be significant determinants which encouraged the state to agree on defense industry cooperation with Turkey. The cooperation included joint research and development, production and potential sale of armaments. The research applied the concept of civil-led military innovation as well as defense diplomacy and argues that Indonesia has been pursuing its defense technology independence. Therefore, it diversifies its defense relation beyond its traditional partners.Keywords: cooperation, defense industry, civilian participation, strategic national interest, defense diplomacy.