Cooperative Militarization

In 1951, six years after the United States defeated Japan and commenced the Occupation of Okinawa, the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyus (USCAR) issued an ordinance in support of agricultural cooperatives. Despite the appearance of altruism, the move marked the emergence of the U.S. anticolonial empire, a form that advocated racial and ethnic self-determination even as it expanded the U.S. military presence. This article shows how U.S. policymakers in Okinawa borrowed from modernization theory to implement models to foster ethnic identification through economic development. Their plans sought to render the United States an ally to Okinawa freedom despite the devastating effects militarism had on the local landscape. Specifically, military plans posited frameworks like the Okinawan economy, which strategically turned the military into a partner without whom Okinawa could not modernize. The article further focuses on agriculture, an arena where the contradictions of the U.S. Occupation was most acute. It argues that rehabilitating the local cooperative network drew Okinawans into the military project, not only to paper over the U.S. colonial presence, but also to further the reach of military discipline.

Cursory Viewpoint on Transnistria as the Focus of the Russian Federation Policy

The article outlines cursory viewpoint on Transnistria as the focus of the Russian Federation policy. Russia pursues political interests in Transnistria connected with its geostrategic ambitions on the post-Soviet state. It is revealed that Moscow has a great impact on the life of Transnistria and cooperates with Tiraspol in political, military, social, cultural, and economic spheres. It is discussed that Russian military presence in this de facto state helps not only to control Transnistria but also Moldova concerning its geopolitical choice. In the article Russia’s activity concerning conflict resolution in Transnistria is shown. A special attention is paid to the Kozak Plan aiming at unification of Transnistria and Moldova, according to which too-extensive rights to Transnistria had to be given. Although this plan was not implemented, in fact now its idea is promoted gradually through convergence of Moldova and Transnistria. In the article it is stressed that russification of the region influences on the mood of the population concerning the future status of the region. Social and economic relations between Russia and Transnistria are researched. It is revealed that all three presidents of this de facto state had close ties with the Russian government and coordinated their politics with it. It is discussed that officially Russia supports territorial integrity of Moldova but at the same time it gives comprehensive support of Transnistria. Although it is not declared in the documents, now the Russian Federation favours status quo in Transnistria.

Russian Policy in the Mediterranean: Historical Continuity and International Context

The article considers the main directions of the Russian Federations foreign policy in the Mediterranean region in the period from 2015 to autumn 2021. The authors present a historical analysis of Russias military presence in the Mediterranean Sea since its first deployment in the 18th century and separately during the Cold War, since the key strategic goals and operational-tactical tasks facing the 5th Soviet Navy operational squadron in those years, as a whole, remained unchanged. Only their scale was adjusted. Three key aspects that determine the need for Russias presence in the Mediterranean are researched. These are the military, political and economic (raw) components that form the determinant of Russian foreign policy in the region. The expansion of the military activity of NATO countries - in particular, the United States, Great Britain and France - in the Mediterranean Sea and the Middle East, especially since the beginning of the civil war in the Syrian Arab Republic in 2011, requires an asymmetric response from Russia in the context of protecting its national interests. As far as geopolitics is concerned, Russias return of at least partial of those Soviet influence in the region also contributes to strengthening our countrys international positions. Finally, Russias presence in a part of the world, which is a natural logistics hub in the context of both world trade and energy supplies, conceptually complements the military-political agenda. The authors use the methods of historical and political analysis and practical systematization in order to formulate the main hypothesis of the study and come to scientific and theoretical conclusions. The main hypothesis is that the expansion of Russias military, political and economic presence in the Mediterranean will be intensified as the countrys economic potential grows. The authors suggest the following order as tools for implementing the strategy: speeding up efforts to ensure the permanent military presence of the Russian Navy in the Mediterranean, deepening bilateral ties with Syria and conducting a pragmatic economic policy towards Turkey, which claims to be an important actor in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East as a whole.

RUSSIAN FORTRESSES AS NAVAL BASES IN THE 1740-s ZAPOROZHIAN HOST: DNIEPER FLOTILLA SHIPS STORAGE

Studies of Russian military presence in the lands of Zaporozhia during the New Sich era (1734–1775) pay relatively little attention to the uses of Russian fortresses between the RussoTurkish wars of 1735–1739 and 1768–1774. From 1739 to 1768 the military importance and defense capability of the Russian fortresses diminished, thus their main purpose shifted to information gathering on the Russian-Ottoman borderlands and the Zaporozhian Host of the Lower Dniper itself. Furthermore, another quite understudied function of these fortresses was to serve as military depots, both acting and reserve. This article concentrates on the understudied aspect of the history of Russian fortresses and the Zaporozhia lands during the New Sich era – the storage of vessels of the liquidated Dnieper flotilla after the Russo-Turkish war of 1735-1739. The primary source base for this article consists of the documents from “Kyiv Provincial Chancellery” (Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, fund 59). The Ust’-Samara retrenchment was a main naval base of the Dnieper flotilla located at the mouth of the Samara River (present-day Dnipro). The reorganization of the Dnieper flotilla material base and fleet supplies took several years after the end of the 1735-1739 war. Subsequently, various fleet supplies (military vessels; ship equipment like ropes, blocks, oars, flags, anchors; naval artillery and related supplies; tools for ships repairs and maintenance like "konopatky"; building materials, ship nails, resin; food stocks for ship crews, etc) were stored in the special fortress warehouses. However, storage conditions were inadequate, naval depots could be destroyed, while equipment and watercraft could be stolen by the Russian officers to be resold later. Relying on documentary sources, an attempt was made to clarify the number of Dnieper flotilla vessels, that were stored in the Ust’-Samara retrenchment. To that end, the article introduces into scientific circulation a document that most fully reflects the number of military vessels, stored at the Russian fortresses in Zaporozhia as of November 1, 1742 - a report compiled by Captain I. Stepanov at the request of the Ust’-Samara retrenchment commander A. Chichagov, commander of all Russian fortresses in Zaporozhia. At that time, the total number of vessels (both suitable and unsuitable for use) amounted to 350. These vessels were stored in the Kamianskyi, Khortyts’kyi, Malyshevs’kyi and Nenasytets’kyi retrenchments. Comparison of data from several documents reveals that for unknown reasons this number (350) did not include boats stored in the Ust’-Samara retrenchment. This article further indicates that the study of exact number of the vessels is complicated by the specifics of the source base. Further elaboration of the issues outlined in the present article would allow not only to explore the functions of Russian fortresses in Zaporozhia during the New Sich era and their role as centers of the Russian military presence, but would also reveal the everyday relations of Russian soldiers with the Cossacks and the peasants (“pospolyti”). The crucial need to study original documentary sources on the history of Russian fortresses in Zaporozhia is emphasized once more.

TRANSNISTRIAN SETTLEMENT: UKRAINE’S CONTRIBUTION AND EXPERIENCE FOR DEOCUPATION OF DONBAS

The article addresses the role of Ukraine in the Transnistrian settlement. The author analyses its peacekeeping experience and plans for further steps in the light of Ukraine's national interests in the context of Russia's ongoing aggression. Other countries’ roles as participants in the peace process are also considered. This conflict should not be classified as an interethnic or interfaith one, just as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, it is a geopolitical confrontation with a minor ethnic component. The positions of the parties do not differ fundamentally on ethnic or confessional grounds, but consist in worldview differences, geopolitical orientation of elites and the population of the two banks of the Dniester. Russia, which had been a de facto participant in the hot phase of the conflict, managed to take over the role of the mediator. Ukraine and Moldova agreed on the legal personality of the Transnistrian occupation authorities. Countries where separatist conflicts have been provoked by external forces cannot agree to negotiate directly with the occupation administrations of the ‘separatist’ areas. They should negotiate directly with the independent players who have provoked, provided this conflict and are able to make decisions. It is important to conduct an effective awareness-rising campaign in Transnistria and the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, create highly professional alternative media and a high-quality information product. Russia's continued military presence in Transnistria is becoming an additional security threat to Ukraine and the Black Sea region. The ‘peacekeeping’ mechanism needs to be reformatted and internationalized by withdrawing the Russian contingent and deploying the International Civilian Observer Mission. Such operations should be carried out either with the participation of contingents of exclusively neutral countries, or with multinational contingents if possible, which will guarantee their impartiality. Findings of the present study may be used as the groundwork for formulating Ukraine’s strategy of countering the Russian aggression and retrieving the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

The diplomatic tandem of the USA and NATO in world politics

The article discusses various aspects of the activities of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the preparation of a new strategic concept (SC-2021). Advocating a decisive expansion of the range of NATO's capabilities to respond promptly to modern challenges, politicians and the military refer to the presence of new key threats that were not discussed in the previous strategic concepts of the bloc. The complex of such challenges and threats carries one of the fundamental functions in the development of the document. However, the leading place is given to the scrupulous consideration of doctrinal documents being developed in the United States: the national security strategy, military doctrine, nuclear policy review, the stake dictated from overseas on the military deterrence of Russia and some others. The internal and institutional factors of the bloc's development, the diplomatic and military aspects of the alliance's policy play an important role. NATO's focus on the role of a global player in tandem with the United States determines the development of the military technosphere of the bloc, which focuses on cognitive warfare and artificial intelligence. The preservation of the function of NATO as the main tool of the United States in the confrontation with Russia determines the buildup of the military presence of the bloc at the borders of our country, the conduct of military exercises according to provocative scenarios, the military development of Ukraine. An analysis of NATO's transformation, including a change in military strategy and a bet on the development of new technologies, each of which has a threatening subversive and destabilizing potential, makes it necessary to develop a comprehensive counteraction program in Russia. Particular attention should be paid to the development of strategies to counter cognitive warfare, the work on which, along with artificial intelligence, is the focus of the alliance's innovative efforts. NATO has been and remains one of the important actors in the global struggle and relies on the combined use of force and non-force methods and means of influencing the enemy, the use of innovative technologies, which requires Russia, its allies and partners to respond immediately and carefully coordinated across the entire spectrum of threats and challenges.

Militarisation Under COVID-19: Understanding the Differential Impact of Lockdown on the Forests of Colombia

Drawing on qualitative analysis and anthropological histories, we argue that deforestation rates in the Inter-Andean Valleys and in the Amazon Belt of Colombia reflect the specific role of the military in different articulations of the political forest along with new connections between conservation and the war on drugs. This paper examines the increase in deforestation in Colombia in 2020 that partially coincided with the “lockdown” imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Early media analysis linked this with the redeployment of military forces away from forest protection to impose lockdown restrictions. However, closer investigation reveals significant regional variation in both the reorganisation of military groups, and in the rate at which deforestation has materialised; military presence has increased in some regions, while in others deforestation has increased. To explain this, we unpack the “biopolitical” dimensions of international conservation to show how the specific deployment of military groups in Colombia reflects an interplay between notions of the protection of (species) life, longer colonial histories, and more recent classification of geographies in terms of riskiness and value.

Development and Culture in the Context of Chittagong Hill Tracts (Cht), Bangladesh

This paper aims to understand the background of development and draws a link to culture in the context of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) - a post conflict region – to explore how the dispossession and commercialisation of culture in development planning is processing tension between different actors by reviewing secondary literature. The Indigenous people of Bangladesh have a longstanding history of struggle to achieve self-determination due to their institutional reference as ‘tribes’ or ‘ethnic minorities’. Denial of Indigenous peoples’ identity contributes to their discrimination and violation within the existing development concerns. The specific structural regulations and resource mobilization activities resulting from institutions – government, military, and powerful individuals - in areas inhabited by Indigenous people reflect the asymmetrical relations between Indigenous peoples and Bangalee actors. The conflict started in this region with the mobilization of ethnic majority Bangalee through the settlement programs in 1970s as a part of ‘development’ project, which later created tensions in this region due to the exploitation of people, land, and culture. As the government and ongoing military presence greatly shape ‘development’ for local people, the power relations between different actors facilitate the various forms of exploitative development projects. In addition, the ignorance towards integration of culture in development projects results in imposing threats to Indigenous peoples’ lives, livelihoods, and access to resources. This paper focuses on the economic expansions in this region from modernist perspectives drawing the example of tourism development in the CHT, which can marginalize and exploit Indigenous people in the making of ‘development’, Social Science Review, Vol. 37(2), Dec 2020 Page 87-103