Does Technological Progress Make War More Humane?
It would be a mistake to deny that technological progress has been, and still is, a characteristic of our history. Men have gone from fighting with their gladios in ancient Rome to using gunpowder in cannons and rifles, and from deploying machine guns to applying the threat of nuclear war.
Identity and Security: PSCs as a Solution and a Dilemma
Private security companies and privatizing security can at first seem to offer solutions to maintaining safety and stability when a state is no longer able to do so. However, the interference of PSCs in state functions ultimately can hinder the development and legitimacy of a state and cause further insecurities within.
Ethnic Conflict and R2P
We may all agree that there is a moral imperative to halt mass atrocities. The problem is the reconciliation of such an obligation and our entrenched system of anarchy at the international level. Those states that are part of the United Nations should have a responsibility to respect the adoption of R2P principles, notably the moral imperative to halt mass atrocities and punish the perpetrators through the ICC.
The Rise of the La Familia Michoacana
On May 30th, 2010, former Mexican Attorney General Eduardo Mora Medina declared the drug cartel La Familia Michoacana, known simply as “La Familia,” to be the most dangerous in all of Mexico. The rise of La Familia, its bizarre ideology and indoctrination of members, and the lower-class following it has received have separated it from other DTOs in Mexico.
The Abatement of Insurgency in Iraq and the Re-emergence of Insurgency in Afghanistan
Although Western publics are not casualty-phobic and presently pay little attention to body counts as the ultimate barometer for success, they are wary of supporting wars with low prospects for ultimate triumph, and casualty rates and patterns can help formulate more nuanced policy opinions.
The Independence and Democratic Legitimacy of the European Central Bank in the Public Debt Crisis
June 2010 witnessed the opening of a new chapter in the history of the European Central Bank (ECB). Without any debate or decision-making process outside the closed doors of the ECB’s conference rooms, the Bank decided to extend its activities far beyond the field of traditional monetary policy.
More of the Same? Russian Intelligence during the Post-Soviet Era
Despite the euphoria that accompanied the toppling of Felix Dzerzhinsky’s statue in Lubyanka Square in August 1991, the power of the KGB, now the FSB and the SVR, has not declined. True reform of Russia’s security services, despite some early intent, has not happened.
Is the US winning the ‘War on Drugs’ in Latin America?
The general consensus in the literature and the media is that the US is losing the ‘war on drugs’. Rates of consumption in the US have remained roughly the same over the last ten years and the drug trade remains a multi-billion dollar industry run by a complex international network.
Does Britain share responsibility for the commencement of hostilities in 1914?
Britain was certainly not innocent. Although it was not an overt aggressor in the run up to conflict, its policy of manipulation and inaction was very damaging. Britain may have not started the war but at the very least it did little to avoid it.
Modern Warfare: The Introduction of Predator Drones
Predator drones, first developed in 1995, have been widely utilised during the Global War on Terror due to their ability to provide surveillance and combat capabilities for a relatively low cost and without risk to the human operator.
