Stumbling among Giants: Europe's Frustrated Solidarity with Guatemala, 1979–1996

In the 1980s, Central America became the Cold War's centre stage as Western solidarity committees rushed to shine a global spotlight on the region's revolutionary movements. Drawing on archival research and activist testimony, this article explores the uncharted European solidarity movement with Guatemala (1979–1996) and its transnational structural weaknesses. Additionally, this contribution aims to revisit recent transnational approaches to solidarity movements that highlight the purposive role of actors of the Global South in generating and shaping solidarity. Instead, it argues that restricted political spaces severely constrained Guatemalan agency domestically, affecting the strategies and tactics deployed on the international front.     

Did Covid-19 Change Armed Group Governance? Evidence from a Survey of Local Security Authorities in Colombia

As the Covid-19 pandemic began, initial reports suggested that armed groups would seize the opportunity to expand their control over territory and civilians. However, drawing on an original survey of local security officials responsible for monitoring armed group behaviour in Colombia, we find little evidence of significant shifts in the presence or behaviour of political or criminal groups. Contrary to prevailing expectations, we also find that armed group governance is common in areas contested by multiple groups. Our findings shed new light on armed group adaptation to shocks, and challenge the assumption that territorial control is a prerequisite for governance.     

幕末政治家河井继之助的思想与实践

河井继之助是日本幕末时期一名十分活跃的政治人物,其生平事迹、政治理念独具特色,具有积极的历史意义.他于乱世应对强大外来压力,治理本地区手法独到,功绩卓著;其特立独行的政治主张和远见卓识虽因其功败垂成,湮没于历史长河中,但其所包含的公道开明的政治思想和国家观,对照明治时代的政治及之后的发展演化,对于审视日本近代化历程,研究日本近现代政治史具有独特的参考作用.     

试论罗亦农是反盲动主义的重要代表

罗亦农是中共早期的重要领导人。不少通用版的中共党史一般认为,罗亦农与瞿秋白一样犯有严重的左倾盲动主义错误。事实上,罗亦农认为南昌暴动、秋收暴动失败后,土地革命策略应转变为游击战争,建立革命根据地,建设苏维埃政权,准备暴动而不是“马上暴动”,这是反对盲动主义的。罗亦农的这些论断得到党中央的认可、采纳和推广。如果说瞿秋白是土地革命和武装斗争的主要领导人的话,那罗亦农则是一线革命斗争的主要领导人,是党中央与毛泽东等一线指战员的联络部。那时的“盲动”现象存在于个别地区而不是存在于中央,存在于个别暴动而不是所有暴动中。长期被指责为“盲动主义”的十一月扩大会议,并没有形成一条“左”倾的盲动主义（即冒险主义）路线,罗亦农的反“盲动主义”,正是中央领导集体反对包括盲动主义在内的各种机会主义的重要组成部分。     

打赢未来信息化战争,取得最大军事效益的法律途径 --论武装冲突法的艺术运用

纯军事手段的战争 ,是外行的战争。在军事斗争中自觉运用武装冲突法 ,把“斗法”和“斗兵”紧密地结合起来夺取战争的胜利 ,已经成为一项重要的现代战争指导艺术。法律战是打赢未来信息化战争 ,取得最大军事效益的重要法律途径 ,在未来作战中将发挥直接的战斗功能。我军要适应未来战争需要 ,必须在实战中学会娴熟运用武装冲突法 ,既严格遵守 ,又灵活实施 ,以最有利“保存自己 ,消灭敌人”的方式行使武装冲突法赋予的权力 ,保证自己军事上不吃亏、法律上站得住。进而以战争的合法性支撑战争的正义性 ,以法律支柱强化精神支柱 ,最大限度地赢得和巩固军心、民心 ,提升整体作战能力。     

儿童兵规范的演变:国内武装冲突局势下的儿童保护

冷战结束后,在国内武装冲突中,儿童沦为国家武装部队与武装组织招募的对象。儿童兵的出现在某种程度上使得儿童从武装冲突的受害者转变为施暴者,导致国内武装冲突更加血腥、更难结束。为说服武装冲突各方放弃招募和使用儿童兵、打破"冲突—招募—冲突"的恶性循环,联合国及其相关机构采取了诸多举措,积极致力于倡导和传播儿童兵规范,把武装冲突局势中的儿童保护问题提升至国际与国内的和平与安全议程。从理论层面而言,儿童兵规范兴起与传播的动力和逻辑值得关注。第一,联合国及其相关机构作为规范倡导者,在儿童兵规范的兴起、发展与扩散阶段发挥了重要作用。第二,儿童兵规范的传播对象突破了国家行为体的范畴,日益重视对武装组织等非国家行为体的教化。第三,儿童兵的议题特征也有助于其规范的广泛传播。第四,时代背景也为儿童兵规范的兴起和传播创造了有力的政治条件。     

《亚洲打击海盗及武装抢劫船只的地区合作协定》评价

2006年9月4日,正式生效的《亚洲打击海盗及武装抢劫船只的地区合作协定》(以下简称《协定》)将对该地区的国际关系和打击海盗与武装抢劫船舶活动造成重要影响。对于同样是该地区有重要影响的中国来说,国内学界未对《协定》进行专门分析与论述。本文就《协定》产生的背景、《协定》与《联合国海洋法公约》中关于“海盗行为”与“武装抢劫船舶”定义之异同、缔约国在《协定》中享受的权利与义务、《协定》的意义与特点进行了分析与论述。     

Do Religious Factors Impact Armed Conflict? Empirical Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa

Theoretically, the “mobilization hypothesis” establishes a link between religion and conflict by arguing that particular religious structures are prone to mobilization; once politicized, escalation to violent conflict becomes more likely. Yet, despite the religious diversity in sub-Saharan Africa and the religious overtones in a number of African conflicts, this assumption has not yet been backed by systematic empirical research on the religion–conflict nexus in the region. The following questions thus remain: Do religious factors significantly impact the onset of (religious) armed conflict? If so, do they follow the logic of the mobilization hypothesis and, if so, in which way? To answer these questions, this article draws on a unique data inventory of all sub-Saharan countries for the period 1990–2008, particularly including data on mobilization-prone religious structures (e.g., demographic changes, parallel ethno-religious identities) as well as religious factors indicating actual politicization of religion (e.g., inter-religious tensions, religious discrimination, incitement by religious leaders). Logit regressions suggest that religion indeed plays a significant role in African armed conflicts. These findings are compatible with the mobilization hypothesis, and stress the impact of conflict-prone religious structures, and particularly, the fact that overlaps of religious and ethnic identities are conflict-prone. Future research should investigate the religion-ethnicity-nexus in more detail.     

Engaging environmental turbulence: drivers of organizational flexibility in the armed forces

Since the transformation was set in motion to change Western armed forces from large-scale mechanized defensive organizations into smaller agile expeditionary crisis response forces, the call for organizational flexibility has rocketed. Yet, actual research into the key organizational drivers of flexibility has hardly been done. To bridge this gap, the present study has analyzed to what extent modular organizing and organizational sensing have contributed to flexible military crisis response performance. The study uses the Netherlands’ armed forces as a representative example of a contemporary Western crisis response organization and empirically draws upon its recent operational experiences. It has uncovered that within most mission contexts, modular organizing acts as a facilitator for the organizational sensing process. Yet, within highly turbulent crisis response missions, organizational sensing becomes the predominant driver, stimulating ad hoc solutions that challenge existing structures, available technology, and standard procedures.