Regulation of armed conflict: critical comparativism

Abstract

This paper calls for comparative analysis of international humanitarian law and Islamic laws regulating armed conflict by focusing on the underlying assumptions and interests informing both systems (rather than on rule-based comparison). It argues that examination of the biases inherent to each legal system can potentially inform scholars to understand better the paradigms shaping each of them. In doing so, the paper builds on contextual and critical interpretations of both fields of law to assert the need for ‘critical comparativism’ rather than functionalist comparativism. Unlike functionalist comparativism, which treats international law as the ‘objective’ benchmark against which other legal traditions are measured, ‘critical comparativism’ treats the two legal systems examined as alternative manifestations of power structures which, when contrasted against each other, help shed more light on the inherent bias in each legal system.     

Violent attacks on education in the tribal areas of Pakistan and the role of NGOs in providing educational services

Education is no longer safe from attacks during times of armed conflict. In many regions of the world, armed groups intentionally target schools, teachers and students and violate the right of children to get an education. Such is the case in Pakistan, where militant violence and continued armed conflict has disrupted the education of hundreds of thousands of children, particularly girls. The present study addresses a call for a better understanding of how non-governmental organisations (NGOs) function and contribute to peace-building and development through the provision of educational services in conflict zones. Based on field research, the study finds that in spite of challenges, NGOs have been playing a vital role in providing educational services to the conflict-affected communities. Disseminating information, solutions for resuming education, improving school enrolment, psychosocial support and promoting quality education lies at the forefront of NGOs’ battle in the tribal areas of Pakistan. However, the state needs a comprehensive policy to protect education from violent attacks.     

Coups and nascent democracies: the military and Egypt's failed consolidation

Why do coups happen in some nascent democracies but not in others? To answer this question, I probe four interconnected variables in democratizing regimes: the military's ethos; the military's corporate interests; the military's perception of the new civilian ruling elite; and the correlation of force between the military and the founding democratic government. My argument is twofold: first, I maintain that ideational variables are central to shaping the military's political behaviour; and second, I argue in favour of merging insights from cultural, corporate, and structural theories to understand the consolidation, or breakdown, of nascent democracies.     

武装组织治理制度与反叛成功

当前武装组织治理制度建设成为内战研究的重点。武装组织治理制度是武装组织对其控制区域和民众管理的相应制度与规则体系。以反叛成功为分析对象,通过系统评估武装组织治理制度建设对其内战中获得冲突优势的影响,可以看到,武装组织的反叛成功并不直接由武装组织治理制度决定,而是取决于武装组织治理制度在内部与外部产生的效果。在内部维度,武装组织治理制度需要取得良好的相对治理绩效;在外部维度,武装组织治理制度需要一个有利的国际战略环境并可对其进行塑造。而武装组织治理制度并不能确保相应效果的实现。通过混合研究的模式对以上观点进行检验:在定量研究方面,通过两个不同层次的数据库对于武装组织治理制度与反叛成功的关系进行检验,发现武装组织治理制度与反叛成功之间无直接的联系;在案例比较研究方面,通过两个具体武装组织的实践案例(阿富汗塔利班和"伊斯兰国"组织)进行分析,可以发现武装组织治理制度与反叛成功之间的关系并不确定,因此并不存在简单的正向促进关系。     

武警部队处置突发事件的法律调控

处置突发性事件是武装警察的重要职能之一,但是随着近年来国内突发性事件的逐渐增多,武警在处突过程中也凸显了一些问题,应通过法律手段加以解决。第十一届全国人大常委会第十次会议审议通过的《中华人民共和国人民武装警察法》,对武警部队处突行动法制化的研究,对于科学处置突发事件和武警法的贯彻执行均有重大的意义。     

朱德军事教育思想探析

朱德军事教育思想是其建军思想的重要组成部分，主要包括以下内容：一是人才论，即军事教育要担负为国家培养劲旅的任务；二是灵魂论，即军事教育要突出政治，坚持正确的政治方向；三是中心论，即军事教育要强化军事训练，不断提高战斗力；四是求实论，即军事教育要从实际出发确立求实的态度。     

关于武装冲突法适用的几个问题

武装冲突法内在地包含着缔约国及其军队遵守和执行武装冲突法的义务。各国适用国际法的政策和实践决定着各自军队适用武装冲突法的情况。我国军队应从实际出发,在借鉴别国及其军队做法的基础上,正确认识武装冲突法的地位作用,合理规范武装冲突法条约缔结和适用的行政权利、立法规划和司法体制,维护国家和军队的根本利益。     

Typology of State Types: Persistence and Transition

Research on state fragility has seldom examined questions of persistence and transition of states. We develop a sixfold typology of states to examine how key structural features of states evolve and contribute to successful exits from fragility in some cases and persistence in others. Particularly worrisome is the lack of positive transition among the weakest states. Our findings are derived from a minimalist construct of a refined time series data set involving state indicators of authority, legitimacy, and capacity. Case studies of some of the more turbulent examples support our state trajectories. Additionally, changes in legitimacy most often led state transitions into or out of fragility. Implications of intervention policy for transitioning states out of fragility are addressed, and these are given particular focus since fragile states experience at least twice the intensity/incidence of internal armed conflict compared to other states.     

邓小平武警部队建设思想初探

以邓小平为核心的党的第二代领导集体结合武警部队建设的具体实际,提出了强化人民民主专政的机构;政治建军;从严治军等一系列理论原则、方针政策和具体内容,这些关于武警部队建设规律的理性认识和光辉思想,在促进和谐社会进程的今天仍有着十分重大的理论和现实意义。     

伪造、盗窃、买卖武装部队专用标志罪的探讨

近些年来,伪造、盗窃、买卖武装部队专用标志的情况不断增多,严重扰乱了社会管理秩序,损害了军队形象和声誉,妨害了部队战备、训练等工作的正常进行。《中华人民共和国刑法修正案（七）》将伪造、盗窃、买卖武装部队专用标志罪正式入刑,这是我国刑事立法的重要完善,也是维护国防利益的重要举措。本文在界定了伪造、盗窃、买卖武装部队专用标志罪概念的基础上,简要梳理了此类犯罪的立法沿革、概况,按照刑法理论分别从犯罪主体、犯罪主观方面、犯罪客体和犯罪客观方面对本罪的犯罪构成要件进行了论述,探讨了此罪与非罪、此罪与彼罪的政策界限,并对处罚进行了简要分析。