Showing papers by "Naval War College published in 2013"
01 Mar 2013
TL;DR: The Tallinn Manual as mentioned in this paper identifies the international law applicable to cyber warfare and sets out ninety-five 'black-letter rules' governing such conflicts, addressing topics including sovereignty, State responsibility, the jus ad bellum, international humanitarian law, and the law of neutrality.
Abstract: The product of a three-year project by twenty renowned international law scholars and practitioners, the Tallinn Manual identifies the international law applicable to cyber warfare and sets out ninety-five 'black-letter rules' governing such conflicts. It addresses topics including sovereignty, State responsibility, the jus ad bellum, international humanitarian law, and the law of neutrality. An extensive commentary accompanies each rule, which sets forth the rule's basis in treaty and customary law, explains how the group of experts interpreted applicable norms in the cyber context, and outlines any disagreements within the group as to each rule's application.
337 citations
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Abstract: The introduction of autonomous weapon systems into the “battlespace” will profoundly influence the nature of future warfare. This reality has begun to draw the attention of the international legal community, with increasing calls for an outright ban on the use of autonomous weapons systems in armed conflict. This Article is intended to help infuse granularity and precision into the legal debates surrounding such weapon systems and their future uses. It suggests that whereas some conceivable autonomous weapon systems might be prohibited as a matter of law, the use of others will be unlawful only when employed in a manner that runs contrary to the law of armed conflict’s prescriptive norms governing the “conduct of hostilities.” This Article concludes that an outright ban of autonomous weapon systems is insupportable as a matter of law, policy, and operational good sense. Indeed, proponents of a ban underestimate the extent to which the law of armed conflict, including its customary law aspect, will control autonomous weapon system operations. Some autonomous weapon systems that might be developed would already be unlawful per se under existing customary law, irrespective of any treaty ban. The use of certain others would be severely limited by that law.
Furthermore, an outright ban is premature since no such weapons have even left the drawing board. Critics typically either fail to take account of likely developments in autonomous weapon systems technology or base their analysis on unfounded assumptions about the nature of the systems. From a national security perspective, passing on the opportunity to develop these systems before they are fully understood would be irresponsible. Perhaps even more troubling is the prospect that banning autonomous weapon systems altogether based on speculation as to their future form could forfeit their potential use in a manner that would minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects when compared to non-autonomous weapon systems.
71 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors conclude that Losing Humanity's recommendation to ban autonomous weapon systems is insupportable as a matter of law, policy, and operational good sense.
Abstract: In November 2012, Human Rights Watch, in collaboration with the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School, released Losing Humanity: The Case against Killer Robots.[2] Human Rights Watch is among the most sophisticated of human rights organizations working in the field of international humanitarian law. Its reports are deservedly influential and have often helped shape application of the law during armed conflict. Although this author and the organization have occasionally crossed swords,[3] we generally find common ground on key issues. This time, we have not.
“Robots” is a colloquial rendering for autonomous weapon systems. Human Rights Watch’s position on them is forceful and unambiguous: “[F]ully autonomous weapons would not only be unable to meet legal standards but would also undermine essential non-safeguards for civilians.”[4] Therefore, they “should be banned and . . . governments should urgently pursue that end.”[5] In fact, if the systems cannot meet the legal standards cited by Human Rights Watch, then they are already unlawful as such under customary international law irrespective of any policy or treaty law ban on them.[6]
Unfortunately, Losing Humanity obfuscates the on-going legal debate over autonomous weapon systems. A principal flaw in the analysis is a blurring of the distinction between international humanitarian law’s prohibitions on weapons per se and those on the unlawful use of otherwise lawful weapons.[7] Only the former render a weapon illegal as such. To illustrate, a rifle is lawful, but may be used unlawfully, as in shooting a civilian. By contrast, under customary international law, biological weapons are unlawful per se; this is so even if they are used against lawful targets, such as the enemy’s armed forces. The practice of inappropriately conflating these two different strands of international humanitarian law has plagued debates over other weapon systems, most notably unmanned combat aerial systems such as the armed Predator. In addition, some of the report’s legal analysis fails to take account of likely developments in autonomous weapon systems technology or is based on unfounded assumptions as to the nature of the systems. Simply put, much of Losing Humanity is either counter-factual or counter-normative.
This Article is designed to infuse granularity and precision into the legal debates surrounding such weapon systems and their use in the future “battlespace.” It suggests that whereas some conceivable autonomous weapon systems might be prohibited as a matter of law, the use of others will be unlawful only when employed in a manner that runs contrary to international humanitarian law’s prescriptive norms. This Article concludes that Losing Humanity’s recommendation to ban the systems is insupportable as a matter of law, policy, and operational good sense. Human Rights Watch’s analysis sells international humanitarian law short by failing to appreciate how the law tackles the very issues about which the organization expresses concern. Perhaps the most glaring weakness in the recommendation is the extent to which it is premature. No such weapons have even left the drawing board. To ban autonomous weapon systems altogether based on speculation as to their future form is to forfeit any potential uses of them that might minimize harm to civilians and civilian objects when compared to other systems in military arsenals.
70 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how the law of cyber warfare may evolve in response to the growing centrality of cyber activities to modern life, drawing on the extant law as set forth in the Tallinn Manual on the International Law of Cyber Warfare.
Abstract: The article examines how the law of cyber warfare may evolve in response to the growing centrality of cyber activities to modern life. Drawing on the extant law as set forth in the Tallinn Manual on the International Law of Cyber Warfare, it focuses on the principle of sovereignty, the jus ad bellum, and the jus in bello.
42 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a comprehensive assessment of China's defence spending and military transparency is presented, with a focus on the Near Seas (the Yellow, East, and South China seas).
Abstract: China's limited transparency concerning its defence spending harms strategic trust, but foreign analysts often lose sight of important realities. Specific details remain unclear, but China's defence spending overall is no mystery – it supports PLA modernization and personnel development as well as its announced objectives of securing China's homeland and asserting control over contested territorial and maritime claims, with a focus on the Near Seas (the Yellow, East, and South China seas). This article offers greater context and perspective for Chinese and Western discussions of China's rise and concomitant military build-up through a nuanced and comprehensive assessment of its defence spending and military transparency.
42 citations
TL;DR: While variance between deserts was expected, it was interesting to note differences between sample sites within a given desert region, illustrating the 'patchy' nature of microbial communities in desert environments.
39 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the international law governing state responses to cyber operations that do not rise to the level of an armed attack under the law of self-defense is examined in the cyber context.
Abstract: The article examines the international law governing State responses to cyber operations that do not rise to the level of an armed attack under the law of self-defense. Once the operations reach that level, forceful responses are, in certain circumstances, permitted. However, it is generally accepted that force, whether kinetic or cyber in nature, may not be employed in response to operations of lesser severity. Instead, the State is limited to acts in retorsion (unfriendly but lawful) or countermeasures. Countermeasures, which comprise acts that would be unlawful but for the unlawful actions of the other State, are subject to significant conditions and limitations. The article examines them in the cyber context.
33 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the international humanitarian law rules that govern whether enemy combatants must be captured on the battlefield whenever possible are explored. But no such duty exists, although it also acknowledges that doing so is typically done for operational reasons.
Abstract: This article explores the international humanitarian law rules that govern whether enemy combatants must be captured on the battlefield whenever possible. It replies to Professor Ryan Goodman's piece on the same topic in the European Journal of International Law. It argues that no such duty exists, although it also acknowledges that doing so is typically done for operational reasons.
32 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined two issues raised by Professor Goodman's article published in this volume of EJIL: a purported obligation under international humanitarian law to minimize harm to enemy fighters; and a purported IHL duty to capture rather than kill when doing so is feasible in the circumstances.
Abstract: This article examines two issues raised by Professor Goodman's article published in this volume of EJIL: a purported obligation under international humanitarian law (IHL) to minimize harm to enemy fighters; and a purported IHL duty to capture rather than kill when doing so is feasible in the circumstances. It notes that situations in which it is possible to wound rather than kill enemy fighters are rare on the battlefield. However, even when such circumstances do present themselves, there is no obligation under the extant IHL to do so. Similarly, there is no duty to capture rather than kill under the existing law. Nevertheless, the article offers an analysis that would extend hors de combat status to enemy fighters who have been effectively captured, thereby shielding them from attack. Accordingly, the approach would often arrive at the same conclusion as that proposed by Professor Goodman, albeit through a different legal lens. The article concludes by noting that although there is no "capture-kill" rule in IHL, for operational and policy reasons, capture is usually preferred.
24 citations
TL;DR: The United Nations estimates that the illegal drug trade accounts for 1.5 percent of all money transiting through the global financial system (UNODC 2011). A quick perusal of a list of major drug-p...
Abstract: The United Nations estimates that the illegal drug trade accounts for 1.5 percent of all money transiting through the global financial system (UNODC 2011). A quick perusal of a list of major drug‐p...
22 citations
TL;DR: Li et al. as mentioned in this paper explored the often noted "implementation gap" in Chinese fisheries enforcement practices and revealed that Beijing is making gradual and earnest efforts to comply with international environmental norms with respect to fisheries.
TL;DR: For more than six decades, the geopolitics of South Asia have been shaped by a symbiotic and triangular relationship involving India, Pakistan, and China, and a succession of interstate conflicts has created two fundamental and enduring security structures, one rooted in India's partition and subsequent Indo-Pakistan wars (the 1947 structure) and the other in a persistent and often antagonistic Sino-Indian rivalry, including a border conflict in 1962 (the1962 structure) as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: For more than six decades, the geopolitics of South Asia have been shaped by a symbiotic and triangular relationship involving India, Pakistan, and China. A succession of interstate conflicts has created two fundamental and enduring security structures, one rooted in India's partition and subsequent Indo-Pakistan wars (the “1947 structure”) and the other in a persistent and often antagonistic Sino-Indian rivalry, including a border conflict in 1962 (the “1962 structure”). During the Cold War, exogenous powers, including the United States and Soviet Union, sought to use or manipulate these structures to advance their political objectives. In the long term, however, the 1962 structure is likely to become the dominant security architecture in the region, a trend that can be attributed to China's growing military and economic power, Beijing's increasingly intimate relationship with Islamabad, and the Chinese navy's expanding reach into the Indian Ocean.
TL;DR: In this article, a framework for examining the legality of extraterritorial lethal strikes ("targeted killings") in international law has been proposed, which is based on the work of the authors of this paper.
Abstract: This article sets for a framework for examining the legality of extraterritorial lethal strikes ("targeted killings") in international law.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the modernization of China's nuclear missile force and assesses the implications for the U.S. nuclear defense system, and concluded that the United States should be concerned.
Abstract: This article examines the modernization of China's nuclear missile force and assesses the implications for the U.S.
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TL;DR: In this paper, international law applies in cyberspace, particularly with respect to the use of cyber force, and although the law applies, there is room for interpretive flexibility of the extant norms in light of the unique characteristics of cyber operations.
Abstract: This article is a brief reflection on the applicability of international law to cyberspace. It asserts that international law applies in cyberspace, particularly with respect to the use of cyber force. It goes on to suggest that although the law applies, there is room for interpretive flexibility of the extant norms in light of the unique characteristics of cyber operations.
TL;DR: In 2011, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was the first top US official to frame expanding US partnerships with Australia, India, and Indonesia in the broader Indo-Pacific context as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Beginning in late 2011, successive US defence policy documents and official pronouncements explicitly depicted American strategy in Asia in Indo–Pacific terms. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton was the first top US official to frame expanding US partnerships with Australia, India, and Indonesia in the broader Indo–Pacific context. Subsequently, President Barak Obama reaffirmed Clinton's vision in his November 2011 speech to the Australian House of Representatives. Two months later, the Pentagon published its strategic guidance that directed the US military to ‘rebalance toward the Asia–Pacific region', declaring that American interests are ‘inextricably linked to developments in the arc extending from the western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia'. The ‘pivot’ to the Indo–Pacific has since become the driving force behind the US regional strategy.
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TL;DR: The authors examines the international law issues surrounding the US policy decision to arm Syrian rebels and concludes that arming the rebels is questionable as a matter of law, although it may be legitimate (it draws no conclusions on this latter point).
Abstract: This article examines the international law issues surrounding the US policy decision to arm Syrian rebels Topics discussed as potential violations of international law include the prohibition on the use of force, the principle of non-intervention, Security Council action and State responsibility for any unlawful activities of the rebels The Article also examines possible justifications for the action under international law including self-defense, military aid to a government, humanitarian intervention, an action against the enemy during an armed conflict, and the taking of countermeasures The article concludes that arming the rebels is questionable as a matter of law, although it notes that it may be legitimate (it draws no conclusions on this latter point)
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce political scientists to scenarios and demonstrate their value in tandem with other methodologies and across a wide range of research questions and argue that scenarios contribute to theory building and development, identifying new hypotheses, analyzing data-poor research topics, articulating "world views, setting new research agendas, avoiding cognitive biases, and teaching".
Abstract: This article introduces political scientists to scenarios—future counterfactuals—and demonstrates their value in tandem with other methodologies and across a wide range of research questions. The authors describe best practices regarding the scenario method and argue that scenarios contribute to theory building and development, identifying new hypotheses, analyzing data-poor research topics, articulating “world views,” setting new research agendas, avoiding cognitive biases, and teaching. The article also establishes the low rate at which scenarios are used in the international relations subfield and situates scenarios in the broader context of political science methods. The conclusion offers two detailed examples of the effective use of scenarios.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the question of when hostilities with armed groups operating across State borders may be classified as an armed conflict, thereby affecting how force may be used and what rules apply for detention.
Abstract: The law of armed conflict is structured around State-centric concepts of sovereignty and territory, and is designed for either inter-State conflicts or for purely internal armed conflicts. Today, conflicts such as the Israeli-Hezbollah war of 2006, the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan that has spilled over into Pakistan and the U.S. global armed conflict against Al Qaeda challenge this traditional State-centric structure of the law. As a result, there is considerable debate as to how such extraterritorial hostilities (i.e., those that cross State borders) should be characterized. This article focuses on the question of when hostilities with armed groups operating across State borders may be classified as an armed conflict, thereby affecting how force may be used and what rules apply for detention. Although the article concludes that extraterritorial conflicts may qualify as non-international armed conflicts, it suggests that to erase territorial boundaries from the equation entirely when establishing the existence of an armed conflict raises challenges to the structure of the law and some of its underlying purposes. In particular, the article discusses the obstacles in assessing the intensity requirement and identifying the parties to the conflict. The separate and contentious issue regarding the geographic boundaries of existing extraterritorial armed conflicts is also briefly examined.
TL;DR: Exceptionally high mortality rate of the 1918 influenza pandemic in the Brazilian naval fleet and Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses.
Abstract: Please cite this paper as: Schuck-Paim et al. (2012) Exceptionally high mortality rate of the 1918 influenza pandemic in the Brazilian naval fleet. Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-2659.2012.00341.x.
Background The naval experience with the 1918 pandemic during World War I remains underexplored despite its key role on the pandemic’s global diffusion and the epidemiological interest of isolated and relatively homogeneous populations. The pandemic outbreak in the Brazilian naval fleet is of particular interest both because of its severity and the fact that it was the only Latin American military force deployed to war.
Objectives To study the mortality patterns of the pandemic in the Brazilian fleet sent to patrol the West African coast in 1918.
Method We investigated mortality across vessels, ranks, and occupations based on official population and mortality records from the Brazilian Navy Archives.
Results The outbreak that swept this fleet included the highest influenza mortality rate on any naval ship reported to date. Nearly 10% of the crews died, with death rates reaching 13–14% on two destroyers. While overall mortality was lower for officers, stokers and engineer officers were significantly more likely to die from the pandemic, possibly due to the pulmonary damage from constant exposure to the smoke and coal dust from the boilers.
Conclusions The fatality patterns observed provide valuable data on the conditions that can exacerbate the impact of a pandemic. While the putative lack of exposure to a first pandemic wave may have played a role in the excessive mortality observed in this fleet, our results indicate that strenuous labor conditions, dehydration, and exposure to coal dust were major risk factors. The unequal death rates among vessels remain an open question.
TL;DR: The present study attempts to show the benefits of both cultural training and health care integration, and how adequately evaluating their efficacy has been problematic, and proposes that determinants of this efficacy are better documentation collection, extensive predeployment cultural awareness and sensitivity training, and extensive after-action reports for future development.
Abstract: Integration between traditional and contemporary health care in a host nation can be beneficial to nation- and capacity-building and, subsequently, to the overall health of the society. “Traditional” health care in this sense refers to the indigenous health care system in the host nation, which includes characteristic religious or cultural practices, whereas “contemporary” health care is also known as “conventional” or “Westernized”; integration is a synchronization of these two health care forms. However, the choice of integration depends on the political and cultural situation of the nation in which the Department of Defense health care personnel are intervening. Thus, cultural awareness training is essential to ensure the success of missions related to global health and in promoting a health care system that is most beneficial to the society. The present study attempts to show the benefits of both cultural training and health care integration, and how adequately evaluating their efficacy has be...
01 Jan 2013
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: The carefully choreographed attacks in Mumbai (India) in 2008, which killed more than 160 people, are an indicator of the persistence of terrorism as a threat in Asia as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The carefully choreographed attacks in Mumbai (India) in 2008, which killed more than 160 people, are an indicator of the persistence of terrorism as a threat in Asia. South Asia, in particular, is emerging as the global “center of gravity” for terrorism as the number of attacks continues to soar. Terrorism, defined broadly as violence committed for political ends, thrives in Asia’s “enabling environment,” both ideological and functional. Ideological enablers include unsettled political conflicts, sectarian grievances, or religious antagonism. Functional enablers include geography, porous borders, and the nexus to criminal activities. The crime–terror nexus is particularly salient as it provides not only a steady source of financial support but also the logistical foundations that can facilitate recruitment or actual attacks. Consequently, any effective response to terrorism in Asia must consider the totality of factors (ideological and functional) that sustain this violent phenomenon.
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TL;DR: The authors examine the legal justifications that might be offered to justify a US strike against Syria in response to its use of chemical weapons and suggest that only the last provides a colorable basis for attacking Syria.
Abstract: This article examine the various legal justifications that might be offered to justify a US strike against Syria in response to its use of chemical weapons. They include Security Council authorization, self-defense, collective defense, assistance to the "new" government, maintaining accountability for a violation of the prohibition on using chemical weapons, and humanitarian intervention. It suggest that only the last provides a colorable basis for attacking Syria.
TL;DR: In this article, a review of violent Sunni Islamist extremists (i.e., jihadist) terrorist attacks against the United States' homeland between 1990 and 2012 reveals specific spatial characteristics.
Abstract: Transnational terrorism in the age of globalization is often viewed as a diffuse phenomenon unbounded by geography A review of violent Sunni Islamist extremists (ie “jihadist”) terrorist attacks against the United States' homeland between 1990 and 2012, however, reveals specific spatial characteristics Indeed, there has been considerable geographical consistency in the loci of command and control, and target selection Different cell types also exhibit distinct geographical patterns and preferences posing different levels of threat across space Understanding the operational geography of transnational terrorist groups may hence increase the ability of governments to predict and assess risks and implement offensive and defensive strategies and countermeasures with greater precision and effectiveness
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors suggest that the doctrine of belligerency is not obsolete, but because of developments in international law and changes in realities on the ground, a number of aspects of the doctrine need to be revisited in order to clarify what the doctrine might look like in a post-World War II world.
Abstract: The doctrine of belligerency often came to the fore in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since this time it has rarely been used, leading many to claim that the concept has fallen into desuetude. Others maintain that the recognition of belligerency continues to be relevant today. Should the doctrine still have significance, it can contribute to providing more detailed protection for those involved in such conflicts. This article suggests that the doctrine of belligerency is not obsolete, but because of developments in international law and changes in realities on the ground, a number of aspects of the doctrine need to be revisited in order to clarify what the doctrine might look like in a post-World War II world. The concept as traditionally conceived must be adjusted for it to remain relevant.
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is emerging as a strategic zone of particular importance, one with tremendous economic potential but significant security challenges as mentioned in this paper, and is therefore being further developed by the US military as a regional hub.
Abstract: Systemic shifts are reorienting the world’s economic center of gravity to the Indo-Pacific. The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is emerging as a strategic zone of particular importance, one with tremendous economic potential but significant security challenges. Still the sole superpower, the US has a unique role to play in securing and maintaining the international system—including in the IOR—but requires a reliable network of overseas bases to do so, in a region that is not part of its traditional sphere of influence. The British island of Diego Garcia in the center of the Indian Ocean offers unique capabilities in this regard, and is therefore being further developed by the US military as a regional hub. Meanwhile, India and China are strengthening their presence in the IOR, without challenging US influence. India, which logically views the Indian Ocean as its geostrategic backyard, increasingly views American presence as a positive hedge against China. On the other hand, China’s interests and presence in the IOR are increasing, but enduring challenges closer to home are likely to limit the rate and extent of its transition to IOR power. While facing a changing world in which power diffusion increases the relative influence of such developing nations as China and India, the US is poised to retain a significant role as the foremost underwriter of security and systemic functions in the increasingly vital IOR. Central to such efforts is access to military facilities, with Diego Garcia set to play a disproportionately important role.
TL;DR: Gibraltar, at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, has played many roles in history as mentioned in this paper and British, Dutch, and Imperial forces captured the “Rock” in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession.
Abstract: Gibraltar, at the western entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, has played many roles in history. British, Dutch, and Imperial forces captured the “Rock” in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Successi...
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, a panel of distinguished retired US generals and admirals has concluded that the consequences of climate change are so significant that their effects on security need to be assessed.
Abstract: There is now general and widespread agreement among scientists that the Earth’s climate is changing and warming primarily due to human activities — particularly the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. According to the German Advisory Council on Global Change, “without resolute counteraction, a global increase in temperature of 2–7 degrees Celsius (°C) relative to pre-industrial levels can be expected by 2100”1, while greenhouse gases (GHGs) already released into the atmosphere will impact climate possibly for centuries to come. Despite this widespread agreement and increasingly robust evidence that global climate is changing, uncertainty remains over the extent of future temperature rise and other associated aspects of climate change, especially at regional scales.2 Nonetheless, the consequences of climate change are so significant that a panel of distinguished retired US generals and admirals has concluded that “prudence demands their effects on security need to be assessed”.3 Whatever the precise effects turn out to be, global climate change will profoundly shape the physical and human dynamics of Himalayan Asia’s freshwater crisis and transboundary river politics because climate is intertwined with every facet of the hydrological cycle. Geographer L. Allan James explains, “anthropogenic changes to the environment [such as climate change] often alter hydrologic processes that result in changes to water budgets, water quality, flood frequencies, soil erosion, sedimentation, and aquatic ecology.”4