3[20]/2006

 

Contents

THE POLITICAL-MILITARY PRESENT
The United Nations, in the global fight on terror - Mircea MUREŞAN, PhD
Leaders, charisma and transformation of the Romanian Armed Forces - Mihail ORZEAŢĂ, PhD

GEOPOLITICS AND GEOSTRATEGIES ON THE FUTURE’S TRAJECTORY
Contre l’opératique - Hervé COUTAU-BÉGARIE, PhD

European nations’ Navies facing the challenges of the 21st century - Krzysztof KUBIAK, PhD
The geopolitical and managerial impact in the financial crisis from the South East Asia - Ion PETRESCU, PhD
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline: geopolitical and geoeconomic implications in Central Asia and Caucasus - Gheorghe MINCULETE, PhD, Maria-Magdalena POPESCU, PhD

NATO AND EU: POLITICS, STRATEGIES, AND ACTIONS
Comprendre la transformation militaire de l’OTAN - Frank H.J. HYE
NATO policy towards the Wider Black Sea Area - a new transatlantic bargain? - Ioan CRĂCIUN, PhD
Les défis de l’intégration européenne - Petre DUŢU, PhD, Daniel PĂTRĂŞCOIU
The European Union policy on strengthening the environmental security - Vasile POPA

SECURITY AND MILITARY STRATEGY
Tactical battle groups - operational instruments of the European security strategy - Ion DRAGOMAN, PhD, Marius MILITARU
“Homeland Security” or the security of the space of interest - Alexandra SARCINSCHI

 

ANALYSIS. SYNTHESIS. EVALUATIONS
Consensus and disagreement on Iranian nuclear problem - Constantin-Gheorghe BALABAN, PhD

STRATEGIC EVENT
Romania’s National Security Strategy - a new European and Euro-Atlantic vision - Cristian BĂHNĂREANU

POINTS OF VIEW
The Russian-American nuclear diplomacy at the millenium crossroads - Iulia BĂDĂLUŢĂ

INFORMATIONAL SOCIETY. PEACE AND WAR
Les militaires sur le chemin de la paix - Jean DUFOURCQ
A new generation of military conflict technology - the fourth generation warfare - Sorin TOPOR, PhD

REVIEWS
Security and international law: challenges at the beginning of the XXIst century - A.S.

CDSSS’ AGENDA
The activities of the Centre for Defence and Security Strategic Studies, July-September 2006 - Irina CUCU

 

 

 

 

The United Nations, in the global fight on terror - Mircea MUREŞAN, PhD

The unprecedented terrorism worldwide expansion and its ongoing evolution impose a firm intensification of the international collaboration and cooperation, adopting a global fighting strategy against this serious threat on humankind. Therefore, states, international, regional, governmental, nongovernmental organizations, political, social, financial, cultural institutions, mass media should be actively and coherently involved. Both the experts and the politicians consider terrorism has become very fast a global issue requiring radical solutions, systematic and coherent actions, involving the whole international community. Even the new Romanian National Security Strategy speaks of the necessity of this involvement: “Terrorism can not be either ignored or tolerated. It can and it must be won by international solidarity and collective action”.

Leaders, charisma and transformation of the Romanian Armed Forces - Mihail ORZEAŢĂ, PhD

Leaders play a particular role in any field of activity and that is why transformation process should take it in, too. A leader’s charisma means more than an image because it generates the power that musters the followers’ desire for achieving the leader’s vision. Charisma has a dual nature because it is usually associated with power which sometimes corrupts and destroys the leaders. A leader with charisma but without integrity becomes a negative character. A successful leader is that one who “makes investments in the future”.

 

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Contre l’opératique - Hervé COUTAU-BÉGARIE, PhD

Au commencement était la tactique. Lorsque l’art de la guerre s’est véritablement transformé en science, au début de l’époque moderne, avec la substitution de la discipline militaire à l’héroïsme chevaleresque, le souci dominant était celui des ordres, des formations, en vue des combats. C’est cette discipline nouvelle qui s’est appelée tactique, par reprise d’un vocable grec transmis par les quelques auteurs anciens qui avaient survécu. Au XVIIIe siècle, cet art de la guerre devient plus complexe, du fait des progrès des armements et de la croissance des effectifs qui oblige à marcher divisés pour combattre réunis; le maniement de masses de plus en plus nombreuses exige une science des marches et des mouvements, ainsi qu’une conception d’ensemble plus subtile, dont la théorisation est esquissée dès les premières décennies du XVIIIe siècle. Le maréchal de Saxe parle, dans ses Rêveries, des „grandes parties de la guerre”, Napoléon des “hautes parties de la guerre”, Jomini et les auteurs du début du XIXe siècle imposeront un mot réinventé, dans Ies années 1770, par un auteur français aujourd’hui quelque peu oublié, Paul-Gédéon Joly de Maizeroy: la stratégie. L’art et la science de la guerre s’articuleront désormais autour du diptyquestratégie/tactique. Jomini avait suggéré une ligne de séparation simple qui sera reprise par la plupart des auteurs du XIXe siécle et de la première moitié du XXe siècle: stratégie avant et après le combat, tactique pendant le combat. La littérature stratégique étant pragmatique, ce critère contestable avait l’avantage décisif de la simplicité. En outre, il s’accordait parfaitement à l’environnement de l’époque, dominé par le modèle napoléonien centré (à tort ou a raison, ce n’est pas le problème) sur la recherche de la bataille décisive censée régler d’un coup le sort d’une campagne. Telle était la vulgate, c’est-à-dire ce qu’ont retenu la plupart des lecteurs et des praticiens. Les observateurs les plus avisés se doutaient bien que les choses n’étaient pas aussi simples. Jomini lui-même n’avait-il pas distingué des opérations mixtes, relevant à la fois de la tactique et de la stratégie? Dès les années 1820, le général Lamarque introduisait la notion, assez floue, de “bataille stratégique“ réunissant en un même ensemble plusieurs batailles ou combats livrés en des lieux ou des jours diffé, mais s’inscrivant dans une même séquence opérationnelle. Ce n’est qu’à la fin du XIXe siècle que la théorie s’est sérieusement attaquée à la question. Les auteurs allemands, après 1870, se sont mis à parler d’opérations. Cette idée va cheminer à travers les écrits d’un certain nombre de penseurs dont le recensement reste à faire. Il pourrait réserver quelques surprises: ainsi, alors que l’histoire de la pensée militaire, jusque dans ses travaux les plus récents, semble considérer que cette idée d’opérations est l’apanage des auteurs allemands et russes de la fin du XIXe siècle et du début du XXe siècle, on trouve une définition très nette et tout à fait moderne de la différence entre rupture tactique et rupture stratégique chez le général espagnol Eicardo Burguete, don le line La ciencia de la guerra est paru en 1917 c’est-à-dire une décennie avant les grands travaux des théoriciens soviétiques auxquels on attribue aujourd’hui le crédit de cette découverte.

 

European nations’ Navies facing the challenges of the 21st century - Krzysztof KUBIAK, PhD

The author presents the changes of the main tasks of the European navies after the end of the Cold War. He asserts the contemporary fleets are similar to the Victorians ones and they accomplish mainly expeditionary tasks. The most important factors which determined future naval environment are: significant dynamism of situation changes and wide scope of challenges requiring flexibility of forces, littorality – focus on coastal (littoral) waters, expeditionary capability, asymmetricity, jointness, network centricity. The author states that fleets are the very effective tools of international policy, but they lost their ability to single-handed operations. The fleets have become the part of great joint, combine system which is able to utilize the synergy effect.

 

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The geopolitical and managerial impact in the financial crisis from the South East Asia - Ion PETRESCU, PhD

For a long time and everywhere, the economic and social life, work, politics and military life have been influenced by the world crisis, the market crisis, the job crisis, the crisis inside the government, the geopolitical crisis, the financial crisis, etc. Crises accompany us, mark us, form us, offer us models and symbols, and control us. In the geopolitical and managerial register, too, the crisis is attached to the events or to the economic, social and political events and episodes that are unusual but tend to become habitual with consequences that vary on the scale of situational aggressiveness. The financial crisis from the South East Asia has not passed unnoticed. Its violence made it obvious in the eyes of witnesses and mainly in the eyes of those who felt it.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline: geopolitical and geoeconomic implications in Central Asia and Caucasus - Gheorghe MINCULETE, PhD, Maria-Magdalena POPESCU, PhD

It was May, 25th, 2005 when a crucial event for the beginning of the 21st century occurred in Baku: the opening of the gigantic American pipeline, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan, whose political construction had started more than ten years before. The great event - with even greater implications geopolitically speaking - passed almost silently within media. The reason is that the building and opening of this pipeline was not meant to be connected to the US military presence within the Central Asia and Caucasus, once under the USSR influence.

 

Comprendre la transformation militaire de l’OTAN - Frank H.J. HYE

Pour que la transformation de l’OTAN soit menée à bien, il est indispensable d’avoir, dans toute l’Alliance, une compréhension partagée des principes qui sous-tendent la transformation. Il nous faut comprendre pourquoi l’OTAN doit se transformer, quels domaines cette transformation abordera et comment on procèdera à cette transformation. Dans ce processus de compréhension, Allied Command Transformation (ACT) joue un rôle fondamental.

 

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NATO policy towards the Wider Black Sea Area - a new transatlantic bargain? - Ioan CRĂCIUN, PhD

The end of the Cold War marked the end of the Europe division. This fact has not only transformed East-West relations, but it has also affected the transatlantic partnership. Europe is now broader and the US ambitions are now different. Thus, if the transatlantic relationship is to remain healthy, a new bargain must reflect the new reality, including a united Europe working together with US in managing challenges in and outside Europe. This new bargain has to include Central and Eastern Europe in defining a common strategic purpose centred on meeting the major strategic challenges of the day. In this context, Romania wants to play an active role in strengthening the transatlantic link by offering the power of example, influencing through its generosity and acting with wisdom.

Les défis de l’intégration européenne - Petre DUŢU, PhD, Daniel PĂTRĂŞCOIU

L’intégration européenne, phénomène complexe, de durée et multidimensionnelle, génère des défis, d’une part, et elle doit faire face aux défis mondiaux, d’autre part. La qualité et la promptitude des réponses données par le décident à ces défis faciliterons l’intégration et augmenterons l’influence de l’Union européenne dans la région et le monde.

The European Union policy on strengthening the environmental security - Vasile POPA

The EU’s involvement in the environmental security problematic starts from the attentive study of the globalization-security report which shows a long ignorance for the environment’s security element, motivated, obviously, by the economic implications and responsibilities which arise from the surrounding environment damage and hence the individual and communities affection by the wide process of globalization. At Barry Buzan’s work we find out an explicit recognition of the environmental factor as a major sector, from the security perimeter, affected by the globalization. This underlines that the human collectivities security is endangered by five major sectors: military, political, economic, societal and environmental. In the environmental security is involved the local and global biosphere’s stage as an essential support from which depends the other human activities. The five sectors operate, Buzan stated, interconnected through a complex network of links1. In this „the most complex theoretical analysis of the security concept”, as Ken Both appreciated it, in 199 1, the author outlines marks which will be extended in the Copenhagen School papers and even into the NATO Conception, which, at the Rome Summit, from the same year, accepts the existence of the five security dimensions including the environmental one. The new development also sets out the more correct perspective of security. The securization of the non-military aspects is so important that it deserves profound approaches2. Among them, the environmental securization remains the newest, but also the gravest problem among the ones aroused by the globalization, whose EU reserves a special attention.

 

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Tactical battle groups - operational instruments of the European security strategy - Ion DRAGOMAN, PhD, Marius MILITARU

After the success of Artemis Operation, that took place in the Republic of Congo in 2003, France, Germany and Great Britain have proposed the building up of battle groups, consisting of 1,500 military, that could be deployed rapidly, in order to improve the capacity of rapid reaction and the autonomy of the European Union. This initiative permitted a new orientation of the global objective for 2010. The concept of Combat groups, developed separately by the above mentioned countries, would be adopted lately by the whole Union. 2005-2006 was an important moment, when EU was able to produce a battle group with a coherent tactics, able to take over an operation of such dimensions. The total operational capacity will be attained in 2007, when EU will be able to undertake more operations of rapid reaction that will be endowed with a force equal o that of a tactic group.

“Homeland Security” or the security of the space of interest - Alexandra SARCINSCHI

The concept of “Homeland Security” is subjected to debates. The strict translation into Romanian does not illustrate the entire definition established by the American scholars. That is why we need to carefully analyze the existing theories in order to be able to juxtapose a Romanian one.

Consensus and disagreement on Iranian nuclear problem - Constantin-Gheorghe BALABAN, PhD

The United States and the allied European powers, together with Russia and China, consider that Iran should suspend the nuclear program and to come back to the table of negotiations. Despite Iran has stated its nuclear program is meant for peaceful purposes, Nicholas Burns, the US Deputy State Secretary re-asserted on the 18th of January 2006, in the first part of his Asian tour, the US request to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send the Iranian nuclear file to UN Security Council after the seal on the main Iranian nuclear centres has been removed. After the United States and European Union announced they will send the file to Security Council, Russia and China – countries with the status of a permanent member of the Security Council, having the right to vote – were against this decision. In their turn, the Iranians say sending the file to Security Council is not positive at all and will represent the end of the diplomatic relations; the Iranian Government will be obliged to suspend all “the voluntary measures, including the industrial enrichment”.

 

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Romania’s National Security Strategy - a new European and Euro-Atlantic vision - Cristian BĂHNĂREANU

ational Defence adopted the New Romania’s National Security Strategy, a paper for the European and Euro-Atlantic Romania, for a better life in a democratic country, safer and more prosperous. According to the Romania’s Constitution, the Strategy will be presented by the President in Parliament.

The Russian-American nuclear diplomacy at the millenium crossroads - Iulia BĂDĂLUŢĂ

On January 1, 1992, USSR disappeared as an international actor. At the same time, the four decades of Cold War ended. It was clear then, at the beginning of the nineties, that the rivalry between USA-USSR would not be prevalent anymore on the world political scene. Less clear, though, was the future development of the new international relations system and the way the relation between the two major actors would evolve.

Les militaires sur le chemin de la paix - Jean DUFOURCQ

Comment accepter l’autre dans sa différence? Comment faire en sorte que l’altérité ne soit pas belligène? C’est une sourate du Coran qui rappelle que „   si Dieu l’avait voulu il aurait fait de nous une seule communauté”. Dès lors comment assumer la responsabilité qui revient à tous de bâtir un monde de paix, un monde fondé sur la vérité et la justice? On peut dresser la longue liste de tous les „faiseurs de paix” à l’oeuvre aujourd’hui dans nos sociétés occidentales: ceux qui s’adonnent avec humanité aux souffrants et aux victimes; ceux qui empruntent les chemins des cultures qui s’entremêlent pour les apprivoiser et apaiser leurs interférences; ceux qui explorent les voies des philosophies pour dégager des horizons d’espérance universelle; ceux qui cheminent sur les routes des religions, qui ouvrent aux hommes des fenêtres sur le spirituel et créent les liens sacrés entre eux; ceux qui apprivoisent les voies et moyens de l’économie pour satisfaire les besoins vitaux des hommes et réduire les tensions humaines; et enfin ceux qui cheminent sur les voies des engagements politiques pour essayer de garantir à leurs concitoyens paix et sécurité dans une planète plus équitable. Si tous nous rappellent que le désir de paix est au coeur de l’homme, beaucoup relèvent que c’est l’homme dans son altérité, dans sa différence, qui est le premier ennemi de l’homme, et que la différence crée trop souvent l’adversité.

A new generation of military conflict technology - the fourth generation warfare - Sorin TOPOR, PhD

The new wave of technological revolution as a whole has induced a new phenomenon in the military field, phenomenon represented by the implementation of the electronics and cybernetics latest methods and techniques leading to the military equipment miniaturization and adapting the latest discoveries in Maths, Physics, Chemistry and other scientific top fields to the battlefield contemporary demands. That’s why within military scientific environment the study of contemporary military conflict has always generated numerous debates about the concepts, forms and future of military conflicts.

 

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