The explicit objective of this work is to make some contributions toward assessing the current situation, and taking a look at the future, of the MERCOSUR, with regard to Defense, based on an historical-theoretical and practical development, starting from the premise that shows that the strengthening of cooperative action, with a view toward developing an integrated Defense system in the region, would be the most appropriate response to the challenges that have been posed in the field of International Security.
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This text analyzes the positive impact of force design methodology on Brazilian Navy planning process. It presents the lack of force design as the current major weakness of the Brazilian national defense. It centers its analysis in the Brazilian Navy, considering its loss of effectiveness and the probable decrease in budgetary resources in the near future. It also defines the so-called force design environment, which is marked by legality, legitimacy and transparency, and identifies force design as an essential tool for national defense budgetary planning, relating its non-existence to a low rate of efficacy and efficiency in public resources management. The text relates force design to the issue of interoperability and confirms that force design is of paramount importance to provide a link between political decisions and execution in the area of national defense. In conclusion, it confirms that implementing force design methodology deserves a high priority in the Brazilian national defense policy.
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This paper covers a part of the post-doctoral research conducted by the author at UNESP-Franca in 2005. It is an analytical comparison between the military-naval education models developed in Brazil and Argentina within the context of the post-authoritarian regimes that are current nowadays. Also, two main aspects regarding professional training in both countries is dealt with within the context of any regional cooperation agreements and the Mercosur.
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This article deals with the significant role technological innovations play in the strengthening of Brazil's military capabilities, based on the qualitative nature of modern warfare, and any security issues that the nation faces in early 21st Century. Thus, it reviews the phenomenon that many authors call the RAM (Revolution in Military Affairs) of the nineties, resulting from the IT process of the combat means. But any political implications are more relevant than any mere operational issues of this RAM, to the extent that it provides a cost reduction for the nations that are at the forefront of the interventionism as an instrument of international action. However, it has also generated vulnerabilities, and improved the involvement of non-governmental protagonists in armed conflicts. Based on these verifications, the article seeks to show the consequences of this new geo-strategic scheme for Brazil and, using any plausible threats for the country as criteria, it intends to discriminate any items of the present RAM that need to be incorporated into the Armed Forces structure, based on the premise that any economic reactivation of the national warfare industry is a required condition to channel any significant investment to P&D military efforts. Thus, the article seeks to find out which are the variables that interfere with the problem to design a strategy to facilitate, with any limited resources available, an adequate solution to sort any hurdles for streamlining the Armed Forces.
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The purpose of this article is to study the threat perception process from a theoretical point of view. Using a philosophy-based, preparatory approach that provides the means for subsequent discussion, we will study the phenomenon of threat perception, prioritizing the data on the decision process formulated by political science and international relations. In this setting, threats can be perceived in different ways by the State bureaucracy because there are various factors influencing the process, including people's education, constitutional and legal systems, bureaucratic clashes and the quantity and quality of information. Consequently, the purpose of this article is to analyze the subject of threats from the classical perspective of national defense studies, but including in the debate contributions from economic and environmental studies related to the subject of international security, seeking conclusions about how much they favor the formation of defense policy and regional cooperation.
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South America, and the Andean region in particular, do not constitute a military or economic threat to the United States, but they are a potential setting for a pax Mafiosa, a tendency toward chaos and disorder. The process taking place in the Andean region is characterized by unstable states (Bolivia, Ecuador), seriously damaged sovereign states (Colombia), damaged democratic regimes (Venezuela) and higher levels of militarization (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru). In addition to inter-state tensions (Venezuela-Colombia, Chile-Bolivia) there are growing transnational security situations (drug trafficking, money-laundering and guerrilla warfare) and social conflicts that arise not only from economic but from identity factors as well. At this juncture, we should reflect on the possibility that Argentina, Brazil in particular and the region in general may find in this list of challenges to citizen and to national security a true opportunity for a converging of viewpoints and a development of policies to endow MERCOSUR with greater substance and identity in political and security matters.
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Historically, Brazil's legislature has displayed outright disdain in addressing issues relating to national defense. The prerogatives that the new (1988) Constitution confers upon this important segment of the political system have not been fully utilized. The purpose of the present work is to establish how the Brazilian legislative process functions in the post-authoritarianism period within the broad field of security and defense. It compares the impacts of the recent establishment of the Ministry of Defense in Brazil (1999) and of the events of September 11, 2001, in order to analyze issues related to security and defense in our nation. It especially considers Parliament because, as a pluralist and representative entity, we believe that it functions as a synthesis of the nation with respect to society's attention to the topics of security and defense and to its armed forces. In the early 21st century, as we will stress throughout the article, there appear to exist new elements aimed at the social and institutional appreciation of this important field in Brazil, which could result in the maturation and intensification of our young democracy.
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This work is limited to South America. Its purpose is to demonstrate that the proliferation of small arms widely promotes asymmetrical threats, also called new threats. It initially addresses the present world situation, which is considered to include the concepts of globalization and transnationalization, taking the events of September 11, 2001 as a fundamental milestone. It then analyzes the concept of threat as it affects international security; the need to extend the strict application of the concept of defense to that of national security; the meaning of protection, of asymmetry and related concepts; and the involvement of small arms, particularly illegal ones. It analyzes the interrelationship between asymmetrical threats on the basis of leading cases in this issue. Colombia and its "gray areas" is one case considered and the work goes on to address the relationship between these threats and small weapons. It includes an analysis of the concepts of arms, a combined look at the evolution of the international situation in small arms, their illegal trade and leading cases in the link between new threats and weapons in Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia. The work closes with partial conclusions concerning the State's position with regard to small arms and asymmetrical threats and offers a general, broad conclusion on the issue, confirming the stated objective.
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This paper intends to provide an understanding of the Brazilian involvement in the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). To that end, it discusses and reviews, based on public information sources, the Brazilian decision to approve, participate and lead the MINUSTAH task force; describes the political path actually followed for achieving an effective decision-making implementation, emphasizing some controversial issues that were submitted to the National Congress for consideration; and some of the mission’s internal goals are also discussed, with emphasis on certain controversial issues. Some of the conclusions are not in tune with what is usually believed and interpreted in Brazil by the general public: for instance, an existing link, as far as MINUSTAH is concerned, between the more visible Brazilian political goals and any other long-term economic goals; the likelihood of the Brazilian decision altering the country's foreign policy nature, and therefore, facing more resistance in the National Congress for any government decisions; and having a Group of Marines (Fuzileiros Navais) attached to an Army Commander is also identified as a significant innovation in Brazilian military operations.
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