The world is perplexed at the changes that are inexorably and definitively altering the way it operates. This is partially revealed in the technological progress achieved in the last fifteen years. But the change is not only technological; it is also human, and we believe that therein lies part of the solution. The speed at which this change has occurred and will continue to occur is the fundamental feature of the process we are experiencing and will put most, if not all, existing paradigms to the test. It is therefore worthwhile to ask ourselves what will motivate the leaders of these organizations to recognize the existence of change as an increasingly widespread cultural phenomenon, to embrace its philosophy and promote the appropriate changes to align themselves with reality. The final result would be forces designed with a high degree of interoperability, able to interact with other forces on a regional level. Modernization, transformation, both or neither? A conceptual approach to this fascinating topic will allow us to clarify ideas, to ultimately ensure that interoperability is not the problem; it is simply part of the solution.
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The process of legislative approval of the Inter-American Convention against Terrorism has provided an interesting opportunity for reflection on some aspects of the international legal framework for fighting terrorism. In this essay, the author reviews some of the principal requirements in the international struggle against terrorism beginning on September 11, 2001, in light of Costa Rica's criminal legislation. The author also analyzes specific topics that have also been the subject of debate in other countries and international forums, such as the lack of a universal definition of "terrorism."
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This article traces the rise of small arms and light weapons control into the international agenda. It contends that a norm building process happened throughout the 1990s focusing on creating standards and measures seeking to curb the unrestricted availability of small arms worldwide, especially their illicit small arms trafficking, in all aspects. This articles also points to a change in the arms control paradigm: from one that did not pay attention to small arms as a separate subject of arms control to a new one where small arms became a subject of importance in the international security agenda. In these processes, the author unveils who were the most important actors in the complex and multi-layered process of placing a new subject in the spotlight of international action. It finishes by describing the legal and political framework existent at the disposal of states and non-governmental organizations, i.e. treaties, conventions, and programs for research and action on small arms control.
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The article was written by one of the individuals directly involved in drawing up the 1995 Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America and in its enforcement, who was a main player in the historic circumstances that led to this treaty. The article is primarily intended to show the contribution made by this ambitious instrument to the new multidimensional model of hemispheric security that the Organization of American States (OAS) has been developing and which was successfully expressed in the OAS Special Conference on Security, held in Mexico City, Mexico on October 27-28, 2003, where this contribution made by Central America was widely recognized.
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A key concept that countries have tried to push forward is that related to the establishment of a set of Defense principles that enable society to understand, support and commit to its needs and goals in defense matters. In the past few years, the traditional gap between the military and civil society grew substantially wider due to the fact that most western nations embarked in a process leading to professional armed forces. Social marketing models that were successfully applied to advance other social causes are extremely useful to raise awareness as to national defense matters and to create a set of international defense principles, a group of values, beliefs, identities, institutions and procedures that support regional Security and Defense policies. This paper examines the potential of social marketing as a catalyst that may be used to disseminate, foster and bring about changes related to the abovementioned set of defense principles, the main stages of their planning process and the basic design elements of such set of principles, as well as the communication strategy to be applied and the contents thereof.
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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the principles that underlie the creation of an Inter-American System for Cooperation in Security and Defense Matters that would be utilized to respond to the new threats facing the hemisphere. The paper reviews the theoretical background of international regulations and of the Rio Treaty with a view to determining whether there is a current Inter-American system for cooperation in defense-related matters, or whether there is no such system and efforts need to be made in order to create it.
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This article provides a general introduction for the so-called intelligence activities. Intelligence means the collection, analysis and dissemination of information needed by policy makers and decision takers. But it does not include all kinds of information or data in general, since intelligence is part of a conflict dealing with denial of knowledge and secrets. The unique methods, procedures, technologies and techniques of intelligence make it more relevant in some fields than others. National defense, foreign policy and law enforcement are the main users of intelligence. The article also addresses the tensions between intelligence and democracy and the expected impacts of the intelligence in peace and war.
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This article seeks to identify the attitudes that the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the United States and Mexico have adopted toward the redefinition of the concept, and of the institutions of hemispheric security that are being developed in the Hemispheric Security Commission (HSC) of the Organization of American States (OAS). Based on the documents from the April 20-21, 1999, and March 20-21, 2000, sessions of the HSC, the article established the positions of these countries regarding five questions: their evaluation of the current state of security in the Americas; those phenomenon that each country considers to be a so-called "new threat," or "non-traditional threat" to hemispheric security; the proposals the countries make about the conceptualization of inter-american security; the evaluation and proposals of reform of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance and the Inter-American Defense Board; and, the role that each country believes the OAS - specifically the HSC - in the process of redefining the Inter-American security system. Finally, the agreements and disagreements between these countries on these issues are analyzed.
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The article discusses the concept of national security and the problems generated by the political tensions between individual security and state security in the contemporary world. Even recognizing that the modern state is simultaneously a source of threats as well as a source of security to individuals, it seems that the very nature of the international system and national societies renders collective security incompatible with individual welfare. This requires us to live as best as we can with the inherent tensions of the concept of national security. To demonstrate that these tensions are real political problems and not just semantics, the article analyses the liberal tendency?based on legal positivism?to legally define situations in which governments could allege reasons of national security, as well as more recent tendencies to substitute the concept of national security with the notion of individual security. In conclusion, I provisionally adopt the perspective of the "theory of security complexes" as an alternative to the authoritarian, liberal and post-modern positions in the analysis of security matters.
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