After the Cold War, European countries, in both East and West, faced the same question, namely how their military organizations and those of their neighbors would respond to changes in international relationships, to their perceptions of the threats (whether regional or global) and to the control of security among nations. Faced with this new reality, their processes of change were inevitably influenced by a new conception of roles framed in cooperation and, even more so, in integration. These new demands made it imperative, in view of such processes, to obtain a degree of acceptable "interoperability" among their armed forces. In a regional context of differing alliances, our American region and specifically its armed forces has increasingly transitioned into specific activities of cooperation, particularly into integrating multinational forces for Peacekeeping Missions (e.g. MINUSTAH in Haiti), in which the "interoperability" factor has played an key role with regard to its employment and the degree of achievement of the mission. This article seeks to highlight, from an objective academic point of view, the importance of such capacities in an atmosphere of cooperation and integration among armed forces.
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In Latin America, where limited probabilities of international conflict are envisioned, the Armed Forces in democratic countries perform multiple tasks. This paper analyzes four of these tasks, leaving aside the traditional mobilization in the event of natural catastrophes: the fight against drug trafficking; the fight against insurgent organizations and terrorism; control of land conflicts; and the protection of government property. When we understand this multiplicity of tasks, we understand that it is essential to keep in mind the complexity of factors that impact on, and interact in, each particular national case. These factors are of a political, historical, geographical and cultural nature, and can be both structural and situational. Ignoring this heterogeneity and adopting positions in standard terms of what "should be" in this area would mean relying on erroneous assumptions and standards.
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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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This paper discusses the enrollment of women and homosexuals in the Armed Forces of South American and NATO countries. There are discrepancies in the discussion of this issue in both groups of countries. It seems to be easier for the military to deal with the enrollment of women than to accept the enrollment of homosexuals. The paper conducts a detailed analysis of the development of this issue in Brazil, because this is the country where the writer of this paper has the larger bulk of information and the one that, militarily speaking, is the most important in South America. This is a preliminary study, and some data are lacking, precisely due to the fact that there has not been a widespread academic debate on the issue at hand. However, the purpose of this paper is to encourage discussion, to disseminate previously collected information and to present a number of possible viewpoints.
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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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