Digital Age Security Threats: Challenges to IR Theories

The significance of information and communication technology (ICT) has been widely felt not only within a state but also among and between the states in their multifarious day-to-day interactions. Information and communication technology can be rightly said as constituting the nerve center of, both, domestic and International politics. These have become guiding metaphor for domestic and International politics to maintain stability and political order, provide peace and security and protect people from natural catastrophes. Sovereign state systems are no longer impregnable, sacrosanct; the unhindered flow of information and the revolutionary exposure of the people irrespective of which state, security or culture they belong to, to the very sinews of information, have made the entire world a melting pot of the absoluteness and arbitrariness of states. Earlier, issues confined to the boundary of the state or states have turned out to be global and mustered support from all sections, countries, nations and culture of the world. A new kind of threat from information and communication technologies seems to affect the states. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.336703

Military Diplomacy: An Appraisal in the Indian Context

Defence Diplomacy is an integral part of foreign policy and state security, it helps in increasing military cooperation between thecountries and strengthening relations between the states. India’s growing global outreach and vibrancy of its foreign policy can begauged by the fact that it has made substantial efforts in defence and security cooperation, however, India’s defence diplomacy effortsdo not commensurate to its rising global status, since all tools of defence diplomacy have not been used optimally. In this context, thepaper argues for the need to revisit and formulate a strategy that is aligned with India’s foreign policy. It is because defence diplomacy is vital for a state to not only ensure its stable and strong international position but is also significant in shaping a structured and functional security policy

Transportation, Terrorism and Crime: Deterrence, Disruption and Resilience

Abstract: Terrorists likely have adopted vehicle ramming as a tactic because it can be carried out by an individual (or “lone wolf terrorist”), and because the skills required are minimal (e.g. the ability to drive a car and determine locations for creating maximum carnage). Studies of terrorist activities against transportation assets have been conducted to help law enforcement agencies prepare their communities, create mitigation measures, conduct effective surveillance and respond quickly to attacks. This study reviews current research on terrorist tactics against transportation assets, with an emphasis on vehicle ramming attacks. It evaluates some of the current attack strategies, and the possible mitigation or response tactics that may be effective in deterring attacks or saving lives in the event of an attack. It includes case studies that can be used as educational tools for understanding terrorist methodologies, as well as ordinary emergencies that might become a terrorist’s blueprint

Tokyo, anti-disaster city

[EN] In Tokyo, the shadow of earthquakes and their devastating fires has hovered over the city since its founding, but it has become darker since the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923 and longer since the American bombings during the Second World War. For this powerful reason, the creation of a safe city prevails as the vital key of the city's construction. In this article, the urban mechanisms, which impose a slow transformation process of the city, used to fight against the urban vulnerability are studied aiming to keep its almost ten million inhabitants out of harm’s way. The methodology used consists of a scaling analysis of the city from top to bottom. From a wide view of the city of Tokyo, the study descends to Setagaya City and finally approaches Taishido District, last step of the urban project. This article is a summary of nine short texts and an epilogue which, along with their respective ten graphic documents, build the body of research. Thus, the readers are faced with a graphic essay made up of short chapters which will immerse them in the devastating events of the urban past of Tokyo and will shed light on a promising future.[ES] En Tokio la sombra de los terremotos y sus devastadores incendios ha sobrevolado la ciudad desde su fundación, pero la sombra se ha hecho más oscura desde el Gran Terremoto de Kanto en 1923 y más alargada desde los bombardeos del ejército norteamericano en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Por esta poderosa razón, la creación de una ciudad segura se impone como la clave fundamental de la construcción de la ciudad. En este artículo se estudian los mecanismos urbanos utilizados para luchar contra la vulnerabilidad urbana, los cuales imponen un lento proceso de transformación de la ciudad, con el objetivo de poner a salvo sus cerca de 10 millones de habitantes cuando se produzca el próximo terremoto. La metodología utilizada consiste en un análisis escalar de la ciudad en sentido descendente. Desde una visión amplia de la Ciudad de Tokio la investigación desciende hasta el Barrio de Setagaya y finalmente se aproxima al Distrito de Taishido, último escalón del proyecto urbano. El artículo es un compendio de nueve textos cortos y un epílogo, que junto a sus respectivos diez documentos gráficos, construyen el corpus de la investigación. El lector pues se enfrenta a un ensayo gráfico formado por pequeños capítulos que le sumergirán en los devastadores episodios del pasado urbano de la Ciudad de Tokio y le alumbrarán sobre un esperanzador futuro.Durán Fernández, J.; Romera Giner, JP. (2018). Tokio, ciudad anti-desastre. EN BLANCO. Revista de Arquitectura. 10(24):115-122. doi:10.4995/eb.2018.8004SWORD1151221024Lerner, Jaime. Acupuntura urbana. Barcelona: I.D'arquitectura, Av. Catalunya, 2011.Sorensen, André. The making of urban Japan. Cities and planning from Edo to the twenty-first century. New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey. Urban Area Division. Effects of air attack on urban complex Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama. Documento perteneciente a Boston Public Library. Internet Archives.Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Planning of Tokyo 1985. Tokyo: TMG, 1985.Tokyo Metropolitan Government. Tokyo Vision 2020. Driving change in Japan. Showing our best to the world. Tokyo: TMG, 2011

Armed violence and poverty in El Salvador: a mini case study for the Armed Violence and Poverty Initiative

YesThis report on El Salvador is one of 13 case studies (all of the case studies can be found at www.bradford.ac.uk/cics). This research draws upon secondary data sources including existing research studies, reports and evaluations commissioned by operational agencies, and early warning and survey data where this has been available. These secondary sources have been complemented by interviews with government officers, aid policymakers and practitioners, researchers and members of the local population. The analysis and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views or policy of DFID or the UK government

Critical data source; Tool or even infrastructure? Challenges of geographic information systems and remote sensing for disaster risk governance

Disaster risk information is spatial in nature and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) play an important key role by the services they provide to society. In this context, to risk management and governance, in general, and to civil protection, specifically (termed differently in many countries, and includes, for instance: civil contingencies in the UK, homeland security in the USA, disaster risk reduction at the UN level). The main impetus of this article is to summarize key contributions and challenges in utilizing and accepting GIS and RS methods and data for disaster risk governance, which includes public bodies, but also risk managers in industry and practitioners in search and rescue organizations. The article analyzes certain method developments, such as vulnerability indicators, crowdsourcing, and emerging concepts, such as Volunteered Geographic Information, but also investigates the potential of the topic Critical Infrastructure as it could be applied on spatial assets and GIS and RS itself. Intended to stimulate research on new and emerging fields, this article's main contribution is to move spatial research toward a more reflective stance where opportunities and challenges are equally and transparently addressed in order to gain more scientific quality. As a conclusion, GIS and RS can play a pivotal role not just in delivering data but also in connecting and analyzing data in a more integrative, holistic way

The effects of the 2004 Tsunami on mainland India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Mortality from the tsunamis was high, with more than 7,000 deaths in the Nicobar group alone (the final number may never be known as many indigenous people on remote islands may have perished). On the mainland, there were a similar number of fatalities ; The greatest losses were in fishing communities although the waves destroyed roads, jetties, other basic infrastructure and entire villages; There was major damage to the coastal resources of southeast India, particularly to mangrove and coastal forests. On the Andaman and Nicobar Islands there was considerable damage to the coral reefs and beaches, as well as the forests; The earthquakes changed the bathymetry of the coral reefs and coasts of the Andaman and Nicobars: reefs in the South Andamans to the Nicobars subsided by 1 - 3 metres; many reefs in the northern Andamans were uplifted out of the water and died; and some beaches have almost disappeared, while new beaches have formed; There was major damage to large areas of coral reefs of the Andamans and Nicobars, particularly due to debris being washed off the land and smothering by sediments; Mainland coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar and elsewhere suffered very minor, localised damage. Many mainland beaches were seriously eroded; and The affected reefs are expected to recover within 5-10 years, if there is effective resource management and enforcement of legislation controlling destructive fishing, coral mining, over-harvesting of reef resources, coastal development, sedimentation and pollution