A 2-Categorical Analysis of the Tripos-to-Topos Construction

We characterize the tripos-to-topos construction of Hyland, Johnstone and Pitts as a biadjunction in a bicategory enriched category of equipment-like structures. These abstract concepts are necessary to handle the presence of oplax constructs --- the construction is only oplax functorial on certain classes of cartesian functors between triposes. A by-product of our analysis is the decomposition of the tripos-to-topos construction into two steps, the intermediate step being a weakened version of quasitoposes

Resilience and Resistance 2.0: initial lessons of Ukraine and the implications of resilience and resistance efforts to deter and respond to invasion and occupation by revisionist powers

Civil-defence resilience capacities focus on man-made threats to national security. While terror attacks like 9/11 drove civil-defence efforts throughout the 2000s, the Russian invasion of portions of Ukraine in 2014 forced nations to build resilience against new threats. These included covert grey-zone and disinformation operations. Additionally, the 2014 events forced nations bordering or within the sphere of influence of revisionist nations to begin to prepare for possible invasion and occupation. Recognition of these threats resulted in two multinational doctrinal concepts that set the stage for what is collectively referred to as resilience and resistance (R&R). Resilience is the efforts by a nation prior to a conflict to build pre-crisis capacity to resist a host of threats, including invasion and occupation, in hopes of deterring threat actions. If deterrence fails, then the efforts transition into resistance to invasion and occupation. The Russian 2022 invasion of Ukraine demonstrated the need for R&R and the strengths and weaknesses of national resistance in action. This event is a strategic R&R inflection point. Nations developing R&R should reflect on and apply the lessons learned from Ukraine’s efforts and ultimately establish R&R 2.0 as an irregular deterrent on par and mutually supporting conventional and nuclear deterrents

Deterring Malicious Behavior in Cyberspace

Recent incidents reveal cyberattacks are being employed and honed in a systematic, coordinated fashion to achieve the objectives of malicious actors. Deterrence of the wide array of actors in cyberspace is difficult, since deterrence has to work in the mind of the attacker. Each attacker will weigh the effort of the attack against the expected benefit under their own criteria or rationality. This article analyzes whether the contemporary and complementary deterrence strategies of retaliation, denial, and entanglement are sufficient to deter malicious cyber actors or if the alternative of active cyberdefense is necessary and viable

Cyber Attacks: Proportionality and Precautions in Attack

Malicious cyber activities are becoming more and more commonplace, including between nations. This has caused great speculation as to the rules that govern military cyber operations, particularly during armed conflict. The upcoming publication of the Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Warfare is indicative of the importance of this discussion. This article analyzes the application of the law of armed conflict principles of proportionality and precautions to cyber operations, including reference to the Tallinn Manual. In most cases, the existing law provides a clear paradigm to govern cyber activities. However, this article identifies several areas where governments and military operators might question how to apply these principles to a specific cyber operation. In these areas, greater precision is needed to provide clear guidance to those who plan, order, and conduct cyber operations

LEVERAGING INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA IN THE MEXICAN NAVY’S PUBLIC SECURITY MISSION

When Mexican President López Obrador took office in 2018, he vowed to save the country from violence and corruption. His strategy involves creating a National Guard to fight violence and gradually withdrawing military forces from the cities. However, during its first five years, this force will be formed and trained by the military police of the Mexican Army and Navy. As other countries have leveraged technology and big data in their intelligence-led policing efforts, these tools have the potential to help the Mexican Navy in its mission to restore public security in the country and fight drug-trafficking networks. This thesis poses the question of how the Mexican Navy can implement intelligence-led security methodologies to increase the effectiveness of operations against organized crime and reduce levels of violence in the country. In applying the concepts of action research and contextual analysis of the essential issues manifest in Mexico’s security policy, this thesis examines the existing legal frameworks, policies, and decision-making processes to propose a new methodology to capitalize on the Navy’s strengths and opportunities while mitigating its threats and weaknesses. The thesis concludes with recommendations for Mexico to improve its intelligence-sharing platform using technological solutions and big data.Teniente de Fragata, Mexican NavyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Irregular Competition: Contemporary Lessons Learned and Implications for the Future

Irregular Competition is defined in this study as “State and non-state actors proactively engaging in activities to influence populations and affect legitimacy during times of peace, competition, and conflict.” The research question asked by this study is “Derived from contemporary case study lessons learned, what are the implications for the future of Irregular Competition in support of greater US national security objectives?” In answering the research question, Hans Morgenthau’s Realist Theory of International Politics was applied, although other aspects of realism and theories of international relations theory were considered. The rationale for this study is that despite a general reprioritization toward conventional concerns espoused in current US national security strategy documents, America’s state and non-state adversaries continue to operate globally with malign intent through unconventional methods. This qualitative, inductive, grounded-theory research centers on the linear-analysis of three cases: US Irregular Competition activities to undermine the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, 1979-1989; US Irregular Competition activities directed toward Iran, 2001-2021; Chinese Irregular Competition against the Philippines, 2012-2021. A summary of case study lessons learned as well as theoretical, practical, and empirical implications for the future are presented. The three primary academic contributions of this research to the body of knowledge on this subject are: (1) A new definition of Irregular Competition is provided along with an explanation for its need (2) Analysis of whether a distinct, Chinese, International Relations (IR) theory exists in the specific context of Irregular Competition (3) A unique theoretical model for conceptualizing whole-of-government Irregular Competition is constructed

UAS Pilots Code – Annotated Version 1.0

The UAS PILOTS CODE (UASPC) offers recommendations to advance flight safety, ground safety, airmanship, and professionalism.6 It presents a vision of excellence for UAS pilots and operators, and includes general guidance for all types of UAS. The UASPC offers broad guidance—a set of values—to help a pilot interpret and apply standards and regulations, and to confront real world challenges to avoid incidents and accidents. It is designed to help UAS pilots develop standard operating procedures (SOPs), effective risk management,7 safety management systems (SMS), and to encourage UAS pilots to consider themselves aviators and participants in the broader aviation community

Organizing for hybrid and information warfare

This professional report argues that current national security documents and the national security structure are not optimized to conduct hybrid and information warfare. It reviews an abundance of literature to first understand the United States national security strategy, coupled with the reemergence of great power competition. Four propositions emerged from the readings: national security publications are incoherent; a strategic paralysis has set in with the abundance of literature; there is a lack of organizational innovation; and the instruments of national power have tilted towards information. Following this review, the analysis then explores Russia’s great power competition strategy through private/public, legal/illegal, and regular/irregular lenses. China’s information warfare strategy, Three Warfares, which includes propaganda, public opinion, and legal warfare, provides the final piece of analysis on great power competition. This conflict is particularly vast—the hybrid approach calls on all elements of a nation's society; information is the dominant power shaping perceptions, decisions, opinions, and behaviors; and all this is conducted in the gray zone between peace and total war. The report then investigates the most recent declassified information warfare campaign against a great power, Operation QRHELPFUL, and a recent example of information leveraged as the main effort in a combined joint military operation. The United States can organize more effectively for the challenges it confronts by understanding the principles, lessons learned, and the context of great power competition. This requires vertical and horizontal organizational efforts, which include a shift in policy, a new organizational framework, assigning a lead, and adopting a whole-of-society approach.Global Policy StudiesBusiness Administratio