The Cold Peace: Russo-Western Relations as a Mimetic Cold War

In 1989–1991 the geo-ideological contestation between two blocs was swept away, together with the ideology of civil war and its concomitant Cold War played out on the larger stage. Paradoxically, while the domestic sources of Cold War confrontation have been transcended, its external manifestations remain in the form of a ‘legacy’ geopolitical contest between the dominant hegemonic power (the United States) and a number of potential rising great powers, of which Russia is one. The post-revolutionary era is thus one of a ‘cold peace’. A cold peace is a mimetic cold war. In other words, while a cold war accepts the logic of conflict in the international system and between certain protagonists in particular, a cold peace reproduces the behavioural patterns of a cold war but suppresses acceptance of the logic of behaviour. A cold peace is accompanied by a singular stress on notions of victimhood for some and undigested and bitter victory for others. The perceived victim status of one set of actors provides the seedbed for renewed conflict, while the ‘victory’ of the others cannot be consolidated in some sort of relatively unchallenged post-conflict order. The ‘universalism’ of the victors is now challenged by Russia's neo-revisionist policy, including not so much the defence of Westphalian notions of sovereignty but the espousal of an international system with room for multiple systems (the Schmittean pluriverse)

SEABED INFRASTRUCTURE DEFENSE ANALYSIS

Traditional fleet operations and technologies are not adequately suited to counter the growing threat to undersea infrastructure from autonomous undersea systems. A cost-effective unmanned and manned system of systems is required to provide defense of this seabed infrastructure. This paper proposes possible system architectures to defend against this emerging threat to include passive barriers and active defense systems. The effectiveness of those candidate systems is evaluated through multiple agent-based modeling simulations of UUV versus UUV engagements. Analysis resulted in two major findings. First, point defense of critical assets is more effective than barrier defense. Second, system design must focus on minimizing the time required to effectively engage and neutralize threats, either through improvement to defensive UUV speed or investment in more UUV docking stations and sensor arrays. Cost analysis suggests that acquisition and operations cost of the recommended defensive system is less than the projected financial impact of a successful attack.http://archive.org/details/seabedinfrastruc1094562767Lieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyMajor, Israel Defence ForcesMajor, Republic of Singapore Air ForceMajor, Republic of Singapore Air ForceCaptain, Singapore ArmyLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant, United States NavyMajor, Republic of Singapore Air ForceCaptain, Singapore ArmyCivilian, Ministry of Defense, SingaporeLieutenant, United States NavyLieutenant Commander, United States NavyLieutenant Junior Grade, United States NavyCivilian, Ministry of Defense, SingaporeCivilian, Ministry of Defense, SingaporeMajor, Republic of Singapore Air ForceMajor, United States Marine CorpsMajor, Singapore ArmyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

L'Amérique, l'Allemagne et la nouvelle logique de réforme de l'Alliance

America, Germany and the Alliance's New Reform Logic, by Ronald D. Asmus In the geopolitical context of the post-Cold War period, bilateral German-American relations have lost their strategie importance from the standpoint of transatlantic leaders. Furthermore, since Europe is no longer under a military threat at a time when the European Union's economie and military power is comparable to that of the United States, many Americans are wondering about the necessity of keeping American military forces on the Old Continent. Regarding the Federal Republic, these questions are becoming more and more insistent now that Germany is having difficulty in becoming the global économie and strategie partner that the United States need in Europe and the world.Dans le contexte géopolitique de l'après-guerre froide, les relations bilatérales germano-américaines ont perdu de leur importance stratégique du point de vue des responsables d'outre-Atlantique. De plus, l'Europe n'étant plus menacée militairement, alors que la puissance économique et militaire de l'Union européenne est comparable à celle des Etats-Unis, beaucoup d'Américains s'interrogent sur la nécessité d'un maintien de leurs forces militaires sur le Vieux Continent. Concernant la République fédérale, cette interrogation se fait d'autant plus pressante que l'Allemagne peine à devenir le partenaire économique et stratégique global dont les Etats- Unis ont besoin en Europe et dans le monde.Asmus, Serra. L'Amérique, l'Allemagne et la nouvelle logique de réforme de l'Alliance. In: Politique étrangère, n°3 - 1997 - 62ᵉannée. pp. 247-261

L'élargissement de l'OTAN : passé, présent, futur

NATO's Enlargement: Past, Present and Future, by Ronald D. Asmus During the 1990s, NATO's enlargement became a constant of American foreign policy. It was intended to do for the Eastern half of Europe what the Alliance has done for the Western half: to deploy a security umbrella for the reinforcement of democracy and the facilitation of intégration. These twin aims gave rise to some of the most profound changes in American thinking on Europe and NATO: while maintaining their engagement in NATO for collective security, the United States are encouraging it to adopt a new strategie concept which makes the defense of western values and interests a priority, even beyond the immediate frontiers of the West. The strength of this vision is confirmed by the Senate's ratification of the Alliance's enlargement, in 1998. But the September 11 attacks change the state of play: by reinforcing the U.S.' interest in the consolidation of peace in Europe, by reinvigorating the executive's role in the conduct of foreign policy and by eliminating the risk of a confrontation with Russia, the enlargement issue has been over-taken by questions relating to the role and the organisation of the Alliance in the face of new threats.Asmus, Cochez Marie-Aude. L'élargissement de l'OTAN : passé, présent, futur. In: Politique étrangère, n°2 - 2002 - 67ᵉannée. pp. 353-376

Ectopic Expression of Hematopoietic SHIP1 in Human Colorectal Cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a heterogeneous disease that results from the accumulation of mutations in colonic mucosa cells. A subclass of CRC is characterized by microsatellite instability, which is thought to occur mainly through inactivation of the DNA mismatch repair genes MLH1 and MSH2. The inositol 5-phosphatase SHIP1 is expressed predominantly in hematopoietic cells. In this study, the expression of SHIP1 in carcinomas and its putative correlation with clinicopathologic parameters, expression of DNA repair genes and microsatellite instability was investigated. By analyzing a multi-tumor tissue microarray, expression of SHIP1 was detected in 48 out of 72 cancer entities analyzed. The expression of SHIP1 protein of 145 kDa was confirmed by Western blot analysis in 7 out of 14 carcinoma cell lines. Analysis of a large colorectal cancer tissue microarray with 1009 specimens revealed SHIP1 expression in 62% of the samples analyzed. SHIP1 expression was inversely correlated with lymph node metastasis, vascular invasion and tumor grade, and it was positively associated with left-sided tumor localization. Interestingly, a strong relationship between the expression of SHIP1 and nuclear and membranous beta-catenin and the DNA repair genes MLH1 and MSH2 was observed