Overlapping regional security institutions in South America: The case of OAS and UNASUR

The Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) has positioned itself as a regional security organization aimed at reducing the influence of the Organization of American States (OAS) in South America. At the same time, the OAS paradoxically serves as a model for UNASUR because of its operational capacity and its legitimacy as a regional organization. This article analyzes the seemingly contradictory tendencies of replication and dissociation that UNASUR exhibits towards the OAS in terms of security conceptions and practices. In the first part of the paper, we will draw on recent debates on international regime complexity to develop a framework to study institutional overlap. The second part analyzes to what extent and in which respects UNASUR, and particularly its Defense Council, overlaps with the OAS in terms of security conceptions and practices, while the third part examines the causes of the emergence of a “competitor” for the OAS in South America

National Intelligence Systems as Networks: Power Distribution and Organizational Risk in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa

This article compares the intelligence systems of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Three questions drive the research: How are the national intelligence systems organized? How is power distributed among organizations in each country? What are the organizational risks? By employing Network Analysis to publicly-available data on intelligence agencies, collegiate bodies, and supervising organizations, authority relations and information flows were mapped. Regarding organizational configuration, similarities were found between India and Russia, as well as between China and South Africa. Brazil differs from the four countries. As for the power distribution, in Russia, Brazil, and India intelligence is subordinated to the government, and shows more centrality in the cases of China and South Africa. Finally, Russia runs the highest risk of having an intelligence system less able to adapt to strategic circumstances, at the same time being the most resilient among the five countries. Likewise, China has the highest risk of a single actor being able to retain information, acting as a gatekeeper. Network Analysis has proved to be a useful approach to promote a comparative research program in the Intelligence Studies field

Operational parameters of soybean seeding in santa fe system Parâmetros operacionais de semeadura de soja em sistema santa fé

The use of no tillage system associated with the crop-livestock integration is an alternate managing that promotes the accumulation of dry matter in the soil, an essential fact to make the system sustainable and profitable. The aim of this study was to evaluate the operational performance of a planter-tractor set on maize straws intercropped with Urochloa, in different seeding modes. The soybean crop was seed on the intercropping of two forage species (Urochloa brizantha and Urochloa ruziziensis) in five cropping systems: MBL (Maize with Urochloa in the maize seeding row, mixed with base fertilizer and deposited at 0.10 m), MBE (Maize with Urochloa seeded between rows at the same day of seeding maize), MBC (Urochloa between rows of maize seeded with the covering fertilizer at the V4 stage), MBLA (Maize with Urochloa by broadcast seeding at the V4 stage ) and MS (Single Maize: control). The following variables were evaluated: dry mass of maize straw, dry mass of forages and total dry mass of straw; and for the operational parameters the speed of seeding, wheel slippage, traction force and average power at the drawbar. The results showed that the amount of straw produced by maize intercropping with Urochloa, interferes in the operational performance of the tractor-planter at the operation of soybean seeding, i.e., areas with higher amount of straw promote greater energy demand, as well as higher wheel slippage.<br>O uso do plantio direto, associado ao sistema de integração lavoura-pecuária, é uma alternativa de manejo que promove o acúmulo de massa seca no solo, fato imprescindível para tornar o sistema sustentável e lucrativo. O trabalho teve por objetivo avaliar o desempenho operacional do conjunto trator-semeadora sobre palhadas de milho consorciado com urochloas, em diferentes modalidades de semeadura. A cultura da soja foi semeada sobre o consórcio de duas espécies forrageiras (Urochloa brizantha e Urochloa ruzizienses), em cinco sistemas de cultivo: milho com Urochloa na linha de semeadura do milho, misturados ao adubo de base e depositados a 0,10 m (MBL); milho com Urochloa semeados na entrelinha, no mesmo dia da semeadura do milho (MBE); Urochloa na entrelinha do milho semeada junto ao adubo de cobertura no estádio V4 (MBC); milho com Urochloa semeados a lanço no estádio V4 (MBLA) e milho solteiro (Testemunha). Foram avaliadas as variáveis: massa seca da palha do milho, massa seca das forrageiras e massa seca total de palha; e para os parâmetros operacionais: a velocidade de semeadura, patinagem dos rodados, força de tração e potência média na barra de tração. A quantidade de palha produzida pelo consórcio de milho com urochloas interfere no desempenho operacional do conjunto trator-semeadora na operação de semeadura da soja, ou seja, áreas com maior quantidade de palha promoveram maior demanda energética, assim como maior patinagem dos rodados