Drones, Risk, and Perpetual Force

This article contributes to the debate among just war theorists about the ethics of using armed drones in the war on terror. If violence of this kind is to be effectively restrained, it is necessary first to establish an understanding of its nature. Because it is difficult to conceptualize drone-based violence as war, there is concern that such violence is thus not captured by the traditional jus ad bellum (just resort to war) framework. Drone strikes probably do not constitute a law enforcement practice, so the peacetime ethics of criminal justice do not apply either. One possible solution is to develop and apply a legitimization framework of jus ad vim (just resort to force) in which vim is “force short of war,” although this depends upon a vim–bellum distinction being a sustainable one. Moving beyond discussion of these three alternative concepts of drone-based violence, the article suggests a fourth—vis perpetua (perpetual force)—and explores the ethical implications thereof. As a form of violence that presents no physical risk to individual users of force, a program of drone strikes poses a moral problem if it is intended to continue indefinitely, leading to the systematic endangerment of innocents without the eventual promise of peace

Disease security in Northeast Asia: biological weapons and natural plagues

In Northeast Asia and around the world, new infectious diseases are emerging and old ones are re-emerging in deadlier guises. The increasing human cost of such diseases creates an imperative for scholars and policy makers to think beyond biological weapons (BW) when contemplating disease and security. Whether deliberately or naturally caused, infectious diseases threaten the national security of states, the personal security of individuals, and are potentially a transnational security threat to all individuals in all societies. At the conceptual level, and for the purpose of responding to these threats, it is useful to think in terms of 'disease security'. An infectious disease, whether of state, terrorist or natural origin, becomes a security threat when its effects reach the point of imposing an intolerable burden on a society. That burden can be measured in terms of the number of people infected and killed, and by the level of disruption and instability that accompanies the disease. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of examining disease in two dimensions, natural and deliberate, and of adopting dual use responses accordingly. Northeast Asia was chosen as a case study because it is a centre of gravity for concerns about disease security. This is due to the region's military history, its high proportion of suspected BW states, fears of biological terrorism, and the region's special vulnerability to new and re-emerging infectious diseases. A number of measures have been and could be applied in Northeast Asia to enhance disease security. Against the threat of BW, military and intelligence responses include tactical response units, deterrence of BW use by threat of nuclear attack, the use of force to destroy BW assets, and the recently-devised Proliferation Security Initiative. There is also scope to address disease-based threats through the legal framework of the Biological Weapons Convention. The most promising approach to disease security is through enhanced public health capabilities. This is essentially a dual use response applicable to both BW and naturally occurring outbreaks of infectious disease. Its two main pillars are disease surveillance networks (domestic and international) and robust public health systems

Newsletter Barkcure No. 2

The second Newsletter for the research project called “Condensed tannins from Norwegian pine and spruce bark - antiparasitic effects and potential commercial exploitation

Gastrointestinal Parasites of Two Populations of Arctic Foxes (<em>Vulpes lagopus</em>) from Northeast Greenland

Parasitological examination of 275 faecal samples from Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) collected at Zackenberg Valley and Karupelv Valley in north-east Greenland from 2006 to 2008 was conducted using sieving and microscopy. Overall, 125 (45.5%) samples contained parasite eggs of Taenia crassiceps, Taenia serialis, Toxascaris leonina, Eucoleus boehmi, Physalopteridae and Ancylostomatidae, and Strongyloides-like larvae. As long-term ecological studies are conducted at both sampling locations, the present findings constitute a baseline data set for further parasitological monitoring