In support of the hypothesis, Biddle provides an example: ‘even the German Wehrmacht in 1944 displayed strikingly’ guerilla-like ‘methods in important respects; even the Vietcong in 1965 did many things that most people associate with “conventional” war fighting’ (p. 28). Based on the 2006 Lebanon War between non-state Hezbollah and the State of Israel, Biddle shows the relationship between the choices of war methodologies within the Fabian-Napoleonic spectrum based. If tribal culture or inferior material are the most critical determinants of tactics and strategy, their mutual reinforcement ought to produce highly Fabian methods for Hezbollah (pp. 109–111). Materiel per se is the central explanation of nonstate behaviour, with materiel inferiority itself being a sufficient explanation for guerilla methods. In turn, Israel represented a classic example of state warfare at the edge of the Napoleonic spectrum. Consequently, Hezbollah in 2006 was a non-state actor from a tribal culture at a significant materiel disadvantage vis-à-vis a powerful state opponent (p. 145). However, the author refutes the expectations that Hezbollah used nonstate tools and methodologies, emphasising that since the 1900s no non-state actor can achieve success using the strong State actor’s methods. In the new theory’s terms, Hezbollah’s military behaviour was neither Fabian nor Napoleonic but well to the interior. The new theory predicts state-like, mid-spectrum methods for Hezbollah: its internal politics were highly institutionalised, it saw Israel as an existential threat, and it had access to advanced twenty-first-century technology, notwithstanding Hezbollah’s aid from its Iranian patron (p. 110). Nevertheless, this monograph is high-quality academic research and will be highly useful for political and social scientists and also to practitioners. Biddle’s book contributes to the theoretical understanding of non-state and state methods of warfare. Research can be made more valuable by using different methodologies, showing their interdependence of processes in society and methods of warfare. Analysing the Taliban movements in Afghanistan which combines classical state and guerilla methods of warfare could be more helpful. Finally, the example of Islamic State (IS) in the period of 2014–2017 shows how a terrorist non-state structure is trying to expand its arsenal using the methods of the Napoleonic spectrum achieves a short-term and tangible success.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a devastating impact on economies and could lead to a surge in shadow or informal economic activity. Perhaps more than ever it is imperative to understand the nature and drivers of shadow economies. The primary focus of this analysis is to reexamine the relationship between corruption and shadow economies by extending previous research to consider a possible moderating effect between economic development and corruption on shadow economies. It is hypothesised that the effect of corruption on the shadow economy will vary with the level of economic development, with corruption having the strongest positive effect in low income countries, but this effect will be mitigated as the level of economic development increases. We find empirical evidence to support this hypothesis using multiple data measures of country corruption and the size of the shadow economy. Policy implications are offered based on the empirical results.
This paper examines the role of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in modern conflict. It advocates for a new peacekeeping doctrine for stabilisation operations. The UN has authorised four such stabilisation missions, wading into challenging frontiers of asymmetrical warfare, endemic conflict, and multidimensional mandates. This article begins by surveying discourse on stabilisation at the UN, among its key members, and among the academic community. It highlights the penchant for strategic ambiguity that has prevented the UN from establishing clear stabilisation doctrine for its Blue Helmets. It then analyses the two case studies of Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN's first two forays into official stabilisation operations. Evaluating them along the three axes of security, state consolidation, and political reconciliation, this article draws lessons learned and makes recommendations for a clear, modern UN stabilisation doctrine.
Is humanity - a global human community - possible? I suggest that it is not only possible, but is an immanent world in certain places such as East/Southeast-Asia. This possibility emerges from what I call the original encounter - in which primordial spaces in the global realm are constituted by never-old, self-determining, and evolutionary political communities inside as well as outside of the logic of the state. The paper begins by asking: If we, the peoples, exist and respect each other as equals, how then do we come together and agree on our ideas, sentiments, beliefs, and interests as a divided community? Behind the question is a pragmatic purpose. A fifty-year peace has reigned among ASEAN states. But how did we keep this project alive? How can we extend and deepen it? The 'original encounter' I explore is a normative proposition. It comprises eight postulates which form aspects and dimensions of a world we inhabit but which we do not see in its totality - a gem in the rough. The objective of the paper is not to complete an answer, but provide enough evidence to raise a fundamental question: Can ASEAN be conceptualised as a community of peoples?
Refugee women are generally depicted as vulnerable and dependent subjects and excluded from peacebuilding efforts. This article is a response to the need for balancing the protection needs of refugee women and their participation in decision-making processes. It brings two different but complementary frameworks, namely the International Refugee Protection Regime (IRPR) and the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda, into conversation through a gender analysis. The article shows that bringing these two frameworks together can overcome each other’s limitations regarding refugee women’s agency. Through analysing legal and policy frameworks together with the existing literature on refugee women and the WPS Agenda, this article focuses on Turkey as a case study. This article argues that implementing the IRPR and the WPS Agenda together in a national action plan in Turkey would strengthen refugee women’s protection and promote their agency as actors of peacebuilding in exile.
