National Security/Military Studies Articles-APA

QUESTION

Select two articles from the list below and in 1-2 pages single-spaced (per article) address the following:

Include the full reference for the article using the writing style specific to your program on the title page.

 National Security/Military Studies Articles-APA

1. State the main goal(s) of the study
2. Summarize the research design, and discuss the research method(s) used to answer the research question or assess the hypothesis.
3. Summarize the results of the study.
4. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the study’s research design.
5. Provide a discussion on how the study can be moved forward.  Include two well phrased research questions that could be used in follow-on studies to the one reviewed.

Articles:

Jones, David and M.L.R. Smith. 2010. “Beyond Belief: Islamist Strategic Thinking and International Relations Theory.” Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 2: 242-266.

Kaldor, David. 2013. “In Defense of New Wars.” Stability: International Journal of Security & Development 2, no. 1.

Kilcullen, David J. 2012. “The City as a System: Future Conflict and Urban Resilience.” The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs 36, no. 2 (Summer): 19-39.

Hafez, Mohammed and Creighton Mullins. 2015. “The Radicalization Puzzle: A Theoretical Synthesis of Empirical Approaches to Homegrown Terrorism.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 38, no. 11: 958-975.

ANSWER

National Security Articles

In Defense of New Wars

The study ‘In Defense of New Wars’ (Kaldor, 2013) is a journal about the military and war. The study proposes an argument that wars ought to be understood as a way of explaining the logic of contemporary war which may offer a direction to policies. The study checks the validity of wars being ‘new’ and whether these new wars occurring are really wars or they have aspects of crimes. It also checks whether data given for the support of wars is valid and if these wars can be classified as post-Clausewitzian. These are the research questions for this study. It argues that people are obsessed with wars and fail to identify whether the wars could be crimes and if they are politically instigated. The study looks at the political element in wars and explains why new wars are more of a mutual enterprise rather than a contest.

Kaldor (2013) looks at the wars occurring in the twentieth century as different from the past wars, defending the statement of wars being ‘new’. It seeks to explain that the term should be understood as a policy guide and strategy. The research to consolidate this article was carried out by the comparison of wars before the twentieth century (old wars) and the new wars. The differences identified show the meaning of the ‘new’ term used in the description of recent wars. Whereas the old wars involved state armed forces, the new wars involve various groups such as the armed forces, private contractors of security, jihadists, mercenaries etc. Old wars were as a result of political interests and ideologies such as democracy, while the new wars are fought for identities, such as ethnicity and religion.

Summary of Findings

Many people do not see a difference between old wars and the new wars, as many characteristics of both wars are similar. Issues such as mass rape, banditry, and atrocities towards civilians can be identified in both wars. The study argues that the reason for recent wars being referred to as ‘new’ is to bring a change in the way people and scholars look at conflicts and wars. This changes how policymakers perceive the wars. These methods of research, by analyzing the differences between old wars and the new wars provide a clear illustration of how the wars are differentiated, and the purpose of the ‘new’ term is clearly explained. The method of analysis, however, fails to provide clear reasons why the new wars are considered better than the old wars. It also fails to give an explanation why the wars occur, and whether they are justified. The research may be improved and progressed by looking at the data which is forwarded to support ‘new’ wars. Does the data provided for the support of new wars justify their occurrence? Is there proof that these wars may be politically instigated or propelled?

References

Kaldor, M. (2013). In Defence of New Wars. Stability. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/129141894/In-Defence-of-New-Wars