Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 1 (1829)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 4 (1831)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 9 (1836)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 5 (1832)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 2 (1829)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

n.s. v. 1 (1837)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 8 (1835)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 7 (1834)

Magazine of natural history and journal of zoology, botany, mineralogy, geology and meteorology.

v. 6 (1833)

The Spanish cadet in the European military context a comparative analysis of the professional socialisation

Research on the attitudes, motivations and social and political behavior of European cadets have been made throughout the last decade. Nowadays Spain also joins those surveys. Thru the analysis of polling data, we can consider the different attitudes of Spanish cadets in relation with the other European ones. The conclusion is that although the Spanish political transition to democracy has not ended already in the military teaching system, there are a lot of similarities among Spanish and European cadets.

Corruption and the Military in Politics: Theory and Evidence from around the World

Recent theoretical developments and case study evidence suggests a relationship between the military in politics and corruption. This study contributes to this literature by analyzing theoretically and empirically the role of the military in politics and corruption for the first time. By drawing on a cross sectional and panel data set covering a large number of countries, over the period 1984-2007, and using a variety of econometric methods substantial empirical support is found for a positive relationship between the military in politics and corruption. In sum, our results reveal that a one standard deviation increase in the military in politics leads to a 0.22 unit increase in corruption index. This relationship is shown to be robust to a variety of specification changes, different econometric techniques, different sample sizes, alternative corruption indices and the exclusion of outliers. This study suggests that the explanatory power of the military in politics is at least as important as the conventionally accepted causes of corruption, such as economic development.

Banning Obsolete Weapons or Reshaping Perceptions of Military Utility: Discursive Dynamics in Weapons Prohibitions

The paper focuses on the argumentative process through which new international norms prohibiting the use of weapons causing severe civilian harm emerge. It examines the debate surrounding the use and usefulness of landmines and cluster munitions and traces the process through which NGOs change conceptions of military utility and effectiveness of certain weapons by highlighting their humanitarian problems and questioning their military value. By challenging military thinking on these issues, NGOs redefine the terms of the debate – from a commonplace practice, the use of such weapons becomes controversial and military decisions need to be justified. The argument-counterargument dynamic shifts the burden of proof of the necessity and safety of the weapons to the users. The process witnesses the ability of NGOs to influence debates on military issues despite their disadvantaged position in hard security issue areas. It also challenges realist assumptions that only weapons that are obsolete or low-cost force equalizers for weak actors can be banned. To the contrary, the paper shows that in the case of landmines and cluster munitions, defining the military (in)effectiveness of the weapons is part and parcel of the struggle for their prohibition.

Diversity and distribution of sandflies (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) in a military area in the state of Amazonas, Brazil

This study reports the distribution, ecotopes and fauna diversity of sandflies captured in five training bases on a military reserve in Manaus, state of Amazonas (AM). A total of 10,762 specimens were collected, which were distributed among 58 species, with the highest number recorded at Base Instruction 1 (BI1). A higher rate of species richness was found at the Base Instruction Boina Rajada and low levels of diversity associated with a high abundance index with the clear dominance of Lutzomyia umbratilis, Lutzomyia ruii and Lutzomyia anduzei were found at BI1. The abundance of Lu. umbratilis raises the possibility of outbreaks of American cutaneous leishmaniasis by the main vector of the disease in AM.

State capacity and military conflict

In 1500, Europe was composed of hundreds of statelets and principalities, with weak central authority,no monopoly over the legitimate use of violence, and overlapping jurisdictions. By 1800, only ahandful of powerful, centralized nation states remained. We build a model that explains both the emergenceof capable states and growing divergence between European powers. We argue that the impactof war was crucial for state building, and depended on: i) the financial cost of war, and ii) a country sinitial level of domestic political fragmentation. We emphasize the role of the "Military Revolution",which raised the cost of war. Initially, this caused more cohesive states to invest in state capacity, whilemore divided states rationally dropped out of the competition, causing divergence between Europeanstates. As the cost of war escalated further, all states engaged in a "race to the top" towards greater statebuilding.