The European Union’s Response to Piracy: Are the Lessons Learned in the Horn of Africa a Model for the Gulf of Guinea? EU Diplomacy Paper/2015

The European Union (EU) is seen as the leading actor in successfully fighting piracy around the Horn of Africa. As a global trade power with strong economic interests, the EU is also challenged by similar maritime security threats in the Gulf of Guinea. To date, there has been no comprehensive analysis to assess the potential transfer of successful EU instruments from the Horn of Africa to the piracy situation in West African waters. This paper examines to what extent the EU can draw on its experience made in the Horn of Africa to deter piracy in West African waters. Based on qualitative research interviews, lessons learned from East Africa are identified and subsequently applied to the situation in the Gulf of Guinea. The results show that the EU is only partially drawing on its experience made in the Horn of Africa. One the one hand, it is rather reluctant to use crisis management instruments such as naval operations. On the other hand, the EU is drawing on its successful leadership in international political and military cooperation from around the Horn of Africa in order to make more effective use of available resources in the Gulf of Guinea.

The European Union as a Mediator in Israel-Palestine: Operations Cast Lead and Protective Edge. EU Diplomacy Paper 01/2016

The European Union (EU) has played an important, yet inconsistent role in the Israel-Palestine conflict since the1980 Venice Declaration. This paper analyses how the EU’s role as a mediator has changed more recently in the Israel-Gaza conflict. Specifically, it examines how the ‘Concept on Strengthening EU Mediation and Dialogue Capacities’ adopted in 2009 and the creation of the European External Action Service and the High Representative by the Lisbon Treaty have changed the EU’s resources and strategies as a mediator as well as how these developments improved cooperation and coordination with other mediators. This analysis is done through a comparison of the EU’s role in the Israeli Operation Cast Lead in 2008/2009 and Operation Protective Edge in 2014. It is argued that the aforementioned changes made the EU a more capable mediator and facilitated internal coordination. However, these changes did not create more resources for the EU as a mediator, rather they changed how the EU used its resources.

Pro-American non-alignment. Sweden and Finland develop closer military co-operation with the United States. OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 205/31.03.2016

Russia’s increasingly aggressive policy and its enhanced military activity in the Nordic-Baltic region has led to revaluations in Sweden’s and Finland’s security and defence policies and a rethinking of the formats of their military co-operation. While remaining outside NATO, the two states have been developing closer bilateral defence co-operation and working more closely with the United States, while at the same time developing co-operation with NATO. Sweden and Finland perceive the United States as the guarantor of regional and European security. From their point of view, the United States is currently the country that has both the necessary military capabilities and the political will to react in the event of a conflict between Russia and NATO in the Nordic-Baltic region, in which both countries would inevitably become involved despite their non-aligned status. For Sweden and Finland, intensified co-operation with the United States offers an alternative to NATO membership, which is currently out of the question for domestic political reasons. Meanwhile, the US has also become increasingly aware of the strategic importance of the two states, which, for the purposes of contingency planning, are in fact an extension of NATO’s north-eastern flank.

The implementation of the Gender Perspective in the EU civilian and military missions: Leadership wanted. Security Policy Brief No. 67, October 2015

Fifteen years have passed since the adoption of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, through which time the EU has grown as a security actor. The keys to produce a change in implementing gender mainstreaming in the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) are well known by member states; the EU and external implementation reports1 are repeated again and again, but real change requires real willingness on the part of member states, and leadership.

Why Belgium Needs a Special Operations Command. Security Policy Brief No. 70, April 2016

The setting up of a Special Operations Command (SOCOM) constitutes a key element of the ongoing Belgian defence reforms. This Policy Brief aims to put the present demand for special operations forces in its historical context and engage in the discussion on how to structure and employ this special instrument of policy. Building on the legacy of the paracommando regiment, the future Belgian SOCOM constitutes a critical capability within an adaptive force structure. This new entity must be able to deliver results in a variety of unconventional missions that require high readiness, intellectual flexibility and maximum discretion or surprise. At the same time, special operations forces do not constitute a substitute for having a comprehensive security policy. They function best when used as force multipliers alongside other instruments of power towards joint effect. As the proverbial tip of the spear, they must lead the way for Belgian defence regeneration in general.

Cautious and rotational – US military engagement on NATO’s eastern flank. OSW Commentary NUMBER 216 | 05.07.2016

The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 put a stop to the gradual scaling down of US military engagement in Europe, a policy that the United States had pursued since the end of the Cold War. The Russian-Ukrainian conflict became a watershed for the US perceptions of European security as Washington started to see the threat of a conflict between Russia and a NATO member as more probable. The United States decided that – despite the mounting challenges in the Pacific region and its involvement in conflicts in the Middle East – it had to invest more in European security. The US has stepped up the intensity of joint drills with the allies and the activities of its forces in Europe. However, its support for the allies has been subject to various limitations and should be treated as a political signal to Moscow, rather than an element in a broader strategy. The future of the policy of strengthening the eastern flank will depend on the outcome of the US presidential elections in November and on developments in the bilateral relations between Washington and Moscow.

O controlo interno e a implementação de auditorias online no Safex em contexto de e-governance: Tecnologias, desafios e oportunidades

O presente Relatório Detalhado de Atividade Profissional é apresentado no âmbito da obtenção do Grau de Mestre dos Oficiais do Exército licenciados pré-Bolonha pela Academia Militar na Área específica de Administração Militar. A sua redação e estruturação tem por base o definido na NEP 520 e NEP 517/1ª da AM, para esta tipologia de trabalhos, tendo o autor, optado por desenvolver um tema no âmbito da sua atividade profissional, considerado como pioneiro e inovador. O Tenente-Coronel de Administração Militar do Exército Português, Luís Miguel Gonçalves, nasceu a 25 de Novembro de 1971. Do seu percurso académico e formativo, consta frequência pré-Universitária, em estabelecimento militar de ensino, no Instituto Militar dos Pupilos do Exército, na área de Contabilidade e Administração; a Licenciatura em Ciências Militares, na especialidade de Administração Militar, pela Academia Militar, em 1995, com a Classificação final de 13,58 valores; o tirocínio para Oficiais de Administração Militar, com a nota final de 15,38 valores; o Curso de Operações Irregulares, tendo obtido a classificação de 17,67 valores; o Curso de Promoção a Capitão, com 16,63 valores; e o Curso de Promoção a Oficial Superior do Instituto de Altos Estudos Militares, com a classificação final de 14,50 valores. No âmbito da formação de pós-graduação, tem averbado créditos no módulo de Metodologia de Investigação Cientifica, pela Academia Militar, no Ano Letivo 2013/14, com a classificação final de 16,00 valores. Para além destes, o Environmental Course For Portugal – NATO School/ SHAPE; formação em Gestão de Projetos/ Exército - Microsoft Enterprise Project Management; o Curso de Formação Pedagógica Inicial de Formadores do Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional, com Homologação das Competências Pedagógicas; e vários certificados de formações no âmbito da Contabilidade, Administração, Finanças Públicas e Auditorias Financeiras, atribuídas pela Direção de Finanças do Exército e pelo Instituto de Gestão e Administração Pública do Porto. Ao longo dos 25 anos de serviço prestado ao Exército Português, como Oficial de Administração Militar, desempenhou diversos cargos e funções de Comando e Chefia, em várias UEO, nas áreas setoriais e funcionais, da formação, da instrução, da componente operacional, da logística, do pessoal, das finanças públicas, das inspeções e auditorias, da gestão e da Administração Militar. Atualmente o Tenente-Coronel Miguel Gonçalves, desempenha as Funções de Comandante de Batalhão na Escola dos Serviços. Para além dos cargos e funções averbadas no seu Curriculum Vitae detalhado, constituiu em 1996 o Núcleo Logístico de Projeção, Implantação, Acompanhamento e Ajuda Técnica no âmbito do emprego dos meios táticos e operacionais da Área de Responsabilidade FND/ IFOR na Bósnia-Herzegovina (Jugoslávia). Tem publicado na Revista da Administração Militar, vários artigos no âmbito da logística operacional, na função de combate Apoio de Serviços. Na área da formação, foi orientador e supervisor de vários trabalhos, individuais e de grupo aos cursos de promoção a capitão; e constitui-se como elemento primariamente responsável pelo planeamento e implementação dos primeiros cursos no Exército, com formação certificado pela Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e Ensino Profissional, I.P., do Sistema Nacional de Qualificações, certificação inserida no Catálogo Nacional de Qualificações. Na área Inspetiva, integrou várias equipas de Inspeção-Geral do Exército, como inspetor responsável pelas áreas de Logística e Finanças, bem como as de Inspetor, para a área dos recursos humanos – Despesas com Pessoal, nas equipas de inspeção do Comando do Pessoal do Exército. No desempenho das funções de Auditor Financeiro do Centro de Finanças do Comando do Pessoal, realizou diversas auditorias financeiras às UEO do Comando do Pessoal, na sua dependência, tendo desenvolvido e implementado um sistema pioneiro e inovador de monitorização e controlo interno, de auditorias “Online” com análise e reporte mensal, às contas das UEO do Comando do Pessoal, tendo em vista a validação das Demonstrações Financeiras para a Conta de Gerência Anual do Exército. A escolha do tema, “O Controlo Interno e a implementação de Auditorias Online no SAFEx em contexto de e-Governance: Tecnologias, desafios e oportunidades” surge na sequência da implementação destes procedimentos pelo autor, numa altura em que o Exército entrava em operativo com o Sistema Integrado de Gestão (SIG/DN), tendo sido à data reconhecido publicamente pelo TGEN Comandante do Pessoal do Exército, como sendo um procedimento inovador, com notáveis vantagens para a eficiência e eficácia do sistema administrativo-financeiro do Comando do Pessoal e consequentemente do Exército.

U.S. aid operations in Latin America under the Alliance for Progress ; thirty-sixth report by Committee on Government Operations.

"Aug. 5, 1968"

United States aid operations in Peru : hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations, House of Representatives, Eighty-seventh Congress, first session....

Hearings held Nov. 14, 1960-May 18, 1961.

U.S. citizens imprisoned in Mexico : hearings before the Subcommittee on International Political and Military Affairs of the Committee on International Relations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, first session.

Hearings held April 29, 1975-

El Salvador : transfers of military assistance fuels : report to the Honorable Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate /

Running title: Salvadoran fuel transfers.