Armed Forces

In the Arab Gulf states, the military has turned the page: a new, national-oriented pattern of civil-military relations is in the making, triggered by foreign projection and, in some cases, mandatory military service.

Almost seven years passed since the beginning of the so-called “Arab Spring” and Algeria remains one of the most stable countries in the region. However, the country is facing the consequences of the high instability in neighboring Tunisia, Libya and the Sahel that reached its territory in 2013 with the spectacular attack of the Ain Amenas Gas facility. During this attack, 800 people were held hostage by the international commando of Mukhtar Bel Mukhtar.

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Between 1966 and 1998 senior members of the Indonesian military were appointed to legislative and administrative bodies and occupied key positions in the bureaucracy as well as in state-owned corporations. They also held a number of legislative seats in the parliament  and influenced the government-supported party GOLKAR. Since 1998, however, a process of democratization has led to a greater civilian control of the armed forces. The study focuses on this process as well as on the external challenges faced by the Indonesian armed forces.

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North Korea is flexing its muscles, again.  The UN imposing further sanctions onto North Korea in a (late) response to its December 2012 missile and February 2013 nuclear tests had the regime in Pyongyang go ballistic leading to angry rhetoric and threats to attack the US and its allies with ballistic and nuclear weapons.