At the end of the 1940s and the early 1950s, the question whether or not to rearm West Germany was a fiercely and hotly debated topic in Europe. The Americans suggested doing this by integrating the Federal Republic in NATO. However, many Europeans feared the resurgence of German militarism. Nowhere was this more true than in France. Therefore, the French Foreign Minister René Pleven launched the so-called Pleven Plan, designed to allow West German units to be established, but only in small units. That way, Europe could profit from West Germany’s manpower, without the country becoming a military threat. Discussions on the European Defence Community were tough, but in the end was signed by the six Founding Fathers. The Dutch did so reluctantly, especially because the Americans were left out, favouring security arrangements in NATO and rearming and incorporating West Germany in the Western alliance. To the Netherlands, it was essential to incorporate the British and especially the Americans in the Western defense; the Dutch always favoured an Atlantic alliance, opposing too much supranationality in the European integration project. The Federal Republic of Germany on the other hand, saw it as an opportunity to regain sovereignty. In the end, the French National Assembly did not ratify the EDC-Treaty, opening the way to rearming West Germany and making it a full member of NATO. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=735130 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martijn-lak-71793013/
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In maart 2011 dreigde Muammer Gaddafi van Libya duizenden onschuldige burgers van de stad Benghazi uit hun huizen te halen om hen te vermoorden. De Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties verwees de situatie door naar het Internationaal Strafhof in Den Haag, dwong een no-flyzone af en gaf de NAVO een mandaat om burgers te beschermen with all necessary means, met de uitzondering van grondtroepen. Deze operatie was snel, robuust en effectief. Het principe van The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) -de verantwoordelijkheid van de internationale gemeenschap om genocide, misdaden tegen de menselijkheid, etnische zuivering en oorlogsmisdaden te voorkomen en te stoppen- werd voor het eerst volledig toegepast. Is R2P daarmee een norm geworden? Dit onderzoek plaatst de casus Libië in het model van de "Norm Life Cycle" (de levenscyclus van een norm) van de Constructivistische theoretici Finnemore en Sikkink (1998). Libië toont aan dat R2P nu een tipping point (omslagpunt) heeft bereikt, en zich van de fase norm emergence (opkomende norm) naar de fase norm cascade heeft verplaatst. Er is echter een spanning ontstaan: de terughoudendheid van de Veiligheidsraad om R2P toe te passen in Syrië (2012) wijst de andere kant uit. Er is dus nog een lange weg te gaan, voordat R2P als een internalised norm (vanzelfsprekende norm) kan worden beschouwd. ABSTRACT In March 2011, Muammar Gaddafi of Libya threatened to pull thousands of civilian protesters in the city of Benghazi out of their homes and kill them. The Security Council of the United Nations referred the crisis to the International Criminal Court, imposed a no-fly zone and provided NATO with a mandate to protect civilians by all necessary means, with the exception of ground troops. This operation was fast, robust and effective. It also marked the first time that the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle was fully implemented, being the responsibility of the international community to prevent and respond to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if the state in question is not able or not willing to protect its citizens itself. Has R2P become a new norm? This study situates the case of Libya in the 'Norm Life Cycle' model of Constructivist theorists Finnemore and Sikkink (1998). It suggests that R2P has reached a tipping point and has moved from the stage of norm emergence to the stage of norm cascade. However, a certain tension still exists: the reluctance of the Security Council to implement R2P again in the crisis in Syria (2012)points in the opposite direction. This suggests there is still a long way to go before R2P becomes an internalised norm in the international community.
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In the Dutch armed forces clothing sizes are determined using 3D body scans. To evaluate if the predicted size based on the scan analysis matches the best fit, 35 male soldiers fitted a combat jacket and combat pants. It was shown that the predicted jacket size was slightly too large. Therefore, an adjustment was proposed. The predicted and preferred pant size matched rather well. We further investigated discrepancies between predicted and preferred sizes using virtual fitting analysis. Colour maps showing the difference between garment and body circumference illustrated that some soldiers selected a garment size that was obviously too small or too large. In order to minimize the effect of personal preference and maximize standardize ease, we recommend to maintain the current size prediction (with minor corrections for jackets) and use virtual fitting selectively as a control measure.
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As heavily reported by media in May 2018, Google announced that it won’t renew its contract with the US Defense Department for an artificial intelligence endeavor known as Project Maven. The tech giant took the decision amidst a widespread public backlash and multiple employee resignations. Google was assigned to provide an AI-powered image labeler that would allow the Pentagon to browse a ‘Google-Earth-like’ drone system, according to one of the emails leaked during the scandal.
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Door programma's als Google Earth zijn we gewend geraakt aan het perspectief van de satelliet, de god’s eye view. Wat doet dit met de relatie die we hebben tot onze omgeving? Door gebruik te maken van verschillende Google-applicaties reflecteren kunstenaars op de veranderende verhouding tot de buitenwereld.
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This critical, literature-review based research project, inspired by the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, examines the limitations and possibilities of restorative justice in a time of war. Any armed conflict creates and amplifies the need for extreme militarisation and securitisation, accompanied by belligerent rhetoric. Thus, for restorative justice scholars and practitioners, the outbreak of war challenges the applicability of restorative justice values and practices, as bipolar interpretations of events, conflicts, and human suffering displace more balanced views. The purpose of our research is to critically discuss the applicability of restorative justice in times of war and in the context of the Russo-Ukrainian War in particular. Our motivation to focus on this specific war and to examine the (im)possibilities of restorative justice from Eurocentric perspective stems from three observations: (1) In the last 20 years restorative justice was continuously promoted in Europe as a new “culture” of justice; (2) The Russo-Ukrainian War currently takes place on the European continent and impacts the European security architecture more than that of other world regions; (3) This war has a particular meaning to the world (e.g., a violent clash between the (former) Cold War superpowers, an element of surprise, the shattered myth of overwhelming Russian military might, the nuclear threat coupled with a global energy crisis etc.).
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De vraag is of onderwijsinstellingen voorzien in leeromgevingen die verlangde competenties voor digitalisering versterken. Meerdere auteurs menen dat dit niet het geval is. Anders dan bij sectoren die eerder grensverleggende ICT-innovaties ondergingen, is het grootste deel van de processen in en rond leeromgevingen in het onderwijs, marginaal en niet fundamenteel door en voor de ICT-revolutie veranderd. Dat staat op gespannen voet met intensiteit en belang van ICT-gebruik in de samenleving, zoals bij jongeren. De dissertatie wil een bijdrage leveren aan het overbruggen van de kloof en een grotere verantwoordelijkheid van het onderwijs bereiken voor digitale competenties. Het onderzoek beperkt zich tot het hbo. De eerste twee hoofdstukken van de dissertatie bestaan uit literatuurverkenningen over de betekenis van ICT en digitale competenties. Voor het empirische deel werden leertheoretische uitgangspunten geformuleerd in vier categorieën: inhoud, drijfveren, interactie en omgeving. De onderzoeksopzet voorzag in een verkennende en een verdiepende studie bij de opleiding Small Business & Retail Management van Hogeschool Zuyd. De verkennende studie geeft een beeld van de opleiding vanuit drie perspectieven: 1) formuleringen in beleid en formeel beschreven, 2) percepties van docenten, management, beleidsmakers en instanties en 3) ervaringen van studenten. De verdiepende studie leidde tot 49 bevindingen. Deze resulteerden in 12 ontwerpprincipes voor leeromgevingen die betrekking hebben op besturende, primaire en ondersteunende processen. De principes kunnen vorm geven aan leeromgevingen die digitale competenties van hbo-studenten voor een gedigitaliseerde samenleving versterken. Zij kunnen er tevens aan bijdragen slagvaardigheid met ICT te vergroten.
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The world is changing in many ways. Digital developments follow each other in quick succession and have an impact on many existing structures. The future may be uncertain, but we can still learn from what has happened in the past. We usually know what we don’t want, but few of us know yet what we do want. Still, this is something we can only discover for ourselves, I think. Who are we? To what extent are we individuals and to what extent are we part of a collective? Remarkably, in these questions we can also find parallels with the Middle Ages.
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