Why China is Not a Global Power

Andrew T H Tan

China has neither the soft-power attributes nor the clearly articulated foreign policy necessary to become a genuinely global power

Still Together, for Now

Malcolm Chalmers

Although Scotland voted against independence, questions remain about the future of the UK and its defence posture

OMG Cyber! Thirteen Reasons Why Hype Makes for Bad Policy

Robert M Lee and Thomas Rid

Whipping up ‘cyber-angst’ has significant, long-term costs which are yet to be fully understood

International Standards for the Private Security Industry

Dirk Siebels

Efforts are underway to fill the legal vacuum in which many private-security operations have taken place, especially in the maritime sphere

Mafia State: The Evolving Threat of North Korean Narcotics Trafficking

Peng Wang and Stephan Blancke

The burgeoning illicit-drugs trade emanating from North Korea poses a severe threat to the region and beyond

A Death in Woolwich: The Lone-Actor Terrorist Threat in the UK

Raffaello Pantucci

Radicalisation makes the threat of lone-wolf attacks in the UK difficult to counter

Conflict, Post-Conflict and Failed States: Challenges to Healthcare

Jennifer Cole

Epidemics such as polio and ebola are difficult to tackle without an appreciation of the local conditions and culture

A Most Wanted Man: Spy Fiction and Intelligence in the Post-Cold War World

Richard Norton-Taylor

The latest film adaptation of a John le Carré novel shows how different intelligence is in the post-Cold War world

Service Life and Beyond – Institution or Culture?

Beverly P Bergman, Howard J Burdett and Neil Greenberg

Although armed-forces members are often said to be ‘institutionalised’, the ‘culture shock’ model is more appropriate, and thus more useful in preparing personnel for civilian life

Mali’s Long Road Ahead

Sergei Boeke and Antonin Tisseron

France’s Operation Serval may have dealt an initial blow to Mali’s jihadists, but it must now resist the temptation to treat them as a homogeneous group

Foreword

Emma De Angelis

Editor Dr Emma De Angelis introduces the fourth issue of 2014

Reviews

The Human Cost of War: A Mother Reflects

Margaret Evison

The mother of Lieutenant Mark Evison, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2009, recollects the extreme difficulties of the period that followed