Towards a comprehensive security alliance: Evolving dynamics in the United States’ humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to the Philippines

The Philippines’ humanitarian norms and frameworks have evolved from focusing on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to more pro-active disaster preparedness, enhancing community resilience and empowered participation of local and grassroots actors. The US-Philippines security alliance has evolved in line with these developments and needs to be understood more holistically and not be limited to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief through sending foreign military assets in times of disasters. This article argues that the non-traditional aspect of the US-Philippines bilateral alliance is not intended to underplay the role of the US military, but highlights the importance of the private sector, humanitarian NGOs, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in deepening and broadening the security alliance.

Qualitative Evaluation of the Africa Malaria Task Force Symposia Effectiveness on African Partner Nations’ Malaria Vector Management Capacity

ABSTRACT Introduction Creating health alliances to build meaningful networks is critical to combating regional and global burdens of disease. These alliances work by uniting support for elimination efforts through cooperative engagement at the national and international levels. The reduction in malaria-related morbidity and mortality in Africa since 2001 is in part because of investments of international organizations and governments in national level malaria control and prevention-related programs and research. Investment in malaria reduction networks has contributed to this success by strengthening support to overcome the conditions that restrict or prevent change through local laboratory and epidemiological capacity building, thereby resulting in a decrease in burden of disease, increase in economic prosperity, and improvements in stability worldwide. The reformation of local military efforts to combat disease through incorporation into health security alliance networks by the provision of training and financial support is key to reinforcing this success at the national level. One such example of this is the U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) established and partner nation (PN) led Africa Malaria Task Force (AMTF) program. USAFRICOM’s mission for AMTF as a health security alliance was to develop sustainable African-led malaria diagnostic, vector surveillance and control capabilities, and to increase collaborations among AMTF military PNs by enabling national and international-level network capacity. Materials and Methods The overall objective of this evaluation of the AMTF program was to assess the implementation effectiveness of two AMTF supported symposia in improving the individual, organizational, and institutional diagnostic capacity of the Ghanaian, Ivorian, and Senegalese armed forces. The specific aims of this process evaluation were to identify procedural, contextual, and capacity-related factors that influence the effect of the symposia events on laboratory capabilities at the individual, organizational, and institutional levels through a two-phased formative evaluation approach utilizing qualitative methodologies. Results and Conclusions Findings indicate that the AMTF program symposia positively encouraged malaria prevention and control efforts in all three countries included in the evaluation. Conclusions suggest that learning about the different types of malaria prevention and control efforts underway in other countries helped to contextualize the burden of malaria-related morbidity and mortality not only within their respective countries, but also across the African continent. Participation in the AMTF Symposia and Key Leader Events helped military leadership clarify the purpose and intention of their military objectives related to systemic malaria prevention and control while purposefully contributing to national land international-level malaria reduction capacity.

UNDER THE SECURITY UMBRELLA: JAPAN’S WEAK STORYTELLING TO THE WORLD

A Review Essay by Nancy Snow Japan Rearmed: The Politics of Military Power Sheila A. Smith. Harvard University Press, 2019. National Identity and Japanese Revisionism: Abe Shinzo’s Vision of a Beautiful Japan and Its Limits Michal Kolmaš. Routledge, 2019. Peak Japan: The End of Great Ambitions Brad Glosserman. Georgetown University Press, 2019. Keywords—US-Japan relations, US-Japan Security Alliance, strategic communication, strategic communications, national identity

US and Indian Policies in Direct Conflict, Part II

India asserted its influence at the Geneva Conference through the informal participation of Krishna Menon in behind-the-scenes discussions. The Geneva settlement reduced fears among smaller powers that China would intervene in Indo-China and weakened their incentives to join a US-sponsored mutual security alliance. It also deprived China of a rationale for its own expansion to meet a US threat. The “area of peace” thereby served India’s aspiration to protect its role in Indo-China. But this was immediately countered by the US plan to establish SEATO. Indian policymakers treated the United States as its enemy and competitor in Southeast Asia.