Cooperation on climate change in the second term of president Obama showed to have potential for improvement of the relationship between the United States and China. This paper analyses how the climate change cooperation developed and concludes that under right circumstances it has positive influence on the bilateral relationship. In order to make the improvement more lasting, the climate change cooperation should take into account national security considerations, specifically the parties should collaborate and jointly exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

The given work is dedicated to the provision of the evaluation on the effectiveness of Blockchain if applied within national security. The research is done through the summative evaluation approach, which allows to estimate the studied phenomenon in one realm in terms of its level of usefulness and transfer the findings to the framework of the thesis on the basis of the main methodological hypothesis. The research comprises the analysis and evaluation of the Blockchain environment, levels of operation, existing normative clash, the componential issues of the latter, provision of the final perspectives of the potential incorporation of the Blockchain technologies into national security with the discussion on the possible application, benefits of the platform, its social and technical vulnerabilities, and limitations.

Cooperation on climate change in the second term of president Obama showed to have potential for improvement of the relationship between the United States and China. This paper analyses how the climate change cooperation developed and concludes that under right circumstances it has positive influence on the bilateral relationship. In order to make the improvement more lasting, the climate change cooperation should take into account national security considerations, specifically the parties should collaborate and jointly exercise on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

Bibliography: pages 208-220. / In the years after Mr P W Botha became Prime Minister of South Africa, it became generally noticed that the military as an ins ti tu ti on had become a more important actor within the central decision-making structures. While this excited a great deal of contemporary comment, few appreciated that this represented not necessarily a formal coup, but rather the culmination of a meticulously planned counter-revolutionary strategy - the response of the Botha government to a perceived "total onslaught". This study traces the rise of the "total onslaught" rhetoric and links it to changes which occurred in the security intelligence apparatus. It describes the structure of the National Security Management System (NSMS) in detail, and it advances various arguments in an attempt to assess the significance of the changes which have occurred in the decision-making structures, as well as the efficacy and durability of the NSMS. The study concludes that, because of the dedication of its proponents and because of its efficiency, the NSMS may afford the regime a breathing-space, but that ultimately the international environment, and internal demographic and economic pressures are such as to make the degenerative collapse of the regime a more likely long-term scenario.

The Department of Defense (DoD) has acknowledged climate change as a risk national security. Ongoing impacts include the loss of training and operational sites to climate hazards. Operationally, conflict and natural disasters around the world have been exacerbated by increasing heat, desertification, and flooding. Increasing average temperatures, the flagship issue of climate change, is a significant contributor to heat-illness in military personnel. This project explores the relationship between climate change and the U.S. military, ongoing efforts to evaluate and address the risk, and the overall impacts on training readiness. Measuring climate related vulnerability is a complex process. For the DoD to apply a common framework across a vast network of fundamentally different sites is an especially wicked problem. I recommend a tiered approach to iteratively narrow the focus and resources allocated to the most mission critical and at-risk sites. The process begins with a screening survey, continues to in-depth site-specific impact assessments, and ends with implementation of technical and institutional adaptations. Recent efforts by the DoD have not fully executed this process and resulting reports are resultingly insufficient. I identify a lack of consideration for heat stress on servicemembers. Using historical site data and projections, I determine that the risk of heat-illness and lost training time will increase. Leaders can use this data to plan risk mitigation efforts through changing training locations, timing, or control measures. The military must continue to adapt and overcome challenges of the coming century by using available scientific information to reduce risk during the planning process.

The U.S. Southwest Border is associated with highly politicized topics, yet the lived experience of Border Patrol agents is not one of them. Border Patrol agents face risks to their personal safety and security as they attempt to safeguard the national security of the United States while implementing the policies of their organization, which are sometimes at odds with the beliefs and expectations of agents in the field. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore perceptions and lived experiences related to the threats and dangers that Border Patrol agents face as they protect the U.S. Southwest Border. The theoretical framework for this study involved McGregor's organizational behavior theory, Janis's groupthink theory, and the bureaucratic dissonance phenomenon. Data collected through semistructured interviews of 11 former Border Patrol agents with direct experience working along the U.S. Southwest Border were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. On-duty risks, emotional toll, lack of community support, and separation from family are among the stressors for members of this profession. The key findings regarding threats and dangers included: perceived manpower shortage, fear of assaults, the very nature of the job, political and presidential administration conflicts, and lack of mobility (location and career advancements). The recommendations call for greater policy-and decision-maker understanding of the stresses and conflicts facing Border Patrol agents, which could effect positive social change by encouraging policies and regulations to improve job safety and security, and to inform training programs. The promulgation of the findings may contribute to improvements of the morale and safety of Border Patrol agents and enhance security of the United States.

The National Network of Fusion Centers (Network) represents one of the post-9/11 era organizational efforts to strengthen the security of the homeland through collaboration, analysis, and information sharing. These entities have been subjected to criticisms and have been noted in studies as being deficient in certain areas suggesting that the Network has been experiencing problems with integrating the U.S. national security strategy. Using the multiple streams framework, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and understand elements that have been impacting the Network's integration with broader national security efforts as well as identify items contributing to negative perceptions of fusion centers. Data for this qualitative study were collected through interviews with 13 individuals working within the Network. Collected data elements were inductively coded and then analyzed, demonstrating the relevance of framework to this topic area. Research findings indicated that there were challenges with Network integration that were influenced by perceptions of problems/threats, views concerning a fusion center's primary stakeholder, and constraints related to existing organizational policy and mandates. Barriers to integration stemmed from differing priorities, ineffective marketing, policy requirements, relationships, and limited resources. Study recommendations included the development of a strategic engagement plan, alignment of priorities, and increases in federal funding and representation. The implications for positive social change of this study are associated with proving transparency on the Network, informing national security agencies and decision makers on issues impacting integration, and promoting operational efficiencies.

As technology advances businesses are being called upon to take an active role in helping protect national security. A variety of different companies and industries within the private sector, which are at the forefront of encryption and hacking technologies, have the option to aid or subvert the intelligence community by sharing breakthrough technology in the interest of helping ensure domestic tranquility. Many industries and companies within the private sector argue that while they are not actively trying to subvert efforts to protect national security it is not in their best interest, or the best interest of their customers, to hand over proprietary technology to the intelligence community through government enforcement of a court order. As a result of the intelligence community's need for assistance from the private sector and the private sectors refusal to provide aid, both parties have turned to the courts for adjudication of the issue. The ensuing legal battle over this question of who is responsible for protecting national security will forever change the relationship between the private sector and intelligence. Has the nature of national security been fundamentally changed as the result of technology and our information society? More specifically, is the intelligence community and other governmental agencies solely responsible for protecting national security? Or, in an age of globalization, has national security become the burden of both public and private actors? The answers to these questions are complex and at the same time straightforward. What was discovered was that while the burden of national security falls to both the public and private sector to an extent. However, it is not the responsibility of the private sector to help protect national security by virtue of providing the intelligence community with proprietary technology or information that could compromise the integrity of a given companies business. Furthermore, the fight to protect national security is important, living in a country that provides certain safety assurances helps businesses grow; but when providing that safety prevents people from living their lives or businesses from operating at their full potential the enemy that the intelligence community is trying to protect us from has already won. In developing the answers to these questions, this paper takes a broad view of the players involved as well as both sides of the legal battle that has already begun. will end with a discussion of the options and opportunities that will be available to both parties as the battle over who should be responsible for helping protect our national security moves forward in the courts.

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