This is part two of my interview with Jonas Kjellén. We particularly discussed the Baltic Fleet’s abilities for minelaying and amphibious operations, but other types of maritime operations were touched on as well.
Archives for May 2021
The history of Danish gendarmerie forces
Rasmus Dahlberg and Henrik Stevnsborg have an interesting look at the history of Danish gendarmerie forces in Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies: Since 1952, Denmark has had no border gendarmes, and since 1894, gendarmes have not patrolled the territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The ghost of the gendarmes, however, has kept on haunting Danish […]
Interview with Jonas Kjellén about the Russian Baltic Fleet – Part 1
Here is an interview I did with Jonas Kjellèn from FOI about the Russian Baltic Fleet. Jonas recently authored a really good report on the topic. This is part one of the interview. The next ones will be available in the coming weeks.
The sorry state of collective European defense capabilities
Robert Dalsjö and Michael Jonsson in a great piece in War on the Rocks on the state of NATO and Europe’s ability to defend itself: This has led to at least two lively debates, one on just how deficient NATO’s defenses against Russia are, and the other on how to respond to the threat of […]
The risks of outsourcing merchant shipping to foreign owners
Sal Mercogliano has a thoughtful look in CIMSEC on the grounding of MV Ever Given that blocked the Suez Canal for six days: Today, international corporations, with ships flying the flags of open registries, dominate the world’s oceans but with little means of protection. This is readily apparent to the Indian crew, onboard the Taiwan-based […]
Decarbonization raises capacity questions for shipbuilding and wartime repairs
Benjamin Clark discusses in CIMSEC How the Decarbonization Dilemma Will Impact Shipbuilding and Great Power Competition: A decline in shipbuilding capacity is a clear and troubling trend, especially for those working in the U.S. maritime industry, and it is critical to assess the challenges this decline creates for the country’s ability to wage a protracted […]
How China modernized its fishing fleet in the South China Sea
Ryan D. Martinson in a piece titled Xi likes big boats (coming soon to a reef near you) on War on the Rocks: Photos the Philippine government released in March show nests of Chinese fishing vessels moored in the lagoon of the disputed reef. Aside from the sheer number of craft present, one is struck […]
No turning back
Sam Greene on his blog: By the summer of 2019, it should have been clear that this prediction was wrong. The Kremlin ramped up arrests and street violence (albeit not to American levels on the latter count), culminating in the arrest of some 11,000 people in January 2021. Since then, they have moved to bar […]