LibGuides: The Torch: What's New This Week?

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THE TORCH

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This tab, updated with new content every Tuesday, includes links to various recent PD items of interest in a variety of forms - podcasts, videos, articles, books, websites, and online events. Try one you like! Come back next week for something new.

Get a different perspective by looking at something from another country!

Note that ideas presented are not necessarily supported by DND nor the CAF but are included to help share ideas and encourage professional discussion.

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The latest Torch curation on The Importance of Space to Other Warfighting Domains is available in the Theme Portal tab at the link below:

PREVIEW Theme Portals - The Torch - LibGuides at Canadian Forces College

You can check out all the previous theme curations at this link below too:

Previous Themes - The Torch - LibGuides at Canadian Forces College

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Latest issue of the Canadian Military Journal {Vol.23, No. 4, Fall 2023) now available at link below:

Canadian Military Journal (forces.gc.ca)

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Podcast

The Case for U.S. Retrenchment Overseas (The President’s Inbox Recap by CFR)
Last week, Jim sat down with Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, to discuss the case for U.S. restraint in global affairs. The episode is the first in a new series on The President’s Inbox that between now and the November election will periodically examine contending perspectives on U.S. grand strategy.

Free Online Course

La gestion des conflits
Plus de 50 % des gestionnaires ont tendance à ne rien faire lors d’un conflit. En effet, la plupart des gens se sentent souvent démunis face aux situations conflictuelles. Il en résulte que les conflits s’aggravent et le climat de travail se détériore. Dans certains cas, les conflits peuvent mener à des plaintes pour harcèlement psychologique. Des conflits qui auraient pu être désamorcés relativement facilement deviennent des sources de coûts organisationnels élevés....
Many more courses available in the 'Opportunities' section of The Torch. Click here.

Note: While links provided in this section offer mostly 'free' learning opportunities, there might be some additional costs. The CAF does not specifically endorse any of these sites and it is NOT responsible for any funding required for any of them. That said, this does not stop members from applying and potentially being reimbursed through other means such as the Education Reimburement (ER) program found at this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/services/benefits-military/education-training/reimbursements-allowances/education.html

Website / Journal

International Crisis Group
... Crisis Group aspires to be the preeminent organisation providing independent analysis and advice on how to prevent, resolve or better manage deadly conflict. We combine expert field research, analysis and engagement with policymakers across the world in order to effect change in the crisis situations on which we work. We endeavour to talk to all sides and in doing so to build on our role as a trusted source of field-centred information, fresh perspectives and advice for conflict parties and external actors....

Short Articles

Donald Trump et la désintégration de l’Occident
... Jamais auparavant Trump n’avait publiquement proféré une telle menace, encourageant les Russes à attaquer les alliés de l’Amérique (bien qu’en mars 2023, à la faveur d’un discours prononcé lors d’une conférence conservatrice, il ait évoqué la facilité avec laquelle la Russie pourrait détruire le nouveau siège de l’Organisation du traité de l’Atlantique Nord à Bruxelles). Cependant, ce n’était pas la première fois qu’il attaquait les alliances de l’Amérique. En effet, l’une de ses positions constantes en matière de politique étrangère depuis les années 1980 est que les alliés américains profitent des États-Unis en refusant de « payer leurs factures ». ...
Undersea ‘hybrid warfare’ threatens security of 1bn, Nato commander warns
The security of nearly 1 billion people across Europe and North America is under threat from Russian attempts to target the extensive vulnerabilities of underwater infrastructure including windfarms, pipelines and power cables, a Nato commander has warned....
Modernising defence must respect international humanitarian law
The integration of artificial intelligence and autonomous systems is essential to ensuring that Australia is capable of defending its interests now and into the future, but we as a country must be careful not to abandon our humanity inadvertently in the race to modernise. ...

Upcoming Conference Presentation / Webcast / Webinar

17 April 2024 - Book Launch: Total Defence Forces in the Twenty-First Century
Ottawa. 1800-2000 hrs. See link for more information / registration.
Keynote Speaker - General Wayne Eyre, Chief of the Defence Staff.
See other 'Upcoming Events' happening soon. Click here.

What's New Elsewhere in The Torch?

Video

Drone Technology in Ukraine - Automation, Lethality & The (Scary) Development Race
NOT available on DWAN.
(71 minutes)
Drones have been a major feature of the fighting in Ukraine since well before the 2022 invasion - but they have been set apart from other major systems by just how quickly the technology and tactics behind them have evolved. ...

Book

War in Space : The Science and Technology Behind Our Next Theater of Conflict
With the recent influx of spaceflight and satellite launches, the region of outer space has become saturated with vital technology used for communication and surveillance and the functioning of business and government. But what would happen if these capabilities were disrupted or even destroyed? How would we react if faced with a full-scale blackout of satellite communications? What can and has happened following the destruction of a satellite? In the short term, the aftermath would send thousands of fragments orbiting Earth as space debris. In the longer term, the ramifications of such an event on Earth and in space would be alarming, to say the least. This book takes a look at such crippling scenarios and how countries around the world might respond in their wake. ...

This book can be accessed via the DWAN but to view on the public internet, you must first register with the CAF Virtual Library. Canadian Armed Forces Virtual Library Access Request Form

Many more books available in the 'Profession of Arms Reading List' section of The Torch. Click here.

Studies

Russian nuclear weapons, 2024
Russia is in the late stages of a multi-decade long modernization program to replace all of its Soviet-era nuclear-capable systems with newer versions. In this issue of the Nuclear Notebook, we estimate that Russia now possesses approximately 4,380 nuclear warheads for its strategic and non-strategic nuclear forces—a net reduction of approximately 109 from last year’s estimate. Although the number of Russian strategic launchers is not expected to change significantly in the foreseeable future, the number of warheads assigned to them might increase. The Nuclear Notebook is researched and written by the staff of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project: ...

The Torch: What's New This Week?

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Podcast

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Short Articles

Upcoming Conference Presentation / Webcast / Webinar

What's New Elsewhere in The Torch?

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