Young Diplomats

Armies are considered an important part of a country and its security. Every year, a large fortune is allocated out of the budget for fighting battles. Countries take special initiatives to strengthen themselves militarily. If we try to compare the armies of the different nations to gauge the countries with strongest armies, it would probably not be possible to do so hypothetically. However, without leading to a bloodbath, we can have a fair idea about the military strengths of countries by taking into account the arsenal in their possession, advanced technologies implemented, training, power and number of allies, size of the army, budget allocated, etc. While it is a rather subjective issue, several organizations, such as Business Insider, conduct their own studies to rank the military powers. Let’s take a look at the Top 10 Countries with Strongest Armies.

10. Japan

Japan was the land of Samurais, and Japan was a leading military force in WW-II. Interestingly, its peace treaty at the end of WW-II prohibits it from having an offensive army. In response to its growing disputes with the ever-expanding China, Japan started military expansion, first time in 40 years, placing new base on outer islands. It increased its military spending, first time in 11 years, to $49.1 billion, the world’s 6th highest. It has over 247,000 active personnel and almost 60,000 in reserve. With 1,595 aircraft, it is the 5th largest air force. The army is also equipped with 131 war ships. Besides, through its recent defence initiatives, it maintains a solid military presence in Asia.

9. South Korea

South Korea shares its border with North Korea which has an extremely powerful army at its disposal, and hence, is a constant threat to South Korea. But, its offensive neighbour is not its only problem. To meet the increasing armament of China and Japan, South Korea has been increasing its defence expenditure, which is now $34 billion. It maintains a large army of over 640,000 active personnel and 2,900,000 additional personnel in the reserve, alongside the 6th largest air force with 1,393 aircraft, as well as a small 166 ships. The country has about 15,000 land weapons, including rocket systems, as well as 2,346 tanks. It routinely participates in military training with the US.

8. Turkey

It was perhaps the struggle of the other countries sharing borders with the regions where the Islamic State has a strong presence, the struggle in Syria or the probability of clashes with the Kurdish separatist organization, PKK, which made Turkey realize that it needs to prepare itself to face danger head on, if and when it approaches, and decide to increase its investment in defence in 2015 by 10%. Its defence budget is at $18.18 billion. Its army size, including regular troops and reserves, is just above 660,000. Turkey’s air force has 1000 aircraft. The military also claims to 16,000 land weapons. It has strong diplomatic ties with the US, and partakes in initiatives around the world.

7. Germany

Germany is one of the strongest economic forces in the world, but despite spending around $45 million every year, the army’s condition seems to have deteriorated in the past few years. This is perhaps because, the generation born and growing up in the 1950-60s were against war and its atrocities, and the fear of being beaten by countries with strongest armies, still discourages the people to join the army. In 2011, mandatory military service was eliminated to prevent the country from being a militarized country. It has only 183,000 active frontline personnel and 145,000 reservists, alongside 710 aircraft in total, and on-land armament of nearly 5,000 of various kinds.

6. France

France is another country to follow Germany’s lead because, in 2013, it took the decision to ‘effectively ‘freeze’ its military spending, and cut down on the defence jobs by 10%, to save money for technologically advanced equipment. Its current military budget stands at $43 a year, which is 1.9% of the country’s GDP, much below the spending target as set by NATO. Over 220,000 regular force combines with reservists to form a force of about 500,000. It has just over 1,000 aircraft, along with 9,000 ground vehicles. Even if these do not make France a formidable army, its position in the EU and UN, a total 290 nuclear weapons, and significant deployments strengthen the country.

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5. The United Kingdom

The United Kingdom, another member of the EU, also has a plan of reducing the size of the armed forces by 20% between 2010 and 2018, and apply smaller cuts to the Royal Navy and RAF. The defence budget of the UK currently stands at $54 billion. It has a regular force of only about 205,000, along with a small air force of 908 aircraft, and an even smaller navy of 66 ships. However, the army of the UK is still a powerful one, with its superior training, equipment and its 160 nuclear weapons being the main strengths. The Royal Navy is planning to put to service HMS Queen Elizabeth, in 2020. It is an aircraft carrier, planned to carry 40 F-35B joint strike fighters around the world.

4. India

India has put its massive population to use, and built an army of a sizeable 3.5 million, including 1.325 million active military. The huge size of the Indian military is one of the reasons why it has always remained among the countries with best armies in the world. The man force of the army is complemented by almost 16,000 land vehicles which include 3,500 tanks, as well as 1,785 aircraft, alongside nuclear weapons. Its ballistic missiles can hit all of Pakistan or most of China. Its current defence budget stands at $46 billion, but it is expected to rise, in a drive to modernize the military power and become the 4th highest spender by 2020. It is the world’s largest military goods importer.

3. China

China’s defence budget officially stands at $126 billion, and, in a relentless drive to invest massively in defence, there is likely to be an increase of budget by 12.2%. It has a formidable size of army, with 2.285 million active frontline personnel and a further 2.3 million reservists, making it the world’s largest land force, along with nearly 25,000 land vehicles. It has another 2,800 aircraft on its air force. China is in possession of about 300 nuclear weapons, alongside 180 different methods of their deployment. China recently acquired sensitive information about the new F-35, and is noted for successfully stealing sensitive military technology. China is rightly among the top 3 armed forces.

2. Russia

Russia’s defence budget stands at $76.6 billion, and is expected to grow 44% more in the next three years. In fact, the military spending of Kremlin has increased by about a third since 2008, especially since Vladimir Putin took hold of Russia in 2000. The Russian army has shown substantial growth since the collapse of the Soviet Union two decades ago. It has 766,000 active frontline personnel and almost 2.5 million on the reserve force, though the soldiers receive mediocre training. The man force is backed by 15,500 tanks, making Russia the largest tank force in the world, though it is aging, like the other equipment. The country is the world’s leader, with almost 8,500 active nuclear warheads.

1. The United States

The United States spends a whopping $612.5 billion on the military, more than the other nine countries’ budgets combined. It maintains a remarkably large army composed of over 1.4 million soldiers, and a further 800,000 reservists. To complement the active ground force comprising well-trained men and women in uniforms, its biggest advantage is that it is the world leader in aircraft production, with a fleet of 19 aircraft carriers, while the carriers operated by the world together sum up to 12. The US implements cutting-edge technology like the Navy’s new rail gun, and the country also has 7,500 nuclear warheads at its disposal. No wonder it is no.1 military force since WW-II.

Thus, the defence budget, man power, air force, navy, etc. together help to determine the most powerful military forces in the world. The countries with strongest armies are the nations that are considered the biggest threats to global security, and these are the nations that also become the heavyweights in global affairs. While the US has projected a formidable military force for a long time, Russia has risen well, and China, too a force to reckon with. These countries clinch the top 3 positions, and the strategies of other countries may gradually make them recognizable forces in the world in a not-so-distant future.

This article was written by Wonderlist.com and is available here.

The discussion has begun today in the Chadian capital Ndjamena, in an extraordinary summit of heads of state of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are the last countries to have endorsed the abolition of visas for nationals of the country. Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), pursuant to the agreement concluded in 2013 on free movement in Central Africa. Any national of the CEMAC countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, and Chad) may to enter without a visa in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon but must hold a biometric passport.

CEMAC leaders discussed issues of financing, integration as well as review measure taken in Equatorial Guinea for the free movements of persons and goods. However, for some observers Equatorial Guinea and Gabon, two oil-producing, relatively prosperous and sparsely populated countries feared a massive and uncontrolled immigration from the poorer countries of the zone.

According to media reports; CEMAC statement said the special summit is being convened by the Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno in his capacity as current chair of the grouping.

Among the issues on the agenda are the handing over of the leadership of the CEMAC Commission from Congo’s Pierre Moussa and to Gabon’s Daniel Ona Ondo, the appointment of new leaders of several institutions of the bloc, funding, strengthening progress for integration, and the thorny affair of scrapping visas for citizens of the region. However, the CEMAC zone must diversify its economy, which is too dependent on raw materials. It must better manage its public resources. This is what the experts hammer. The path to healing is long and will still be painful, on the sidelines of the summit.

Equatorial Guinea hosted the last CEMAC heads of state summit in the beginning of this year. The summit comes after Gabon and Equatorial Guinea recently join the bid to open its borders to all CEMAC nationals.

It should be noted that; before these two countries, the Central African Republic “materialized” on 13 October the agreement of free movement between the countries of CEMAC. It was preceded in early August 2017 by Chad.

The decision to fully implement the free movement of persons and goods in the community space was taken in Djibloho, Equatorial Guinea, by the six members of CEMAC.

Founded in June 2000 in Malabo, CÉACAC brings together countries with very different incomes and is struggling to implement economic and monetary integration mechanisms.

But hidden in this summit is a much more difficult question – one that is often skipped in the design process of the meeting “What do you need to know?” The free movement of persons is understood as one of the CEMAC’s important achievement. but how to apply free movement of goods and persons while open borders are still a threat to security and public safety between the neighboring countries. We need to ensure the transfer-ability of social security first, and perhaps additional security measures at the bloc’s external needed o regain control over the flows of people into the zone.

Source: Idriss Zackaria – Young Diplomats’ Africa Regional Director, reporting from N’Djamena, Chad

Not many people are aware of the contributions made by several secret societies in shaping the world as we know today. For the most part, their endeavours are not justly recorded in our history books. The secret societies listed here have sometimes managed to push their country forward and sometimes backwards. Never-the-less, they helped shape the world. Now, let’s take a look into 10 secret societies that shaped our world:

10. The Germanenorden (Germany)

Germanenorden established in 1812 was a society born out of their adversity towards Jews and their belief in the Aryan race superiority. Therefore it was not surprising when in 1916 they adopted the Swastika symbol. They recruited members based on evidences of their Aryan ancestry by proof of their birth certificates among other things, which was followed by initiation rituals where members were to dress up like nymphs, knights, kings et al. The group changed into the Thule Society in 1918 and assisted in defeating communalism. They further renamed themselves into the German Workers Party. In 1920 Adolf  Hitlertook over the society and made sure to do away the unnecessary absurd rituals.

9. Afrikaner Broederbond (South Africa)

The Afrikaner Broederbond group, founded in 1918, went one step ahead and had actually aimed at seizing control over the whole of South Africa. Membership was only opened to white men over 25 years of age who were guided by their self-promoted Afrikaner nationalism seeking to dominate over the economy, culture and politics of South Africa. There managed to influence the Reunited National Party so much so that it irked the prime minister who called the party as “nothing more than the secret Afrikaner Broederbond operating in public.” And they started controlling the South African Bureau of Racial Affairs in 1947. Their rise to power was astounding and almost every important political person was a member of the society. This gave rise to a saying, “The South African government today is the Broederbond and the “Broederbond is the government.” It was only after Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994 that the society began seeing downhill. After this they renamed themselves into Afrikanerbond and now, are open to include members irrespective of their colour, religion, gender et al with a goal of making South Africa a better country.

8. The Carbonari (Italy)

No one knows how or exactly when the Carbonari came into existence. But as speculation goes, it originated around the time when the Congress of Vienna was deciding on what to do with the territories conquered by Napoleon. By 1815, Italy was cut into several pieces. This Italian secret group is said to have had 60,000 members and they rose in revolt against King Ferdinand who was ruling over Sicily and Naples. He soon had to give up his power. This was followed by the whole of Italy rising up into a widespread movement that eventually ended in the unification of Italy in 1861.

7. La Trinitaria (Dominican Republic)

The La Trinitaria, or The Trinity was founded in July 1838 in Dominican Republic which was under Haitian rule since the year 1822. The Republican citizen wanted freedom from the clutches of the Haitians. It was among such sentiments that Juan Pablo Duarte rose as a national leader and founded The Trinity. He was only 25 years old and his secret society comprised of only 8 members. The society aimed at spreading national sentiment and achieving independence. They used cryptic methods in communication and pseudonym to keep their existence hidden. Besides helping other rebel groups they had attempted at a revolution in 1843, which failed. The members were imprisoned while Duarte fled the country. But The Trinity’s audacious work had set the ball rolling and while they remained dormant, Republicans rose up a fought until Dominican Republic was declared free on February 27, 1844. Unfortunately, when Juan Pablo Duarte returned to preside over the country he had helped to create, he was overthrown by a military coup. Duarte died in exile in 1864.

6. The Hawaiian League (Hawaii)

The Hawaiian League was formed by 200 affluent Europeans and Americans discontented with the Hawaiian ruler King Kalakaua. They alleged the king of being too extravagant so they hatched a plan to overthrow the monarchy with backing from the American businessmen. In 1887, the secret society came into existence with a constitution written by Lorrin A. Thurston, though unfortunately the document didn’t survive the passage of time. With 405 members and alliance with the Honolulu Rifles, they managed to overthrow Queen Liliuokalani in the year 1893. For 5 years, Hawaii remained a republic until it became a territory of the US in 1898. In 1959 Hawaii was officially recognized as the 50th state of the US.

5. Filiki Etaireia (Greece)

In 1814, Nikalaos Skoufas and Athanasios Tsakalov, together along with a few other merchants founded the Filiki Etaireia (“Friendly Brotherhood”) to overthrow the Ottoman rule in their country. The society took their ‘secret’ part very seriously and when one of their member named Nikolaos Galatis began beating drums out in the open about the existence of their society, he was murdered by the Brotherhood. The society had a very complicated recruiting system with six level of membership, the top level of which was occupied with men of great education and money. With the help of a Russian officer named Alexander Ypsilantis, the Brotherhood initiated the Greek Revolution in the Spring of 1821. Unfortunately, into the very beginning of the war, the secret society dissembled but the revolution ended with Greece winning their independence.

4. Katipunan (Philippines)

Katipunan came into existance in the Philippines in 1892 with the goal of opposing the Spanish domination. The single worded name is actually the abbreviated form of Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang Na Katipunan Nang Manga Anak Nang Bayan that translates into the ‘Supreme Worshipful Association of the Sons of the People.’ This society had a male-only membership that was inherited by the sons from their fathers. They had all sorts of rituals and codes as expected form a secret society but the singularity of their rituals was that they signed every document with their own blood, beginning with their founding document back in July 7th 1892. For many years thousand of the members remained mum without giving a clue as to their existence to the Spanish authority. When their secret was out they overthrew their concealment and went for an all-out rebellion that ended with the Filipinos gaining their independence in June 12, 1898.

3. Irish Republican Brotherhood (Irb)

James Stephens along with a few other fellowmen founded the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood on St Patrick’s Day in 1858. They had centers in as many as seven different countries – Canada, USA, England, Australia (that was under the British Empire), New Zealand and South America. Each center had a colonel with nine captains, nine sergeants and nine privates. Each recruit knew only his superior so as to keep their identities hidden. By 1910, the brotherhood had several Irish members and under the leadership of Thomas Clarke rose up in revolt in 1916, now known as the Easter Rising. The rising, however, failed. A few years later IBR lead the Anglo-Irish war that eventually saw the Irish Free State being created in 1921.

2. The Black Hand (Serbia)

Unification Or Death, was a Serbian organization better known as the Black Hand. It was founded on May 9, 1911 to fight against the Ottoman rule. All 2,500 members of the society took oath to put secrecy of the group before their own lives. They operated on different levels and took significant steps to make sure each member was not in contact with most of the other members so that when one member was caught he would have no information to offer about the other members. The Black Hand was leaded by Colonel Dragutin Dimitrijevic, also known as ‘Apis’ after the bull deity of Ancient Egypt. And it was he who planned the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand that led to the breaking out of World War I.

1. The Union Of Salvation (Russia)

The society was founded by six military officers and friends whose aims were, initially, rather vague and dissimilar form each other. When the Russian Czar died, the Union under the leadership of Pavel Pestel organised the Decembrist Uprising of 1825 to prevent his descendents from taking over the power. The uprising saw around three thousand Russians attempting to usurp Czar Nicholas I on his very first day in power which failed with disastrous consequence like censorship for press and education, establishment of spy networks et al. This uprising however was responsible for sowing the seeds for the next revolution, 100 years later in 1917, when the Russian Empire fell.

This article was written by Wonderlist and is available on there website on this link : https://www.wonderslist.com/10-secret-societies-shaped-world/

Which countries have the strongest Military in Africa in 2017? African countries have been seriously challenged in 2016 with increasing terrorist activity (AQMI,Al-Shabab,ISIS,Boko Haram..) and more and more civil unrest (Central African Republic, Libya..). Things have changed a lot in the continent. Here is a situation overview of 2017.

10. Libya

The strength of Libya’s military comes mainly from its large cache of equipment, despite a relatively small number of active troops. Further hampering Libya’s abilities is the continuing violence and unrest stemming from the revolution which began in 2011. A stable government has yet to emerge from it. Regardless, the country still has available 2,500 armored fighting vehicles, 500 tanks, 600 towed artillery pieces, 6,500 logistical vehicles, and much more. The country strongman seems to be the General Haftar , which might won the civil war in 2018.

9. Angola 

The Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), headed by Chief of Staff Geraldo Nunda, succeeded the Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola in 1991. It has three components: the army, the navy, and the air force. Its involvement in training the armies of Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau was controversial, especially as the leaders of the 2012 Guinea-Bissau coup d’etat cited Angola’s military mission as a primary reason for an uprising. The FAA owns 920 armored fighting vehicles, 140 tanks, 270 pieces of aircraft, and has a navy of 56 craft. Angolan Forces have been involved in fightings in the Angolan Province of Cabinda. Angola is a country where PetroPlus Overseas and its French director Vincent Miclet have a lot of influence (According to the latest book of Pierre Pean).  The revenues generated by oil sales and by PetroPlus Overseas dividendes to the Government permits Angola to have one of the strongest army of the continent

8. Tunisia 

The Tunisian Armed Forces is composed of three mechanized brigades, one Saharan territorial group, one special forces group, and one military police regiment. They have contributed to peacekeeping missions, including during the Rwandan genocide, and were forced into border clashes with Libyan rebels in 2011 during their civil war. They hold 900 armored fighting vehicles, 350 tanks, a manpower of over five million, 139 pieces of aircraft and a total naval strength of 50. Tunisian has recently managed to have a stable government and reduce the ISIS threat on its Eastern Border. It’s armed forces are relatively small but efficient.

7. Morocco

Highly dependent on foreign equipment, the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces have been involved in the conflict with the POLISARO, a liberation movement fighting for the independence of Western Sahara. They are involved in numerous peacekeeping missions, including in Somalia. The military has at its disposal 2,120 armored fighting vehicles, 1,348 tanks, 323 total aircraft pieces, and a total naval strength of 121.  However Morroco is currently struggling with strong riots in the RIF region and there is nothing that its powerful army can do.

6. Kenya 

Kenya has established itself as a vital participant in international peacekeeping missions, and is able to do so due to its merchant marine strength and an enormous labor force – resulting in high available manpower. Though it doesn’t possess as much of its own equipment, its role as a member of international teams allows the Kenyan military to share resources with other countries, strengthening its own capabilities at the same time. On top of that Kenya established itself as one of the strongest democracy on the continent with South Africa. Future is bright for Kenya’s armed forces with a strong sense of leadership from its political leaders. The army was able to reduce significantly Al-Shabab impact in Somalia and permitted Kenyans to live more safely.

5. Nigeria 

Due to its size, it’s no surprise that several hundred thousand troops comprise the Nigerian Armed Forces — army, navy, and air force. Like Algeria, an abundant domestic oil supply eases the financial burden of involvement in military conflict. Nigeria has more than 1,400 armored vehicles, 360 tanks, and 6,000 logistical vehicles at its disposal, as well as nearly 300 aircraft and 25 high-powered naval vessels. However this strong army has proven incapable of defending its citizens in Northern Nigeria against Boko Haram. Army seems prepared against conventional attacks but less for asymetrical warfare against insurgents.

4. South Africa 

As it hasn’t been embroiled in an international military conflict for some time, South Africa uses its highly advanced military for peacekeeping and international cooperation. Its aircraft and naval vessels are notoriously well equipped with the latest technology, and though the country has less than 100,000 active front line personnel, it has the capabilities and manpower for much more. Add to that a vast array of land system technology, and the South African military is a force to be reckoned with.

3. Ethiopia 

As a landlocked country, Ethiopia has focused its resources on developing its army and air force to an impressive degree (the GFP doesn’t penalize landlocked countries for not having a naval force). Several hundred thousand personnel make up its current force, and it has significant numbers of land and air systems at its disposal. An enormous population allows Ethiopia to maintain a large fighting force, and gives the country one of the greatest militaries on the continent. The Army has however difficulties in containing popular uprisings throughout the country that turned into local militias. Army seems not prepared for asymetrical warfare.

2. Algeria 

As Algeria has a large maritime border, it has developed all its military capabilities to an impressively modern degree, including its land, sea, and air forces. Algeria’s active frontline personnel number more than 127,000 troops and it has nearly 2,000 armored fighting vehicles at its disposal. Algeria also has the added benefit of its own oil reserves, allowing it to use its own fuel to power tanks, aircraft carriers, naval vessels, and more. However lacks of Leadership in Algeria may be an obstacle for setting objective to this powerful Army. The army in Algeria is the only entity able to oppose effectively Islamic Forces (that almost took over the country after the independance).

During my early years at school, “Oil Curse” was the term I heard repeatedly, but was incapable of comprehending exactly what this famous expression that is customarily labeled the Arab States or better to say the oil rich nations implied.

What is the Oil Curse?

Eventually, I have figured out that the curse spanning from Oil is dealing with my society and those of our neighbors in the region. Apparently, oil curse refers to the disadvantageous ramifications it institutes in an oil dependent society in terms of economy, education, politics,…etc. it is the paradox that although such peoples have plenty of natural resources and must in line be rich with respect to economy but conversely such states have less economic growth, less democracy and poor economic performance than those with fewer natural resources. Indisputably, undermining considerations to the unfavorable consequences that a sole “oil dependent economy” brings to society can evidently bring about a passive and to a large range an illiterate community.

Kurdistan

With that being said, laziness, ignorance and illiteracy can immeasurably be noticed in the oil dependent states “Middle East” to name one. People in this part of the world do not seem to concern about industrialization, technological advancements and inventions, thanks to the incalculably flow of money that is although not equally distributed among the civilian population, but yet brings about a passive society. The Kurdistan region “Iraqi Kurdistan” is with deep regret similar to such oil dependent states. Within the collapse of Saddam Hussain’s regime and in the after of the formation of Iraqi constitution, Kurdistan became an autonomous and federal region within the new Iraq and hence in 2006, Kurdistan started out investing oil in its territories while giant companies were invited to explore oil and invest. Kurdistan has as a matter of fact, been prosperous in discovering and exporting its own oil, but failed to bring forth an advanced and well developed economic system independent of oil alone. In other terms, Kurdistan regional government must have from the start sought to look for other alternatives in the process of building the foundations of its economy than merely relying on oil that brought about the curse I am addressing here.

In terms of economy, one of the implications of Oil dependence in Kurdistan was what we have seen after the oil price fall downs in 2014. KRG subsequently reduced the amount of the salary it used to provide to its emplyees to a quarter of the usual amount. From the moment the paychecks were reduced, it was said that Kurdistan has been in undergoing a content state economic crisis up to now. Thus, it is the result of Oil Curse and that KRG was unaware of constructing a powerful and long standing economy in case of oil price drops. Furthermore, the fact that KRG disregarded promoting substitutions to oil as the only economic source also pitched in to the sever economic circumstance Kurdistan is struggling with at the moment. The lack of time might not allow me address how reliant our people are on paychecks the government provides and that thereby passivate the people from sufficiently acquiring skills, conducting research and deal with inventions. I dare to mention that every year tens of thousands of students graduate from universities and institutions and the majority of those tend to seek in employment from government and as a result benefit from the money the government has that spanned from Oil. It is while, such class can and should instead look for other ways such as opening their own business “monopolized by political parties though”, doing research, or concern with inventing something.

So, every single person in the Middle East and In Kurdistan in Particular must be aware of the ramifications Oil Curse has on society and people. KRG must as soon as possible offer other alternatives for it is economic source such as promoting agricultural sector, tourism, and more substantially industrialization than solely relying on oil.

Ramiar Jamal

Master student, majoring in international politics, Milan/Italy.