The use of force in asymmetrical warfare, and in counterinsurgency operations in particular, has been written off as strategically dangerous and politically irrational. The goal of the article is to examine the role of force in a modern military context and determine if victory through its application is theoretically feasible. This hypothesis will be tested against the backdrop of the conflict in Chechnya. The work will examine the Russian military and public policy as a subordinate subject to the overall inquiry of the article in an attempt to show that force was one of the major factors behind Russian military success in 2001.

This paper relates the results of deliberation of youth juries about the use of autonomous weapons systems (AWS). The discourse that emerged from the juries centered on several key issues. The jurors expressed the importance of keeping the humans in the decision-making process when it comes to militarizing artificial intelligence, and that only humans are capable of moral agency. They discussed the perennial issue of control over AWS and possibility of something going wrong, either with software or hardware. Concerns over proliferation of AWS and possible arms race also entered the discussion and the jurors were skeptical about the possibility of regulation and compliance once AWS enter military arsenals. We conclude that the juries were very apprehensive and hostile to the introduction of autonomous weapons systems into military conflicts.

In the 1790s, Prince Nikolai Repnin sent one of his favorites, a major, to Count Aleksandr Suvorov, the rising star in Catherine's army, with a recommendation letter to promote him to colonelcy. Suvorov met the major with extreme courtesy but at the same time tried to test his worthiness, his wit, and his ability to think on the spot. Suvorov was trying to see if the major was one of the "don't-knowers" (nemoguznaiki), a word of his own invention that he used to describe the people unable to stand up to the onslaught of his bizarre questions. Suvorov tried hard but he could not fault the major as a don't-knower. On the questions of how many stars were in the sky or how many fish were in the sea the major steadily supplied astronomical numbers. Finally Suvorov asked, "What is the difference between Prince Repnin and me?" The question was a difficult and sensitive one, but the major did not lose his nerve and replied: "The difference is that Prince Repnin wants to promote me to colonel, but he cannot, and Your Excellency needs only to wish it." Suvorov was satisfied with this witty reply and the major received his promotion. 1 This story sheds interesting light on the meaning of merit, promotions, and awards, which still remain an unexplored part of military culture in eighteenth-century Russia. 2

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