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Papers by Maria Constantinescu

DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Oct 1, 2021

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 17, 2020

Romanian Military Thinking

DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Apr 1, 2015

Defense Resources Management in the 21st Century, 2008

Proceedings of the Conference on Defense Resources Management , 2021

The current strategic security and defense context is characterized by uncertainty and complex ri... more The current strategic security and defense context is characterized by uncertainty and complex risks and threats. The border between conventional and unconventional risks and threats becomes blurred, generating additional challenges in building an appropriate response from the countries, which have to deal with a very fluid environment. The aim of this paper is to outline Romania’s strategic direction in this new and challenging environment, based on the new National Strategy for the Country’s defense.

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2020

The concept of military power seems straightforward, but it is a lot more complex than it appears... more The concept of military power seems straightforward, but it is a lot more complex than it appears at first glance, which has direct implications on defense decisions and analyses. A crucial issue in building a country's armed forces and deciding on its appropriate size/strength derives from the fact that there is only one situation in which a country's military power can be precisely assessed, that is in time of military conflict. Excluding this situation, the best military planners and decision-makers can do in peacetime is try to estimate the required and actual strength of a country's military, an attempt not devoid of challenges. The focus of this paper is to address a few of the issues and challenges encountered in defining the concept of a country's military power.

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2018

The idea of developing this theme by the team of authors from two prestigious institutions in the... more The idea of developing this theme by the team of authors from two prestigious institutions in the field of military higher education institutions mainly aims at demonstrating the necessity of carrying out general military management studies, emphasizing more eloquently, and on this line of approach, the managerial peculiarities of the military organization as a subsystem of the social system. In addition to the theoretical considerations that will base the choice of pioneering case study by Robert McNamara in the field of defense resource management, it is also highlighted, by developing previous authors' ideas or recent references in the literature, the hypothesis that the army itself, institutionally speaking, has been an authentic model of managerial development.

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION

The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a significant factor for change, ... more The concept of artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a significant factor for change, in the society in general, both in the private and public sectors. It has not been ignored by the military either, as countries throughout the world (from the US to Russia and China) are studying the potential uses of artificial intelligence in a functional context, and its uses in the defense area. The purpose of this paper is to explore the future potential uses and limitations of using the artificial intelligence in the military, with emphasis on the areas of defence planning and defence resources management.

Carol I National Defence University Publishing House, 2016

Impact strategic, 2016

The Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS), used for managing defense resources in sev... more The Planning, Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS), used for managing defense resources in several countries, faced throughout its existence both support and fierce criticism.. Over time, the initial system has been adapted and transformed in the US in the form of the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution System (PPBES), while in Romania it is known as the Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Evaluation System. PPBES can be approached from a restricted perspective as a tool for budget development and management and from an expanded perspective as a decision support system. The intention of this paper is to provide an analysis of the challenges in using PPBES as a tool for managing defense resources, with emphasis on the interactions between strategic planning at the military-political level and resource planning.

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION, 2020

The level defence expenditures is a useful indicator for cross-country comparisons and for the an... more The level defence expenditures is a useful indicator for cross-country comparisons and for the analysis of the trends regarding defence expenditures per country, region or groups of countries. Decision makers often refer to past trends for defence expenditures or the level of defence expenditures for a perceived enemy country to justify political decisions. Still, the data regarding defence expenditures should not be considered the ultimate indicator regarding a country’s military strength and decision makers should be aware of the limitations and underlying assumptions of the methods used to quantify defence expenditures. The most used methods of estimating defence expenditures are based on the exchange rates and the purchasing power parity, with several advantages and disadvantages. While these type of statistics do offer a broad image on the defence expenditures of other countries, they are not a substitute for more in-depth analyses regarding the security and defence environment...

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2011

Assessing the productivity of factors of production has been a key issue for economists for many ... more Assessing the productivity of factors of production has been a key issue for economists for many decades, as the development and well-being of a govenrment sector, industry or company have been very early on linked to the way in which inputs are used in order to produce outputs. In this respect, the main aim is to use the available (and often scarce) resources (human, material, capital, information etc) in the most efficient and effective manner as to generate the most output; in othr words, to optimize te use of resources in order to produce the desired results.

Capabilities Based Planning is a current concern in all modern defense systems. This concept has ... more Capabilities Based Planning is a current concern in all modern defense systems. This concept has grown steadily in recent years, especially at the politic-military level. Although this concept is already over 10 years old, its implementation faces a series of challenges, related to the fact that a clear and comprehensive understanding of the process is not widespread within all the defense planners, being confined to a more restricted number of people who deal with it on a direct basis. In the same time, the concept of Capabilities Based Planning does not register a higher implementation dynamic because most of those involved in the process do not use the same terminology and do not understand the concept of Capabilities Based Planning in a unified way. All these challenges are enhanced by the fact that currently there is no organized system of education and training to effectively disseminate knowledge and best practices in the field. Through this article I wish to propose some var...

The main purpose of this paper is to underline the main current approaches regarding the economic... more The main purpose of this paper is to underline the main current approaches regarding the economic component of national security, with conclusions focused on the globalization effects on the national economies and the national security of the states. The dynamics of the unfolding political and economic events determines the need for the analysis-further developed in the paper-of the relevant variables and of the way these are involved in the intricate equations describing the current political, economic and social environment. One of the main results of the analysis is that national security represents a goal for any country wishing to provide sustainable welfare for its citizens, and this sustainable welfare cannot be achieved without sustainable economic security and development.

The very intense turmoil close to Romania's border generates a very complex process to take a... more The very intense turmoil close to Romania's border generates a very complex process to take adequate decisions in all aspects of our society. If these decisions are not taken properly, many problems may arise. An important aspect is represented by the economic fi eld where all goods and services are marketed based on supply and demand laws. If the market is not stable, a lot of other domains are infl uenced, such as the social one. The link between the economic and social domains is represented in this respect by unemployment and low wage work. Even in developed countries these two phenomena create big tensions which are exported to the entire world. This paper intends to emphasize the link among unemployment, low wage work and national security taking into consideration the challenges of economic globalization, deregulation and technological change.

Although the presence of natural resources on a country’s territory does not by itself lead to co... more Although the presence of natural resources on a country’s territory does not by itself lead to conflict, in specific situations this may constitute an aggravating factor for the risks pertaining to a country’s national security and long term development. The aim of this article is to outline the links and interactions between the availability of natural resources, their sustainable exploitation and a country’s national security and stability. The topic of the economics of conflict has generated a growing interest in the last 20 years, given the changing nature of the modern conflicts and their underlying economic factors. Some of these conflicts have been shown to be sustained, if not generated, by the availability of lucrative natural resources, leading to their classification as “resource wars”. Following the analysis of the influencing factors, a conclusion can be drawn regarding the need for the countries relying for their economic development solely on the exploitation of natur...

DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Oct 1, 2021

CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research - Zenodo, Sep 17, 2020

Romanian Military Thinking

DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals - DOAJ, Apr 1, 2015

Defense Resources Management in the 21st Century, 2008

Proceedings of the Conference on Defense Resources Management , 2021

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2020

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2018

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION

Carol I National Defence University Publishing House, 2016

Impact strategic, 2016

International conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION, 2020

Journal of Defense Resources Management, 2011

Proceedings of the The 15th International Scientific Conference “DEFENSE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE 21st CENTURY”, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on all areas of the human society, in many ... more The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant influence on all areas of the human society, in many countries of the world, and the defense resources management area is no exception. The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenges generated by the pandemic in the field of DRM, through a comparative analysis of the EU, NATO, Romania and the US. The paper aims to observe the efforts put in by using defense resources in fighting the COVID pandemic, as well as understanding what is the risk of reallocating some of the resources from their original purpose, with a financial recession looming as well for the foreseeable future. While the paper will tend to focus on economic challenges, it will also present all type of resources involved in fighting the pandemic in terms of defense allocation, like logistic, human and information resources as well.

The 26th International Conference The Knowledge-Based Organization, KBO 2020 International Conference KNOWLEDGE-BASED ORGANIZATION proceedings, 2020

The 12 th International Scientific Conference "DEFENSE RESOURCES MANAGEMENT IN THE 21st CENTURY" Proceedings , 2017

Among the threats to national security often not spoken about, or mentioned as an afterthought, a... more Among the threats to national security often not spoken about, or mentioned as an afterthought, are the threats and risks linked to environmental issues. This study assumes that, in the future, the worst threat will be environmental, either deriving from scarce resources such as water, energy dependence or even pollution. Most of the pollution around the world is being caused by logistic transportation. This study focuses on what is being done and can be done with military logistics in order to help fighting against this future threat.

Conference of Defense Resources Management Proceedings, 2016

The future of the Common Security and Defense Policy is closely linked to the future of the Europ... more The future of the Common Security and Defense Policy is closely linked to the future of the European Union itself. Although the birth of the EU is linked to economic cooperation and integration, its evolution over time has made it impossible to return to a simple economic multinational framework. The current changes in the security and defense environment have brought the issue of a European defense, the various ways it can be achieved and the degrees of integration and cooperation it requires, in the attention of the political decision makers and public opinion. This paper intends to analyze the history and evolution of the EU CSDP concept and to outline some of the most serious challenges it faces in the volatile current security climate.

The 13 th International Scientific Conference eLearning and Software for Education Bucharest,, 2017

In the context of the dramatic changes in the European security and defence environment, the Euro... more In the context of the dramatic changes in the European security and defence environment, the European Union needs to increase its resolve and determination in ensuring its own security and defence, both in cooperation with NATO but also on its own. The complex framework of the European security and defence, rather generic and flawed by many shortfalls, should be refined and optimized in many areas. A functioning European defence framework, regardless of its final format, can only be build on the foundations of EU institutions manned by military and civilian personnel that use the same doctrines, concepts, definitions, sets and values and mind-sets, related to the common European goals, as an addition to their national cultural values and backgrounds. This requires a decisive reform in the education and training of the personnel working in the various bodies and agencies related to the Common European Security and Defence. In this context, the use of the existent E-Education and e-Training concepts bears a significant importance in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of this process. At the same time, a major challenge would be the necessity to integrate and correlate the educational objectives, the curricula and the newest IT@C technologies to facilitate the attainment of the desired educational outcomes. This paper aims to propose a model of analysis and implementation of a process geared towards an integrated and coordinated education and training for the military and civilian personnel involved in the CSDP framework, in order to allow the optimization of the fulfilment of the European defence and security missions and objectives.

Economic crises have become an increasingly common threat in a globalized world, with non-homogen... more Economic crises have become an increasingly common threat in a globalized world, with non-homogenous effects on the various component of the society, with different intensity, timeframe, consequences etc. In this respect, security, as an important component of the society, has various components, from ensuring the defense of the national territory to the need to ensure the economic security and stability of the country. The current security environment has lead to significant changes in the concept of military force use, in the sense of the need to think about the military requirements in terms of capabilities. In this respect, the process of military capability development, both in NATO as an alliance and in the member countries, has to be considered in the broader context of the economic crises.