It is rather undisputed that the United States has maintained its position of global primacy since the end of the Cold War. According to the current Bush- administration and the US National Security Strategy, this power will be used to fight terrorists as well as to encourage free and open societies on every continent. With this position held by the government, it becomes essential to know more about the US power to better understand world politics. What opinions an American foreign policy elite has on international politics in general and on the US power in particular, can be consideredto have a certain influence on the US governmental policy making and is hence an interesting object of analysis for an improved knowledge of the US power position. This thesis aims to analyse different foreign policy elite interpretations, both of the present US situation and of what can be expected in the near future. In addition to opinions on the power position itself, the question addressed is whether there seem to be any impact of modern theories of international politics among the elite and if these theories are relevant at all for policy- orientated estimations. The result of the analysis indicates at least some impact of neorealism, neoliberalism and social constructivism, while there tend to be no influence of feminist IR-theory. However, as a base assumption in this thesis, most modern theories of international politics are conceived as partly related to a realist tradition in the field of academics, and this might diminish the influence of the separate theories among the elite. Accordingly, nor can extreme theoretical differences be confirmed, neither can the differences be disregarded. A majority of the foreign policy elite representatives describe the present US position as unrivalled in all critical dimensions, with an unsurpassed military, economic, technological and cultural power. The opinions on the expected power position in the near future are more diverging and suggest different courses of development. However, as long as the US keeps the precedence of interpretation and attracts others to American values and ideas, in addition to a solid base of economic and military strength, the US power position will most probably last for a foreseeable future.

La stratégie militaire des Cananéo-phéniciens à l'âge du Bronze constitue le sujet développé dans cette thèse. Celle-ci se base sur l'étude des fortifications, des armes, des textes historiques, des figurines armées et des représentations sur des bas-reliefs et sur des sceaux-cylindres. Les deux volets principaux de ce travail s'articulent donc autour des fortifications et des armes. L'étude des systèmes défensifs est menée à la lumière d'une approche scientifique inédite se basant sur la mécanique statique. Les fortifications répertoriées ont été découvertes au Levant-Nord, notamment à Byblos et à Ougarit, et dans des nombreux autres sites de la région. L'analyse de ces systèmes défensifs montre que les tours, les bastions, les remparts, les murs, les casemates et les fossés sont destinés à entraver la progression des machines de guerre et des soldats ; de même que les contreforts, les glacis, les noyaux et les murs de soutènement sont conçus pour assurer l'équilibre statique des fortifications. Le corpus d'armes cataloguées se compose de 1344 éléments provenant de Byblos et d'Ougarit principalement. Une partie de ces armes a été analysée à la Direction générale des antiquités de Beyrouth et une autre partie a été traitée suivant une approche informatique se basant sur la reconstitution virtuelle du Tell de Byblos. Suivant leur fonction, ces armes sont distribuées en armes à comte portée ; en armes à longue portée ; en armes défensives et finalement en machines de guerre. En conclusion, cette étude trace les grandes étapes de l'histoire militaire des Cananéo-phéniciens tout en montrant que la stratégie militaire adoptée par ce peuple était défensive. / The military strategy of the Cananeo-Phoenicians in the Bronze Age is the subject developed in this thesis. It is based on the study of fortifications, weapons, historical texts, armed figurines, and representations on reliefs, and cylinder seals. Hence, the two main components of this work are articulated around fortifications and weapons. The study of defensive systems is conducted in the light of an unprecedented scientific approach based on static mechanics. The listed fortifications have been discovered in North Levant, particularly in Byblos, Ugarit, and many other sites in the region. The analysis of these defensive systems shows that towers, bastions, ramparts, walls, casemates, and fosses are intended to hinder the progress of war machines and soldiers; in addition, the buttresses, glacis, cores, and retaining walls are designed to ensure the static equilibrium of those fortifications. The catalog of weapons consists of 1344 items discovered mainly in Byblos and Ugarit. Some of these weapons were analyzed at the General Directorate of Antiquities of Beirut while some others are treated using a computerized approach based on the virtual reconstruction of Byblos Tell. Depending on their function, these weapons are distributed on short-range weapons, long-range weapons, defensive weapons, and finally war machines. In conclusion, this study traces the stages of Cananeo-Phoenician military history and shows that the military strategy adopted by this people was defensive.

This thesis strives to raise and answer three questions about the concept of hybrid warfare: What concepts of hybrid warfare exist so far? How similar or different are they? How useful are they from conceptual standpoint? The questions are answered by a conceptual analysis consisting of survey of existing concepts, their comparison and detailed evaluation of two of them on the basis of criteria of conceptualization. The answers revealed several important issues of the concept. Firstly, there are too many different concepts of hybrid warfare, often formulated with insufficient care for previous debates and already established concepts. Secondly, the formulated concepts of hybrid warfare are often different to a degree, which calls into question the claim, that all of them are trying to capture the same phenomenon. Lastly, even the better elaborated of the hybrid warfare concepts seem to be rather poorly conceptualized and not very useful. These three answers together cast shadow of doubt on the currently popular concept of hybrid warfare. The results of this work call for more careful thinking on whether and how the use of this concept is helping or hurting both our understanding of contemporary conflicts and our defence efforts against contemporary threats.

In 1793, Great Britain embarked on a war against Revolutionary France to reestablish a balance of power in Europe. Traditional assessments among historians consider British war planning at the ministerial level during the First Coalition to be incompetent and haphazard. This work reassesses decision making of the leading strategists in the British Cabinet in the development of a theater in the Mediterranean by examining political, diplomatic, and military influences. William Pitt the Younger and his controlling ministers pursued a conservative strategy in the Mediterranean, reliant on Allies in the region to contain French armies and ideas inside the Alps and the Pyrenees. Dependent on British naval power, the Cabinet sought to weaken the French war effort by targeting trade in the region. Throughout the first half of 1793, the British government remained fixed on this conservative, traditional approach to France. However, with the fall of Toulon in August of 1793, decisions made by Admiral Samuel Hood in command of forces in the Mediterranean radicalized British policy towards the Revolution while undermining the construct of the Coalition. The inconsistencies in strategic thought political decisions created stagnation, wasting the opportunities gained by the Counter-revolutionary movements in southern France. As a result, reinvigorated French forces defeated Allied forces in detail in the fall of 1793.

欲瞭解一個國家的行為，就必須要瞭解這個國家的整體行為，而這整體的行為所表現者，即是「文化」。從戰略文化的研究途徑做一切入點，正可深入瞭解一個國家戰爭的行為，甚而可以預測未來戰爭的發生。而維繫國防安全的軍人自當對中共戰略與戰爭模式，應有相當的了解與認知；也希望藉著對戰略文化的瞭解，探照中共對外戰爭實例，探尋中共對外戰爭的模式，進而提供國防戰略因應對策，才不愧於自己的職責所在。 就中華民國的生存發展而言，海峽對岸的中共無疑是我生存發展的最大威脅，而兩岸在軍事武力的不對稱下，中共時時以「不放棄武力」，極盡挑釁之威脅，而台灣除了默默軍事備戰外，在政治，外交生存上，也只能低調回應，這也可看出中共武力對台已具有足夠的軍事力量解決統一台灣問題。目前兩岸之間最大的障礙是由領土主權爭議所衍生的問題，而領土主權問題又很容易引起戰爭，在這種壓力下，台灣將如何去面對，這是一門重要的課題。國內學術界對於兩岸關係的研究，多偏向政策方面而較少理論方面的探討，其實，藉由理論層面的研究而詮釋海峽兩岸互動過程與未來發展，有助於強化政策建議的內涵與深度，觀諸台海兩岸未來的安全發展，若能以戰略文化研究途徑，作為觀察的理論基礎，對於台海武力衝突的可能性，及中共對於使用武力的政治目的、手段與效用或許能提供新的詮釋與政策建議，由於潛在的戰略文化，會使決策者的戰略偏好及使用兵力解決爭議的傾向產生影響，因此，武力在未來台海安全的發展中，仍會是一個關鍵的重要角色，所以透過對中共戰略文化內涵的分析與掌握的研究途徑，進而對其軍事戰略與對外戰爭模式加以研究，期能深入瞭解中共在何種情況下，會不惜一切的以戰爭來解決問題，進而思考台海雙方在既有戰略思維下審慎避免誤判或誤認，讓動武甚至檫槍走火的意外情勢均不會發生；以提供吾人從事國家安全政策及國防戰略規劃相關人員參考研究與運用。 / In order to understand the behavior of a country, it is necessary to learn its behavior in a macro scale, and the representation of such behaviors is known as the “Culture”. From the strategic culture perspective, it provides an in-depth understanding of a country’s use of military forces, as well as the prediction of future wars. Especially for the military personnel who are the key to the national security, they shall have the understanding and knowledge to the People’s Republic of China’s initiation on wars; through the study of strategic culture, examples of PRC’s use of military power, research of PRC’s initiation on wars, I shall fulfill my duty by providing recommendation towards the national security strategies in order to protect the country. To the Republic of China, the PRC from the cross strait is the biggest threat to our country’s survival and development, under the unbalance of military power, PRC constantly provokes and threatens by stating “not giving up the use of force”. In contrast, Taiwan is much more low-profile in the military preparation, politics, and diplomacy. This is a strong indicator that the PRC’s military force has the capability and could to use its power to unify Taiwan. Currently the biggest obstacle between the two sides is the territorial dispute from sovereignty, and it is a subject that can easily trigger wars. It is an important subject for Taiwan to deal with under pressure. Many of the existing academic researches focus on the policy aspect and less on the theoretical perspective. In fact, through the theoretical interpretation of cross-strait interaction and future development can strengthen the content and depth of policy recommendations, and the future safety development. Through the use of strategic culture as the research methodology, it will identify the probability of cross-strait conflict, the PRC’s political execution of military power, tactics, and effectiveness. This strategic cultural perspective may provide new definition and policy recommendation, as it studies the decision maker’s strategic preferences and their tactics. Therefore, the military power plays a significant role in the development of the cross-strait safety, and by analyzing the PRC’s strategic culture and research of its military strategy and war mode, will provide in-depth understanding of the circumstances under which the PRC will stop at nothing to solve the problem with war, and to avoid misunderstanding or misinterpretation through the strategic culture from both sides. This will further prevent wars from occurred by accidents: hence, this national security policy and defense strategic referencing may provide values to be researched and utilized by the associated members.

Thesis (M. of Military Art and Science)--U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 2007. / "A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Military Art and Science, Military History." Title from cover page of PDF file (viewed: May 29, 2008).

This thesis explores the conditions under which mass rapes are more likely to be incorporated into the strategy of military or paramilitary groups during periods of conflict. I examine three societies, Rwanda , the former Yugoslavia , and Cambodia in a comparative analysis. To determine what characteristics make societies more likely to engage in rape as a military tool, I look at the status of women in the society, the religious cultures, the degree of female integration into the military institutions, the cause of the conflicts, the history of the conflict, and finally, the status of minority ethnic groups in each of these societies.

The Defence Commission has proposed that the Swedish Armed Forces once again will be assigned the main task of defending Sweden against an armed attack. Defence against an armed attack has gained more focus since the defence decision 2015 and prior to the upcoming defence decision it is even more emphasized. Are the politics and the Swedish Armed Forces in agreement regarding the meaning and implications of this on basis of contemporary threats? The overall aim of the study is to understand the interaction between politics and the Swedish Armed Forces in the designing and shaping of the Swedish Armed Forces. This study has a starting point in the prelude to the planned political defence decision 2020 and aims to understand some of this major context. It is focusing on identifying the coherence between the Defence Committee and the Swedish Armed Forces’ military strategic leadership in terms of the meaning of an armed attack being the primary basis of designing and shaping the Swedish Armed Forces. In addition, important factors that have an impact on the interaction between politics and the Swedish Armed Forces are identified. The empiricism is taken from international law, the military strategic doctrine of the Swedish Armed Forces, reports from the Defence Commission and interviews with members of the Defence Committee and the military strategic leadership of the Swedish Armed Forces. The results show that there is lack of coherence within the Defence Committee as well as between the Defence Committee and the Swedish Armed Forces regarding the meaning of the proposed main task to the Swedish Armed Forces and how it should relate to other tasks. There is an illusion regarding the definition of an armed attack. In reality it is the government that, under constitutional responsibility, defines an armed attack when there is an act of aggression. In addition, it is identified that it is suitable to mutually improve trust between politics and the Swedish Armed Forces by increasing knowledge of each other's realities. / Försvarsberedningen har föreslagit att Försvarsmakten åter ska få huvuduppgiften att försvara Sverige mot väpnat angrepp. Försvar mot väpnat angrepp har fått ett allt större fokus sedan försvarsbeslutet 2015 och inför det kommande försvarsbeslutet föreslås en ytterligare inskärpning. Är politiken och Försvarsmakten överens om innebörden utifrån samtidens hot? Studiens övergripande syfte är att förstå samspelet mellan politiken och Försvarsmakten i utformningen och inriktningen av Försvarsmakten. Studien tar avstamp i förspelet inför det planerade försvarsbeslutet 2020 och tar sikte på att förstå en del av detta stora sammanhang genom att fokusera på att identifiera samstämmigheten mellan försvarsutskottet och Försvarsmaktens militärstrategiska ledning om innebörden av att väpnat angrepp ska vara dimensionerande för Försvarsmaktens inriktning. Därtill identifieras viktiga faktorer som påverkar samspelet mellan politiken och Försvarsmakten. Empirin är hämtad från internationell rätt, Försvarsmaktens militärstrategiska doktrin, försvarsberedningens rapporter samt intervjuer med försvarsutskottet och Försvarsmaktens militärstrategiska ledning. Resultatet visar på att det saknas samstämmighet såväl inom försvarsutskottet som mellan försvarsutskottet och Försvarsmakten avseende innebörden av Försvarsmaktens föreslagna huvuduppgift samt hur den ska förhålla sig till övriga uppgifter. Det råder en illusion om innebörden av ett väpnat angrepp. I verkligheten är det regeringen som under konstitutionellt ansvar fastställer vad som är ett väpnat angrepp när en aggressionshandling sker. Därtill identifieras lämpligheten av att ömsesidigt förbättra förtroendet mellan politiken och Försvarsmakten genom att öka kunskapen om varandras realiteter.

Evaluation des mutations de la stratégie politico-militaire américaine depuis l'occurrence de la Revolution in Military Affairs jusqu'au processus actuel de "Transformation". L'analyse des évolutions vues - y compris à l'aune des opérations menées en Afghanistan et en Irak - montre, au delà du phénomène de technicisation (i.e. le processus d'intégration de nouvelles technologies aux armées) un phénomène de "technologisation". <p><p>Dans ce cadre, le discours stratégique américain, examiné au travers des débats stratégiques et des contributions doctrinales, tendrait à être sur-déterminé par la technologie, du niveau tactique au niveau politique, de sorte que ledit discours tendrait à devenir en soi une technologie. / Doctorat en Sciences politiques et sociales / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished