This thesis examines public opinion towards the participation opinion of the British Auxiliary Legion in the Spanish Civil War. It is based on an analysis of British newspapers, periodicals and political discussion between 1835 and 1838. It suggests that, although there was some degree of support for the foreign policy of Lord Palmerston in sending the legion to aid liberalism in the Peninsula, yet that support declined rapidly. In spite of Palmerston's eventual claim that intervention in Spain had been worthwhile, public opinion was not to reflect the view that his policy had been a right one, or that the British Auxiliaries had been indispensable to the cause of Spanish constitutionalism.

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This thesis examines the regulation of naval competition between the major naval powers, and especially between Britain and the United States, under the regime of the Washington and London naval treaties, and the attempts to extend and maintain naval limitation in the period 1927 to 1936 in the face of Anglo-American rivalry and, later, the threats from Japan and Germany. Based upon British and American public and private sources, it traces the interaction of the two nations, and their relationships with other naval powers, from 1927 - when Anglo-American relations reached a nadir after the failed 'Coolidge Conference' in Geneva and the subsequen abortive 'Anglo-French Compromise' - to 1936, when naval limitation ende but by which time Anglo-American antipathy was fading in the face of mut external threats. The naval conferences of Geneva (1927) and London (19 and 1935-36), and the parallel naval side of the long-running Disarmamen Conference and its Preparatory Commission are reviewed with their attend preparations in London and Washington, and the influence of domestic factors - public opinion, financial stringency, and personal and politic prejudice - are examined. The central role of the naval balance in the relationship between the interward Great Powers is stressed, and the importance of the naval negotiations to both governments and public opinion echoes our contemporary concern for the preservation and management of the strategic balance. While the Washington-London naval system failed to halt naval rival it achieved the unforeseen consequences of permitting Britain to gracefu cede naval supremacy to the United States, under the guise of conceding 'parity', with a minimum of friction or indeed recognition of the fact. Additionally, it demonstrated by its breakdown the vulnerability of an arms limitation system that was neither geographically nor technically comprehensive.

The specific task of this thesis is to illustrate the complexity of a cooperation between civilian and military entities by examining Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) and their role as an actor among others in the field in a war-torn Afghanistan. By using counterinsurgency strategy as an analytical framework it has been possible to examine the civilian and military contexts closer. Underlying structures concerning the norms and interpretation of reality of the PRTs has been partly revealed. Studies of the PRTs as one significant bearers of "the comprehensive approach", which includes a holistic approach regarding the use of civilian and military capabilities, new conclusions can be drawn on whether a general civil-military approach can be a part of the solution for current and future conflicts. Based on the counterinsurgency strategy, the author has identified three themes as bearing and thus appears through the thesis as a foundation. These are Coordination, Development and Security. The empirical material is filtered through these themes as they are central to counterinsurgency and there by affect the PRT-concept. This study leads to five conclusions regarding the integration of the civilian and military contexts. In summary the conclusions states that it seems to be no starting points for creating a robust culture for cooperation. The absence of common objectives regarding operation, competition between different narratives as well as parallel processes of development and security risks causing a counterproductive outcome. A single resonance must be allowed to emerge from a convergence of civil and military powers as to what should be the civilmilitary mission. With mutual trust and dialogue improved conditions can be shaped to build common ground and goals for what needs to be done in countries with similar problems like Afghanistan.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / The primary focus of this study is to look at the interplay of the military and academic cultures at the South African Military Academy (SAMA). The question was raised about the nature of these two conflicting subcultures within the SAMA faculty, some avoidable damage that is being done, and ways to overcome the conflict for the future. Research data obtained from interviewing a sample of the SAMA members was used to investigate whether the two subcultures, which appear each to have a different ethos, can complement one another and how they define and shape the organisational culture of the institution. Findings from this study confirmed the existence of conflict between the academic and military culture and showed that this conflict has historical origins. It was further shown that part of the conflict arises from the tendency of the military culture to impose itself over the academic culture. The study revealed that this conflict also affects the civilian-military relations amongst the staff members, which impacts on the staff morale and organisational performance. It was found that ineffective organisational communication of the Academy was partly the source of this organisational culture and that the strengthening of an effective organisational communication particularly on the part of senior management of the Academy could go a long way towards creating an inclusive organisational culture that accommodates and encourages the coexistence of both the academic and military subcultures. The study concluded that peaceful coexistence of both these subcultures will lead to healthier relations between the civilian and uniformed members and to the SAMA as a whole. Recommendations for further consideration and action by the Military Academy were given.

This study develops a leader-centric theory of civil-military relations that expands upon three broad areas of research. Specifically, the study suggests that leaders will evaluate multiple threats to their political survival and will ultimately implement strategy that is most likely to keep them in power. While Downs (1957) has noted such a tendency in democracies, this study expands this rationale to authoritarian regimes by focusing on the primary means of authoritarian removal: the military coup. In contrast to the state-centric nature of traditional international relations theory, this dissertation finds that leaders frequently undermine the power of the state in order to accomplish the self-interested goal of political survival. First, the study carefully describes a number of coup-proofing strategies that leaders can implement. These are broadly defined in terms of influencing either the military’s willingness or its ability to attempt a coup. In addition to testing the effectiveness of these strategies, this study also theoretically explores the implications of coup-proofing for other political development of the state: interstate and intrastate conflict. Second, the study considers the influence of coup-proofing on interstate conflict. This study builds on the diversionary literature by investing coup risk as an incentive to use diversionary tactics as well as coup-proofing as a potential disincentive. The latter can both undermine the necessity of diversion as well as military capabilities, making leaders less capable of utilizing international conflict as a political tool. Third, the dissertation considers the influence of coup-proofing on intrastate conflict. The theory argues that the capability-reducing practice of coup-proofing can have important domestic consequences. Specifically, the practice can increase the mobilizational potential of would-be insurgents, can reduce the mobilizational capacity of the state, and leaders that are particularly fearful of a coup will likely tolerate the rise of an insurgency.

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". 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.

Since its independence, the Latin America has been prone to unstable and military dominated politics. Mexico, however, has proven to be an exception. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to explain Mexico's stability and civilian dominated polity. The dissertation draws upon personal interviews with Mexican and American military officers, Mexican military documents and secondary sources. From these sources four foci, professionalization, social background of military and civilian leaders, civilian political behavior, and extranational influences, appeared to offer the greatest amount of explanation for the Mexican case. Professionalization's impact appears to result from the low level of political efficacy generated by the Mexican military educational system and the inculcation of values encouraging loyalty to civilian institutions. The social background of Mexican officers appears to support the values and norms common to the military institution, including those conducive to civilian domination. The social disparity between the more humble family background of most officers and the higher family social background of civilian politicians also appears to be a factor. The civilians political party system appears to be critical. In a multiparty system, like Brazil, multiple civilian opposition groups, through co-optation, generate corresponding military support groups. Civilian opposition groups with military backing therefore will always be present and represent a potential threat. In a single party dominant system, like Mexico, though, military identification will always be with the government, rather than an opposition political group. Finally, the influences of the United States and Soviet Union do have an impact on Mexican civil-military relations. However, rather than the super powers' manipulating the Mexican military and causing coups supportive of super power foreign policy objectives, Mexico appears to use the super powers' resources and images to stabilize civil-military relations. The importance of this dissertation is that it offers explanations for the difference in behavior between the stable, civilian dominated Mexican model, and the military dominated models found throughout most of the Latin American region. The dissertation also presents new interpretations regarding the relationships between professionalization and political efficacy, and social background and social efficacy.