HF communication has been used for more than a century and to this day still fulfils an important function in communications networks. In order to interface with modern communications protocols, solutions have to be designed to facilitate data communication over HF (High Frequency). STANAG 5066 is one such solution which provides an application independent ARQ (Automatic Repeat Request) bearer service for client applications. A need exists within the STANAG 5066 specification for a DRC algorithm. The objective of such an algorithm is to select the optimum data rate and interleaver size, based upon current HF channel conditions, to maximise the data throughput over the HF link. In this dissertation previous implementations of DRC algorithms were studied and evaluated. In literature it was found that algorithm implementations used the FER and no channel information to make a data rate choice. This resulted in algorithms that tended to oscillate between data rate choices, and was very slow to react to changes in the HF channel. A new DRC algorithm was designed and simulated that uses the SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) and the BER estimate to make a data rate choice. The DRC algorithm was implemented in a commercial STANAG 5066 system and tested using HF data modems and a simulated HF channel. The results of the implementation and testing show that the designed DRC algorithm gives a better performance, is quicker to adapt and is more robust than previous DRC algorithms. This is also the first DRC algorithm that has been designed to use channel information, such as the SNR and BER, to make a data rate choice. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering / unrestricted

Since the end of the Cold War, political and geographical realities have changed considerably. One such reality was the balance of power between East and West, which was especially visible in Europe. The contest between rivals, the Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), was over. Ultimately, NATO found itself the pre-eminent security organisation in Europe. The new post-cold war environment forced questions about the appropriate role for NATO. However, that changed with both the process of NATO expansion into former Warsaw pact countries and the ethnic conflicts throughout the former Yugoslavia. NATO found a new purpose during the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia as ‘peace-enforcer’ in the Balkan region. The focus of this thesis is NATO’s role in peace-enforcement in the former Yugoslavia. It examines how NATO dealt with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Specifically, how NATO managed to re-establish its relevance as a security organisation. NATO’s military intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo were crucial in securing the end of hostilities in both those regions. NATO’s Implementation Force (IFOR), Stabilisation Force (SFOR) and Kosovo Force (KFOR) all played significant roles in subsequent peace-enforcement and peace-building roles in the region by suppressing violence through power projection and institution building. In 2001, NATO undertook a third operation in the Balkans, that time of a more limited nature, disarming ethnic Albanians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. NATO’s presence there also encouraged stability. This thesis argues that, ultimately, NATO maintained its relevance by the establishing a new role for itself after the Cold War through Eastward expansion and in suppressing ethnic conflict in the Balkans. Both these roles have been successful. The decisive interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and FYROM forced the belligerents to stop fighting. NATO’s subsequent enforcement of the peace has stopped each conflict from flaring up again. With NATO membership now including most of Europe, it remains the only viable security organisation on the continent. NATO’s effectiveness as a security organisation was demonstrated with its ability to end the conflict in the Balkans and providing a stable environment for the people of the region. This intervention was crucial to the definition of a new role for NATO in the post-Cold War world. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1320482 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics 2008

Thesis (Ph.D. (Political Science)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / Much of the literature on the recent Libyan conflict is framed through a Westernised lens. This is an epistemic and ontological setback for Africa. Hence, the transition from the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to African Union (AU) with the principle of, “African solution to African problems,” seemed to be a plausible one after a number of imported solutions and western powers’ interventions that often left the continent worse off than before. Syria shared a similar situation with Libya but the intervention from the western powers differed significantly. Against this setback, this study employs Afrocentricity as an alternative theoretical lens to examine the incompatibilities of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) involvement in the Libyan conflict within the context of the African Agenda. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the relations between AU and UNSC on the Libyan crisis, how the UNSC Res 1973 was understood and implemented AU and NATO and to reflect on the implications of NATO led military intervention under the pretext of Responsibility to Protect civilians in Libya. The involvement of NATO’s military force sealed not only the fate of Libyans with no long term plan to the resolution of the crisis but also severely restricted and undermined the efforts of AU in Libya. The efforts of AU and its roadmap were completely negated when NATO forces started their air raids. Divisions were clearly evident within NATO members with Germany and Netherlands opposing the motives of NATO. The intervention by NATO facilitated regime change and flooded the region with illicit trade in arms and goods, harboured armed extremists’ groups, and terrorists. The cauldron of all of the above effectively destabilised the region. It also exposed deep divisions within AU members, lack of coordination and the effects of limited resources on operations that could be handled continentally to avoid unsavoury interventions. In relation to the Libyan crisis, AU and NATO had divergent interests and could not cooperate in finding long lasting solutions. AU should in the future be proactive in resolving conflicts with the continent and should be prepared to fund its own operations in order to reduce dependence on foreign assistance in similar situations in the future.

The topic of this thesis is the role of Central Europe in the security-political relations focusing on the Visegrad Group as a representative of Central European regional cooperation. The thesis first describes international regimes, which the Visegrad Group belongs to, the reasons of their origin and the functions, which they have been performing. The paper also deals with the region of Central Europe, with its definition and cooperation within it. The core part of the thesis is dedicated to the Visegrad Group, to its origin, to the relations between its members and above all to its activity within the European Union and the North Atlantic Alliance. The final part evaluates not only achievements and failures in security and defense aspects of Visegrad cooperation, but it also mentions new possibilities, which are currently offered to such cooperation.

This master's thesis focuses on the development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization between 1955 and 1956. One of its main aims is to analyze the impact the crisis had on the members of NATO, especially on the relations between Great Britain and France and between Great Britain and the United States. Therefore, the author of the thesis concentrates on various disagreements within NATO and their possible impact on how the organization reacted during the crisis. The author will also examine the development in the Middle East and the role of NATO members outside clearly defined boundaries of the organization. The research will be placed in broader context of the Cold War and political development in the Middle East. To find answers for all the research inquiries, structural changes within the organization and the development in the economically key area of defense capability are also examined in the thesis.

Diploma thesis "Reflection of National Identities in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Discussion of NATO Membership" is a discourse analysis focusing on the socio-political environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the perspective of discussion over possible accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The first part of the thesis begins by an overview of the history of NATO engagement in the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, followed by a summary of current NATO relations with the countries of Western Balkans, specifically with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Special regard is given to national identities and their role in the conduct of the country's foreign policy. The second part of the thesis is dedicated to examining the current political debate. It seeks to understand how national identity shapes the discussion over the accession to the organisation. Specifically, through discourse analysis, it aims to identify the tools employed in the political debate and the impact it has on the overall political environment of the country.

Graduation thesis tries to explore, if the Visegrad Group Countries, i.e. the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia cooperated together during their effort to acces the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union. The thesis is divided into four parts. First part analyses the first steps of Visegrad Cooperation, second part describes the integration process into NATO. The third part is related to the integration with EU. The last part of the thesis sketches the continuation of Visegrad cooperation after accession into EU in 2004. The theory of international regimes was chosen as a theoretical approach to Visegrad Cooperation. The thesis desribes the course of integration process and different forms of cooperation.

The thesis examines the international law pertaining to the use of force by states, in general, and to the use of force in self-defence, in particular. The main question addressed is whether the use of force, which was purported to be in self-defence, by the United States, the United Kingdom and their allies against al Qaeda, the Taliban and Afghanistan, beginning on 7 October 2001, was lawful. The thesis focuses not only on this specific use of force, but also on the changing nature of conflict, the definition of terrorism and on the historical evolution of limitations on the use of force, from antiquity until 2006. In the six chapters which trace the epochs of international law, the progression of five inter-related concepts is followed: limitations on the resort to force generally, the use of force in self-defence, pre-emptive self-defence, the use of forcible measures short of war, and the use of force in response to non-state actors. This historical analysis includes a particular emphasis on understanding the meaning of the 'inherent right of self-defence', which was preserved by Article 51 of the United Nations' Charter. This analysis is then applied to the use of force against Afghanistan which occurred in 2001. Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, the US and the UK notified the United Nations Security Council of their resort to force in self-defence under Article 51. Each element of Article 51 is analysed and the thesis concludes that there are significant doubts as to the lawfulness of that decision to employ force. In addition to the self-defence justification, other possible grounds for intervention are also examined, such as humanitarian intervention, Security Council authorisation and intervention by invitation. This thesis challenges the common assumption that the use of force against Afghanistan was an example of states exercising their inherent right to self-defence. It argues that if this particular use of force is not challenged, it will lead to an expansion of the right of self-defence which will hinder rather than enhance international peace and security. Finally, this thesis draws on recent examples to illustrate the point that the use of force against Afghanistan could become a dangerous precedent for the use of force in self-defence.