L’adhésion à l’OTAN façonne-t-elle l’imaginaire sécuritaire ? À travers l’analyse des discours des locuteurs autorisés australiens et français sur le thème de la guerre en Afghanistan (2001-2012), ce mémoire vise à comparer les imaginaires sécuritaires de ces deux États au regard de leur relation avec l’OTAN. Lorsque ces éléments constitutifs sont mis bout à bout, avec le récit entourant le cadre d’opération (chapitre 1), celui de la représentation de l’ennemi (chapitre 2) ainsi que celui de la la désignation de la menace (chapitre 3), l’ensemble que l’on appelle l’imaginaire sécuritaire permet de mieux comprendre les décisions qui sont prises en matière de politique étrangère. La comparaison de l’imaginaire sécuritaire entre la France, qui est pourtant membre de l’organisation transatlantique, et l’Australie, qui n’en est pas membre, indique que l’Australie partage un imaginaire sécuritaire proche de la France laissant apparaître que l’OTAN n’a pas d’impact et qu’il faut chercher dans un ensemble plus large la réponse. L’analyse suggère que les deux gouvernements (re)produisent un discours dans lequel ils cherchent à accroitre l’espace discursif entre un « eux » barbare et un « nous » magnifié. / Does NATO membership shape the security imaginary? Through a discourse analysis of Australian and French authorized speakers on the subject of the war in Afghanistan (2001-2012) this dissertation compares the security imaginary of these two states in terms of their relationship with NATO. Accounting for the narrative surrounding the operating framework (Chapter 1), the representation of the enemy (Chapter 2) as well as the designation of the threat (Chapter 3), security imaginary allows a better understanding of foreign policy decisions. Comparing France’s security imaginary, which is a NATO member, with Australia’s, which is not, reveals that Australia shares a security imaginary similar to France’s. Thus, NATO membership does not seem to have an impact on security imaginary. The analysis suggests that both governments (re)produce a discourse in which they seek to increase the discursive space between a barbaric "them" and a magnified "us".

The day of September 11, 2001 which was primarily seen like an ordinary day was significantly written into the world's history. The worst terrorist attack of all ages were commited in the United States, nearly 3.000 people were killed during the attacks. American administration in response to the attacks declared the "war on terorr", which was mainly represented by military interventions to Afghanistan 2001 and Iraq 2003. Inseparable part of Bush's foreign policy was National Security Strategy, which is the strategic basis for invasion to Iraq, approved on September 2002. This concept of this analysis is dealing with these three concrete events of american foreign policy which are specified on the background of Just War Theory JWT. Concretely on the basis of category jus ad bellum - right to war. The main aim of this work is to explore compatibility of these missions with the principles of just war and find out whether operations were launched justly according to JWT. National Security Strategy NSS - which is discussable in the current international system with the regard of the controversial concept of preemption - is important part of the research too. Pre-emptive strategy is confronted with the just war theory, primarily in the sence whether it is possible to consider preemption like just cause...

This thesis deals with the current role of airpower in contemporary warfare. In last 100 years, the aircraft became an indisputable part of today's armed conflict. The aim of this work is to determine the mechanics behind airpower's functions in conflicts and to critically assess airpower's performance. The analyzed conflicts - Persian Gulf 1991, Kosovo 1999, Afghanistan 2001 and U. S.-led counterinsurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan - provide the diversity that is needed to reveal the position of airpower in contemporary strategy. The thesis is divided in three parts. The first part follows the evolution of airpower and its theory, providing context to further analysis of contemporary environment. The second part of the thesis identifies key theoretical concepts and modalities connected to airpower and analysis them on a general, theoretical basis. The third part of this thesis applies the concepts and modalities on the picked case studies in order to reach the suggested objectives by analyzing the conflicts and deriving empirical data. The conclusions of the thesis suggest that while slightly exaggerated, airpower grew to vital importance and became one of the key elements in today's conflicts.

Thesis (Master of Military Studies)-Marine Corps Command and Staff College, 2008. / Title from title page of PDF document (viewed on: Dec 29, 2009). Includes bibliographical references.