Multi-national military exercises have been recognised to have both military utility and political effects, however these mechanisms have been mainly studied from of major states. The purpose of the study is to determine what motivations Small states have to participate in multi-national military exercises and how they are used as a political tool, in order to further develop a analytical framework for analysing Small states behaviour in military exercise. The study was conducted via a single case study on Sweden through a deductive thematic analysis with themes developed on the basis of existing theory on a military exercise and Small state theory. Press releases and annual reports were scrutinised and relevant codes were identified. Results show that all themes outlined were represented in the material. What can be gathered from the investigation is how Small states highly value factors such as increasing military capacity and interoperability. The major find of the investigation was how Small states use multi-national military exercises is order to enhance deterrence, strengthen relationships, and to increase prestige and relevance, all in the pursuit of security. The investigation showed that Small states are indeed different from that of Great states in how they use multi-national military exercises. Recommendation were then made on further studies, such as quantitative or comparative efforts.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / Donald J. Mrozek / This dissertation examines how changes in training after Vietnam altered the Air Force’s way of war. Specifically, the rise of realistic training exercises in the U.S. Air Force, particularly in the Tactical Air Command, after the end of the Vietnam conflict in 1975 ushered in a drastic increase in the use of tactical fighter aircraft to accomplish Air Force missions. Many scholars, including Benjamin Lambeth and Richard Hallion, have emphasized the primacy of technological developments in the renaissance of air power between Vietnam and the Gulf War. This neglects the importance of developments in training in the Tactical Air Command during the same period. This dissertation demonstrates that throughout the 1970s and 1980s Air Force leaders reconsidered some of their long-held assumptions about air power’s proper use and re-cast older ideas in ways that they considered more realistic and better justified by past experience. Realistic training exercises led to better tactics and doctrines and, when combined with technological advancement, changed the way the Air Force waged war. Tactical assets became the weapons of preference for Air Force planners for several reasons including their ability to precisely deliver munitions onto targets and their ability to penetrate and survive in high-threat environments. Tactical assets could accomplish these missions precisely because of the changes that occurred in training. At the same time, the rise of tactical assets to equality with strategic assets directly led to the demise of both Tactical Air Command and Strategic Air Command and the creation of the single Air Combat Command. The conventional view that a massive technological revolution in military affairs took place in the 1980s and led to success in Desert Storm is conceptually too limiting. That interpretation places too much emphasis on the technological advancements used to prosecute war and slights the experiences of the airmen themselves in the development of the training exercises that helped change how the U.S. Air Force waged war.

The cementing of ties between South Africa and the Mercosur countries occurred at the time when the Cold War had just ended. Characteristic of the post-Cold War environment is the ascendance of socio-economic issues and the receding importance of military issues. Thus, South Africa’s security relations with Mercosur are rooted in the socio-economic sphere with limited military interaction which is designed to facilitate trade links and deal with potential trans-oceanic criminal activities such as drug-trafficking, arms-smuggling, poaching and sea piracy. This is in stark contrast with the pre-1994 relations between South Africa and the South American states. Given the fact that South Africa was regarded by the international community as a pariah state owing to her unacceptable political system, it was only prudent for South Africa to look for like-minded allies across the South Atlantic Ocean. From the mid-sixties to the early eighties, most South American states were under military rule, thus providing an ideal opportunity for possible allies for South Africa. At that stage, South Africa’s motive for cementing ties with South American states, especially those that eventually formed Mercosur, was not based on a genuine need for mutual protection and complementarity of defence capabilities, but a quest for some semblance of acceptability by the international community. Despite the decreasing importance of military matters in international relations, South Africa still maintains a significant exchange programme with the Mercosur military establishments. While most of the exchanges are for diplomatic purposes, military establishments on both sides of the South Atlantic Ocean conduct regular military exercises on both shores, in co-operation with extra-regional powers such as the US and the UK. These exercises serve the purpose of ensuring interoperability of military equipment (such as operational communication systems) and harmonising national policies and procedures, especially for search-and-rescue operations, but also for ensuring the smooth operation of maritime traffic on the South Atlantic Ocean. Furthermore, there is always a perennial fear that, despite the demise of the Cold War, the South Atlantic region may become a theatre of war in future. This is particularly based on the analysis of possible resource-endowment in Antarctica, which will fuel competition and intensify territorial claims. South Africa and some of the Mercosur countries also have significant interests in Antarctica. / Thesis (DPhil (International Politics))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Main theme of the thesis is the Czechoslovak Maneuvers in 1936. The thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter focuses on the creation of Czechoslovak army, the perion 1918-1932. The second chapter targets the reorganization of army in the period 1932-1936. The Third chapter is dedicated to the issue of armed forces in the period of the Austrian emperor.The fourth chapter is focused on the Czechoslovak Maneuvres in 1936 and research preparations, course, and made knowleges from the great interwar's maneuvres of Czechoslovak army. The fifth chapter closes arbitration service in the maneuvres. The sixth chapter deals with foreign's delegations on maneuvers and finally the seventh chapter is devoted to attitude and reakcions of czechoslovak's press and mankind.

Main theme of the thesis is the Czechoslovak Maneuvers in 1936. The thesis is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter focuses on the creation of Czechoslovak army, the perion 1918-1932. The second chapter targets the reorganization of army in the period 1932-1936. The Third chapter is dedicated to the issue of armed forces in the period of the Austrian emperor.The fourth chapter is focused on the Czechoslovak Maneuvres in 1936 and research preparations, course, and made knowleges from the great interwar's maneuvres of Czechoslovak army. The fifth chapter closes arbitration service in the maneuvres. The sixth chapter deals with foreign's delegations on maneuvers and finally the seventh chapter is devoted to attitude and reakcions of czechoslovak's press and mankind.