Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Thither The Russian Navy? Putin’S Navalization In A Historical Context, William Emerson Bunn

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The Syrian operation of 2012 was the first successful employment by Russia of expeditionary warfare, narrowly defined as naval support to Russian (or Soviet) ground forces in a war away from their periphery (i.e., in a country that does not border them), from the sea. This was brought about in part by the development of two types of cruise missiles: advanced anti-ship missiles (which protects their expeditionary force from NATO naval units, enabling local sea control) and new land attack cruise missiles (similar in design and capability to the U.S. Tomahawk). In the past geographical, technological and political constraints …

Securing Russia: Seeking Ontological Security In The Arctic, Brian W. Cole

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia experienced an abrupt discontinuity in its sense of identity. This break in identity, and a more profound lost sense of self, creates a strong need to reestablish continuity. The need to regain that sense of self is strong and can supersede other concerns. Ontological security theory proposes that the need to maintain identity can outweigh physical security considerations. This study uses game theory methodology and the Arctic as a contextual example to demonstrate that ontological security-seeking actors are willing to sacrifice physical security. Today, the current conditions in the Arctic reflect a …

Present At The Creation, A Redux: The Need For Strategic Minded Joint Force Officers In A Rapidly Changing And Dynamic International Security Environment, Thomas Joseph Snukis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The US Joint Force has an outstanding record over its history of superb performance at the tactical level of war. Inarguably, the United States is currently the best tactical Joint Force in the world a product of a world class tactical education, training, and development program generating and sustaining that tactical proficiency at the individual and organizational level. While tactical education and training programs have been extremely successful, the Professional Military Education (PME) responsible for developing strategic mastery has not been as highly rated. Over the past seventy-five years numerous indictments have been levied against the US PME enterprise, and …

Smart Power In The Iraq Surge 2007-2008, Russell N. Reiling

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation explores U.S. actions in the military “Surge” in Iraq from 2007-2008. Focus is on the entwined utilization of coercive and attractive power or smart power as an enabler of success and change from prior U.S. strategies in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. The analysis is based upon an extensive set of interviews with operational participants in the Surge from across the Executive Branch. Results show that smart power was an important element of the Surge and its use facilitated success, but that doing smart power was not a simple matter of achieving some mix of ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ power, but …

Acquiring The Tools Of Grand Strategy: The Us Navy's Lcs As A Case Study, Sean P. Murphy

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Grand strategy is about how states allocate resources and employ these resources to achieve desired political conditions. In examining the match between desired ends and available ways and means, an often-overlooked subject is how the specific tools of grand strategy are forged. One of these tools is the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), a Major Defense Acquisition Program (MDAP) that started in 2000. LCS remains a controversial and often unpopular program with many stakeholders to this day. This study examines how the means of grand strategy, in this case a new ship class, are acquired. It also looks at how these …

Jointness, Culture, And Inter-Service Prejudice: Assessing The Impact Of Resident, Satellite, And Hybrid Joint Professional Military Education Ii Course Delivery Methods On Military Officer Attitudes, Charles Mark Davis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The efficacy of United States (U.S.) military forces is predicated on a condition of jointness, which enables members of different military services to overcome their cultural and experiential prejudices and operate interdependently. Joint Professional Military Education Phase (JPME) II, offered through the Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), is the principal mechanism within the Department of Defense to reduce the inter-service prejudices held by military officers and to cultivate the optimal joint perspectives and attitudes associated with jointness. The JFSC employs three different methods for delivering JPME II—Resident, Satellite, and Hybrid—yet it remains unknown whether significant differences exist between them regarding …

Culture And Military Effectiveness: How Societal Traits Influence Battle Outcomes, Eric Stephen Fowler

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

What must states do to ensure victory on the field of battle? Conventional scholarship claims that a number of material and institutional factors significantly affect a nation’s ability to generate military power. Recent studies suggest that other factors, including levels of education, civil-military relations, and western culture also play an important role. This new line of logic is important because these factors tend to be glaringly absent from rigorous concepts of military power. The principle finding of this study is that culture matters and that it matters more than originally thought. Culture is admittedly complex, intangible, and difficult to count, …

The Complexity Of Armed Conflict In Mindanao: Beyond Economic Deprivation, Discrimination, And Inequality, Nasser Pendatun Lidasan

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Studies on internal conflict focus on bringing a violent conflict to non-violent. Economic development and good governance are most attractive since essential services are provided to people, regardless of ethnic affiliation. Autonomy for minority groups to maintain the integrity of a state is another option. Applied in Mindanao conflict, negotiated settlement, separation, and military victory did not create a lasting peace. This study applies the levels of analysis framework to investigate the conflict and considers the sub-state level as vital. It suggests the role of local actors as crucial in intrastate conflict. It examines the dynamics of conflict at the …

Generals In Three-Piece Suits—Contractors In Camouflage: A Critical Assessment Of Contractors In Iraq, Wyman E. Shuler Iii

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Contractors compose part of the total force for U.S. warfare capability in Iraq.

Some augment U.S. warfare capability; others do not. Some of the contractors are controlled by the military; others are controlled by civilian (nonmilitary/political) government agencies. The problem: Who are the contractors and how has the nature of government oversight and control over contractors determined whether contractor contributions augment or diminish U.S. warfare capability in the Iraq War?

Argument: It is the degree of government control over contractors that determines whether the contractors' contributions have a positive or negative impact on warfare capability. Ultimately the findings support …

Information Warfare: Technology And The Information Advantage, Daniel Matthew Parker

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

This thesis analyzes information warfare--that emerging form of warfare that attempts to destroy, degrade and exploit the information systems of another, while protecting one's own--in the context of the technology of warfare. Just as one might peel an onion, the analysis proceeds from a general analysis of technology in warfare to the more specific analysis of information warfare as it is currently defined. Information technology is an enabling factor in the emergence of information warfare as a new warfare area. Although it is revolutionizing the way warfare is conducted, the elements of information warfare have been practiced for thousands of …

Uncle Sam's Lesbians: Power, Empowerment, And The Military Experience, Patricia Lee Davis

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Why would a lesbian choose to go into an androcentric, mysogynist environment, and, once there, choose to stay? This study examines the military experience of lesbians as represented by a group of twenty-two lesbian veterans and active duty military personnel. This research concentrates on three basic areas of concern: recruitment, retention, and the structure and function of personal networks.

The results show many similarities between this group of women and those in other studies on women in the military with regard to reasons for joining the military and background information. However, these results also indicate a connection between being gay …

Signals Intelligence In World War Ii Ultra And The Air War In Europe, Demetrio J. Perez

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

(First paragraph) In recent years the study of military intelligence, particularly when viewed from a historical context, has acquired new significance. As military historians attempt to find a correlation between wartime events and the intelligence activities supporting those events, many serious works in this field have emerged. Some accounts of World War II military intelligence deal with the subject in terms of its benefits to the field commander. Others take a more extreme view and argue that major wartime successes resulted more from good intelligence than from good leadership.