| 1. |
- Doeser, Fredrik, 1975-
(författare)
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Finland, Sweden and Operation Unified Protector : The impact of strategic culture
- 2016
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 35:4, s. 284-297
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article investigates the Swedish decision to participate in Operation Unified Protector in Libya and the Finnish decision to refrain from the same operation. It takes as its theoretical point of departure the concept of strategic culture and argues that differences in the strategic culture of the two countries contributed to the differences in behavior toward the Libya intervention. The Finnish and Swedish strategic cultures differ with respect to the core tasks of the armed forces, willingness to use force, and with respect to what types of operations and organizational frameworks Finland and Sweden find it appropriate to participate in.
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| 2. |
- Edström, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Between the eagle and the bear : Explaining the alignment strategies of the Nordic countries in the 21st century
- 2020
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 39:2, s. 191-208
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article shows that all four Nordic countries, i.e., Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, have adjusted their alignment strategies when responding to the changes in their external environment during the twenty-first century. Furthermore, our findings indicate a great diversity among the four states in their responses. All too often, security policy analyses cluster small states into allies and non-allies, respectively. However, this article suggests that alliance affiliation in isolation is not sufficient for explaining small states’ behavior and adjustments of their strategies. Occasionally, previous experiences of armed conflicts as well as perceptions of strategic exposure provide stronger explanatory power.
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| 3. |
- Edström, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Comparative Strategy – A New Framework for Analysis
- 2023
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 42:1, s. 80-102
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Scholars of Strategic Studies have seldom problematized the concept of military strategy beyond identifying the three elements constituting the phenomenon, that is ends, means and ways. Moreover, we see a need for contextualizing the presumably universal conceptualization of military strategy. This article contributes to previous research by operationalize each of the three elements one-step further, thereby introducing an analytical framework for systematic comparisons of states’ different priorities regarding military strategy. Additionally, in order to explain these different priorities, the proposed analytical framework introduces tools related to both relative power and position in the international system, and to regional systems and unit-level characteristics. The usefulness of the analytical framework is illustrated by a summary of some of our findings from a research project on comparative strategy including more than 30 states.
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| 4. |
- Edström, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring NATO’s enlargements in Northern Europe : Theorizing military transformation
- 2023
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 42:2, s. 264-286
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article seeks to theorize the transformation of the armed forces in Northern Europe by examining its drivers during previous NATO enlargements in the region. The exploration includes the German reunification in 1990, the Polish entry in 1999, and the joining of the three Baltic States, i.e., Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, in 2004. Based on these experiences, the article identifies some theoretical considerations for transformation in conjunction with the current accession process of Finland and Sweden. Based on a realist logic, we conclude that the ongoing transformation should be underpinned by a new operational design, hence considering the need for flexibility and for managing potential new expeditionary shocks. To this end, we argue that the focus must initially be internally within the Alliance, i.e., to proceed with novel operational planning for northern Europe before turning the attention to the transformation of the armed forces of the new members.
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| 5. |
- Edström, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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The alignment strategies of great powers : Managing power asymmetries and structural changes in the international system
- 2022
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 41:1, s. 97-119
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- AbstractThe article aims to contribute to previous research in two main ways. First, we intervene in the debate on the stability of the present unipolar system by offering an analytical framework and an empirical approach for exploring and categorizing the actual strategies pursued by the major powers in the contemporary international system. In doing so, we present an analysis of how the strategies of the five system-determining states interact and affect the stability of the system. Second, in order to be able to explain why states pursue different strategies, we complement the analytical framework of structural realism with insights from research on Power Transition Theory (PTT). Hereby, we offer a new comprehensive theoretical approach for analyzing how asymmetric power relations affect strategic choices of major powers.
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| 6. |
- Edström, Håkan, et al.
(författare)
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The defense strategies of middle powers : Competing for security, influence and status in an era of unipolar demise
- 2020
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 39:2, s. 171-190
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Do middle powers develop similar defense strategies? Is middle powers a useful category for exploring the diversity of strategies among different categories of states? This article presents a great variation of strategies among the selected cases. Concurrently, similarities between middle powers belonging to similar regional security complexes (RSC) are revealed. The higher degree of great power penetration into a RSC, the lesser options for middle powers to develop individual strategies and vice versa. Furthermore, by comparing our findings with the strategies of more and less resourceful states, common elements among middle powers in terms of ends, means and ways, appear.
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| 7. |
- Ekholm, Anders
(författare)
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Re-thinking operational depth—A source of power
- 2021
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 40:4, s. 387-406
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article addresses the inferior actor problem of handling a limited physical operational depth in relation to a superior antagonist. It argues that operational depth from an inferior perspective is better viewed as a source of power, a flexible asset constructed from available skills- and resources. It suggests that ambitions to create- or extend an actors operational depth is better approached in abstract terms from the angles: physical-, temporal, and cognitive, whereas the former two offers the more traditional perspectives, while the latter offers an auxiliary approach to better exploit possibilities from an inferior perspective beyond physical space- and resources.
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| 8. |
- Finlan, Alastair, Professor
(författare)
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A dangerous pathway? Toward a theory of special forces
- 2019
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - London : Taylor & Francis. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 38:4, s. 255-275
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This article explores what is considered by some to be a dangerous pathway:the development of a theory of special forces. The world is now inthe third age of special forces and these secret military units are atthe forefront of the use of force in international relations. This research identifies a large theory-knowledge gap concerning these military “first responders” for modern nation-states and offers a tentative theory of special forces that goes beyond traditional annihilation/attrition models of wartoward a new anaphylaxis model. It makes the case that the theory pathwayis not dangerous, but emancipatory.
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| 9. |
- Göransson, Markus, Senior Lecturer, 1984-
(författare)
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Russian scholarly discussions of nonmilitary warfare as securitizing acts
- 2022
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 41:6, s. 526-542
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The article examines Russian scholarly discussion of nonmilitary warfare with reference to securitization theory. Focusing on three main concepts of nonmilitary warfare that have featured in the Russian scholarly military and security debate in recent years – information war, color revolutions and hybrid war – it shows that Russian scholarly discussion of nonmilitary warfare, as it has evolved over time, has cast a widening range of phenomena as potential security threats, implying the need for an expanded state response to meet these threats. The broadened Russian understanding of security has some parallels in Western security discussions. However, a crucial distinction is that the Russian discussion has remained wedded to strong statist notion of security and a preponderant Western enemy image.
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| 10. |
- Henåker, Lars
(författare)
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Decision-making style and victory in battle : Is there a relation?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Comparative Strategy. - : Informa UK Limited. - 0149-5933 .- 1521-0448. ; 41:4, s. 415-436
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Can decision-making styles impact victory and defeat in armed conflicts? To answer the question of whether decision-making styles are linked to the victories and defeats of individual tacticians, this study utilizes five general decision-making styles: Rational, Intuitive, Dependent, Avoidant and Spontaneous. The aim of this study is to examine whether one or several of the general decision-making styles (GDMS) have an impact on tactical outcomes in wargames. A total of 104 officers and academics participated in the study. The study’s foremost conclusion is that the Dependent style is significantly connected to defeat in the wargame’s dueling set up.
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