Master thesis | Crisis and Security Management (MSc)
open access
In two cases of the decision to deploy military forces, Bosnia and Uruzgan, the role of the Dutch intelligence culture in the decision-making process and the role Dutch strategic culture within the...Show moreIn two cases of the decision to deploy military forces, Bosnia and Uruzgan, the role of the Dutch intelligence culture in the decision-making process and the role Dutch strategic culture within the Dutch Intelligence culture is researched.Show less
This thesis investigates Germany’s interpretation of European Strategic Autonomy by looking at its strategic culture. Germany’s strategic culture, developed following World War II, emphasizes the...Show moreThis thesis investigates Germany’s interpretation of European Strategic Autonomy by looking at its strategic culture. Germany’s strategic culture, developed following World War II, emphasizes the importance of multilateralism, military restraint, and upholding the status quo. Using these elements, the thesis will evaluate how the idea of ESA aligns with Germany’s strategic culture. This paper uses an interdisciplinary lens to draw upon the disciplines of history, sociology, psychology, political science, and international relations. Along with interviews and a content analysis of primary and secondary sources, the analysis shows that Germany’s strategic culture does influence its interpretation of ESA, which effects its ambition on the topic. This is a relevant topic as in September 2021, Germany will elect a new Chancellor, offering the opportunity to transition its security and defense policies.Show less
Peacekeeping has become one of the most enduring traditions, symbols, and narratives that constitutes Canadian national identity and strategic culture since Lester B. Pearson won the Nobel Peace...Show morePeacekeeping has become one of the most enduring traditions, symbols, and narratives that constitutes Canadian national identity and strategic culture since Lester B. Pearson won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for creating the first peacekeeping force. However, upon closer inspection of Canada’s record on peacekeeping, contradictions emerge between the promise and practice of this national tradition. Why does peacekeeping persist as a tenet of Canadian identity and strategic culture when it no longer plays a prominent international role in peacekeeping? While perplexing, the theories of strategic cultural change and competing strategic subcultures provide the framework for addressing this question. This thesis finds that contradictions persist in the promise and practice of peacekeeping because while the Pearsonian Internationalist subculture that grew out of Canada’s peacekeeping achievements is no longer a dominant worldview, it endures as a potent vestigial influence that continues to strike at the heart of what it means to be Canadian and helps contextualize the efficaciousness of the new Robust Western Ally hegemonic subculture’s policy preferences. Through employing a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis to reveal the mechanisms of power employed by the competing subcultures in academic, media, and political discourses, this thesis sheds light on how norms, narratives, and cultural factors that have clandestinely and conflictingly influenced strategic preferences on peacekeeping in Canada from 1991 to 2017.Show less
Strategic culture is often presented as largely resistant to change. Most literature on strategic culture agrees that external shocks, such as a war or a revolution, can change an actor’s strategic...Show moreStrategic culture is often presented as largely resistant to change. Most literature on strategic culture agrees that external shocks, such as a war or a revolution, can change an actor’s strategic culture. In the literature on al Qaeda’s strategic culture a rift exists between those who argue it is mainly rigid and those who argue it adapts to other kinds of change, such as systemic or internal change. The thesis researches whether al Qaeda’s strategic culture stays rigid or adapts when faced with systemic or internal change.Show less
