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The following Venezuela Findings Report, authored by Dr. Harold Trinkunas, is the product of a working group held in Miami on June 5, 2009, which included 11 prominent academic and private sector experts in Venezuelan history, culture, geography, economics, politics, and military affairs. ; At first glance, it is difficult to see the strategic culture of Venezuela in action since it has not fought a war with a foreign adversary since its independence from Gran Colombia in 1830. However, by looking at a broad concept of strategic culture that includes non-military sources of national power, we can detect a pattern across time in Venezuela's engagement with the international system. The essential elements of Venezuela's traditional strategic culture are an inward focus on political stability and an outward focus on peace. The legacy for Venezuelans of the wars of independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, in which their troops played a key role across northern South America, is a sense of nationalism, a desire for an autonomous role on the international stage, and a conviction that Venezuela can be a positive force for regional integration and freedom.1 Its role as a leading oil exporter contributes to a belief that Venezuela is a wealthy country that has the potential to accomplish great things. This sometimes produces an overestimation of its capabilities to accomplish change on the international stage. However, the legacy of political turmoil in the nineteenth century is a concern for both internal stability as well as the sense that the main threats to security are civil wars rather than external conflict.

The article examines the strategic culture of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, with the focus on the dominance of military elites in the political life of this state. The author's goal is to analyze the factors that led to the rise of the army in the specific political and security environment of Pakistan. The generalship has done more than merely determine the main directions of the security policy and make principled decisions of a strategic nature; it has fully controlled all aspects of Pakistani society. This has been the case not only during military coups and direct military rule, but also when civilian governments were in power. Crucial decisions have been made only with the consent of or even as initiated by the army leadership. Moreover, from the very beginning of its independence, Pakistan has been nurturing its own version of the "army + Islam" formula, in which one component complemented and upheld the other. This "duet" was deeply rooted in the very emergence of Pakistani identity as a Muslim state of South Asia, i.e., a state established on a religious basis. After highlighting the preceding historical factors of the formation of such a specific culture, the study then explores its manifestations in the contemporary state through examples illustrating the influence of military leaders on the internal development and international behavior of the country. The author argues that for the 75 years of its independence, the Pakistani army has been a guarantor of social stability, which has brought it significant support from the population. On the other hand, the generalship has been repeatedly criticized for inhibiting the development of democratic institutions in the country and active interference in domestic policies and the life of the population. The author places a special emphasis on investigating the strategic behavior of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in the context of the development of Ukrainian-Pakistani relations. The army has the power to influence bilateral cooperation and Pakistan's official neutral position regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war by adjusting this attitude.

Neumann, I. B. ; Heikka, H.: Grand strategy, strategic culture, practice: the social roots of Nordic defence. - S. 5-23 Aselius, G.: Swedish strategic culture after 1945. - S. 25-44 Graeger, N. ; Leira, H.: Norwegian strategic culture after World War II: from a local to a global perspective. - S. 45-66 Rasmussen, M. V.: 'What's the use of it?': Danish strategic culture and the utility of armed force. - S. 67-89 Heikka, H.: Republican realism: Finnish strategic culture in historical perspective. - S. 91-119 Howlett, D. ; Glenn, J.: Epilogue: Nordic strategic culture. - S. 121-140

"The debate between Neorealists and Strategic Culturalists centres on whether it is possible to explain/predict state behaviour without taking into account the particular characteristics of the state, such as its historical experiences, geographical context and cultural constitution. This informative debate is encapsulated in the first section of the book, which considers the theoretical issues raised by both Neorealism and Strategic Culture. These issues are then explored in the second section by assessing their relevance to six country case studies: Australia, Germany, India, Japan, Nigeria and Russia."--Provided by publisher.

The author examines the impact of strategic culture on 21st century China. He contends that the People's Republic of China's security policies and its tendency to use military force are influenced not only by elite understandings of China's own strategic tradition, but also by their understandings of the strategic cultures of other states. Gaining a fuller appreciation for how Chinese strategists view the United States and Japan, our key ally in the Asia-Pacific, will better enable us to assess regional and global security issues. ; https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/1821/thumbnail.jpg