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AbstractIn 21stcentury military theory and doctrine, it is common to subdivide military capability into conceptual, physical and moral components. At least in theory, it follows that conceptual capability should be regarded as the crucial link between the physical and moral capabilities of a given military actor, as it concerns the ability of the actor to operationalise ideas about how to conduct modem warfare. Conceptual military capability can thus be defined as the sum of an actor's military know­how, scientific capacity and doctrine, which defines the expected ability of an actor to uphold an efficient language of military action, distribution and command.

This thesis is a comparative study of how elites in Sweden and Poland approach and make sense of EU membership. It begins with the observation that the public debates in several EU member countries are becoming increasingly politicized around a dichotomy, i.e. enthusiasm and skepticism vis-à-vis European integration. Whereas a lot of research in this field covers the characteristics of the European integration process itself, fewer studies focus upon the cognitive complexity involved in national strategic policy choices. The aim of this thesis is to explore, compare and contrast the organizational and cognitive aspects of how Sweden and Poland entered the EU and thereby to contribute to an understanding of how national policymakers in Europe believe that national and supranational integration can work together. The theoretical point of departure is Stein Rokkan's model of political integration, which emphasizes the importance of functional and territorial political cleavages in the development of modern European nation states. The model is used to identify political actors and structures that are transnationalizing forces in Europe and to determine in what ways they form a challenge to national governments in the process of adaptation to the EU. Representing different theoretical points of intersection in the Rokkanian model, these challenges are defined as Integration, Trade and Industry, Functional Regionalism and Territorial Regionalism. The empirical analysis builds on these theoretical categories and covers three different areas. First, the ways in which adaptation to the EU was organized by the governments of Sweden (1988-1994) and Poland (1998-2004) are scrutinized. Second, documents concerning the strategic policy deliberation of both organizations are analyzed in the light of Rokkanian integration categories. Third, the results of two sets of research interviews, one in each country, are analyzed. A major conclusion drawn in the study is that Rokkanian integration theory holds the key to an understanding of how national policymakers believe that European integration can be segmented and how supranational integration in the economic sphere can evolve separately from other areas of social and political integration. Although from very different countries and political experiences, elites in Sweden and Poland show remarkable cognitive similarities. Another contribution to a cross-national understanding of adaptation to the EU is the cognitive model, which is developed on the basis of empirical study. The model expands upon and goes beyond the simple dichotomy of Enthusiasts and Skeptics in the discussion about European integration. Two new categories are introduced and defined as Voluntarists and Pragmatists. The argument is that new cognitive categories are necessary to improve the description and analysis of how national policy makers in Europe set up long-term political goals and manage complex issues in the process of European integration.

Bringing together diverse international viewpoints, this title serves as a source of information on reforming government administration. It provides case studies and analyses of reform campaigns in three European Union nations, in selected nations that have joined or are planning to join the EU, and in select North and Central American countries

Bringing together diverse international viewpoints, this title serves as a source of information on reforming government administration. It provides case studies and analyses of reform campaigns in three European Union nations, in selected nations that have joined or are planning to join the EU, and in select North and Central American countries.

Showing a more strategic inclination in the current decade, Russian operational art has entered a new intellectual phase. A major finding presented in this article is that there is a line of military thought and planning that can be traced back to the first tenure and political leadership of President Putin, as expressed particularly in the 2003 White Paper. In this light, the 2010 Russian military doctrine and related military reform indicates continuity in how the conceptualization of modern warfare impacts operational art in Russia, rather than something new. The applied perspective belongs to the field of war studies and focuses on aspects of fighting power, crucial to which are conceptual, moral, and physical components. It addresses the question about whether or not Russia currently has synchronized its perception of modern warfare with its concept of operational art. An effort is made to trace the contemporary Russian concept of modern war, how its introduction was accelerated by the 2008 Caucasian war and how it has impacted the evolving military discussion about Russian operational art. Last but not least, the article discusses some operational implications for the northern flank of the Western Military District, i.e. the Arctic and the European north. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

There is an increasing emphasis on the diversity of disaster volunteering among disaster researchers. Our aim was to review the extent to which, and in what forms, emergent groups in the aftermath of natural disasters are examined as a topic of research. We review previous crisis and disaster management research, focusing particularly on those parts of the disaster research literature which treat with volunteerism. We describe and discuss how this research has evolved 1960–2016, and analyse how different forms of volunteerism, particularly emergent groups, have been researched following nine natural disasters. We utilize the Disaster Research Center typology to systematize and categorize research from different disaster contexts. The review shows that research on disaster management is fraught with an understanding of organization in disaster contexts based on the primacy of established formal organizations. We suggest a more fine‐tuned conceptualization of disaster volunteerism and we call for further research on actor motivations.