In this paper, I explore the applicability of sociological institutionalism for the analysis of security and the military. Based on cross-sectional data from 50 countries, I show how values linked to the nation state and security are related to world cultural ideas and the diffusion of...

The number of Russian Armed Forces (RFAF) authorized strength at year-end 2017 increased 17,387 to 1,903,758 on the back of disbandment of the Federal Special Construction Agency (Spetsstroy); therefore, the RFAF's total authorized strength rose to 1,013,628 from 1 million. That was the first...

In early 2012 the Armed Forces (AF) were overshadowed by the accident with the fleet ballistic missile submarine (FBMS) K-84 "Yekaterinburg" and its grave consequences. The fire occurred three days before the New Year, during welding works as part of unscheduled repairs of the FBMS and where, in...

The year 2006 was more successful as regards the achievements in the defense sphere than the preceding years, notwithstanding certain setbacks that occurred in implementing military reform, solving the social problems of the military and equipping the armed forces with modern weapons, which will...

This paper deals with Russia’s military policy and with a wide range of issues related to funding the defense program. The accession of the Republic of Crimea to the Russian Federation in March 2014 was not favored by the global community and resulted in Western economic sanctions against...

Over the last twenty years, new public management (NPM) has inspired managerial reforms in public sectors worldwide. The US and Italian governments have embraced one of the main tenets of NPM, managing for results. In this study, we assess the introduction of performance management practice in...

We estimate Costa Rica’s peace dividend following the end of the civil war and the army’s abolition in 1949 with synthetic control. The country’s average per capita GDP growth increased from 1.42% to 2.28% between 1950-2010, relative to a counterfactual Costa Rica that did not take this...

Using a perspective external to the Swedish Armed Forces this study examine the Swedish management of capability and technology development focusing on defence equipment. The study analyses a value chain that identifies activities from strategy definition to delivered capability in the case of...