Sjöstridskrafter i fredsfrämjande operationer : En teoriprövande studie av Geoffrey Tills teori i Operation Sharp Guard och UNIFIL MTF448

This research paper examines the advantages of deployment of naval forces in peace support operations. The study has been undertaken because the research on this subject is fairly limited. The research tends to be normative and traditional strategists are often focusing on the effect of naval force in terms of war. None of the writers on the subject dispute the use of naval force moreover, they tend to highlight the advantages of a naval force. The purpose is to analyse the usefulness of a naval force in peace support operations. This has been achieved by testing Till´s theory of the inherently advantage of a naval force in a study of two cases, Operation Sharp Guard in the Adriatic Sea during the conflict in former Yugoslavia and the Swedish contribution to UNIFIL MTF448 in Lebanon. These two cases were selected in order to ascertain to what extent Till´s theory can explain the effect of naval force. Results of this analyse demonstrate the existence of sound arguments for the use of naval force in peace support operations and the empirics of the two cases are valid evidence for that. Naval force can sometimes even work as an enabler for ground troops and air force. The analysis shows furthermore that flexibility and strategic mobility was the two most distinguishing features of a naval force in both cases