Colonel (ret.) Doru – Constantin TOCILĂ, Ph.D*
Abstract: The article analyzes the relationship between the tactical effectiveness of Special Operations Forces (SOF) and their capacity to generate durable strategic outcomes when employed as instruments of realpolitik. Using a multiple case study design, it compares the intervention of U.S. SOF in Somalia (1992-1993) with the use of Russian SOF in Chechnya (1994-1999), validated through controlled contemporary replications in the Sahel and Ukraine. The analysis suggests that repeated tactical success does not automatically translate into strategic advantage, as this conversion is mediated by political constraints, institutional structures, and decision-making logics.
Keywords: Special Operations Forces; realpolitik; tactical success; strategic outcome; comparative case studies.
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DOI 10.56082/annalsarscimilit.2026.1.63
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* Email: doructin_tocila@yahoo.com, phone number: +40722500738.
PUBLISHED in Annals Academy of Romanian Scientists Series on Military Sciences, Volume 18 no 1, 2026
CEEOL 