Modelling the adaptation of Canadian Forces peace support training on the basis of operational change

This thesis applies a systems approach to the practical research problem of understanding how Canadian Forces peace support training has adapted to operational changes inherent in post-Cold War peace support operations. Drawing from systems theory and research on the development of peacekeeping theory and practice undertaken by A. B. Fetherson and David M. Last, this thesis constructs a systems model that is hypothesized to aid in tracing the function of the learning processes within the Canadian Forces peace support training system.;The systems model conceptualizes adaptation within the training system to be dependent on changes in certain essential variables of the system. This conceptualization, and the overall utility of the model for understanding the learning processes within the training system, is tested by comparing the empirical evidence of adaptation within the training system over the post-Cold War period with the concepts, linkages and assumptions inherent in the model.;The comparison finds that adaptation within the training system is not necessarily dependent on changes in all of the system's essential variables, as modelled. Adaptation within the Canadian Forces peace support training system on the basis of operational learning is non-systemic, as certain stages of the system are more responsive to the implementation of lessons derived from operational experience. On the basis of the empirical findings from the post-Cold War period, refinements to the model's conceptualization of adaptation are provided.