Articulation of Culture in Security Concepts According to Desh, from the beginning of World War II to the present day, theorists have observed three waves in which culture has emerged as an im­portant factor increasingly discussed in security studies(Desh, 1998). The first wave is associated with World War II and the dilemma of how to deal with the Axis Powers, which cultural theorists in the USA faced. Specifically, at the Ministry of War Information, there was the Foreign Morale Analysis Division of the Office of War Information, which employed a large number of leading cultural anthropologists of the time, including Geoffrey Bateson, Ruth Benedict, Geoffrey Gorer, Clyde Kluckhohn, Alexander Leighton, and Margaret Mead. Their primary activity was based on producing studies of the“national character” of the Axis Powers, especially Japan and Germa ­ny. It was argued that their influence on the actual course of the war was questionable, but it was also clear that the“national character” played a significant role in the public discourse about the nature of the enemy during World War II(Dover, 1986) 8 . Soon after the war ended, the first wave of cultural theories lost promi­nence, partly as a consequence of the nuclear revolution. Nuclear weapons proved so destructive that, in comparison, cultural differences became, to put it mildly, irrelevant. General theories of strategic behaviour, such as deterrence theory, came to the forefront. The Soviet Union’s reluctance to stop once nuclear parity was reached, along with the defeat of the USA in the Vietnam War, diminished the importance of general theories based on intimidation and coercion. The continuous nuclear arms build-up by the Soviet Union beyond the“ac­ceptable” threshold led to guaranteed destruction. This prompted many scholars to examine the rational effects of the assumptions underlying most general theories and the influence of nuclear weapons on the skill of state leadership. The US failure to prevent the collapse of the non-com­munist regime in South Vietnam also contributed to the diminished impor­8 John Dover, a professor of Japanese studies, attempted in his work War Without Mercy to explain the power and influence of racism in the Pacific, an important theater of World War II. Dover argues that the war in the Pacific was significantly more savage and brutal for both sides—in America and Japan—than European theaters, because, simultaneously, racism in American and Japanese cultures left no room for mercy. Drawings in numerous unconventional sources of propaganda, such as political cartoons, documentary films, various animations, lyrics of popular songs, and similar materials, convincingly demonstrate to Dover that both warring cultures were permeated with ethnocentric feelings of superiority. While this does not justify the “barbaric” behavior during the war, it led to overconfidence and effective military operations across the Pacific. Ultimately, Dover concluded that race was not the cause of the war; rather, imperial rivalries across the Pacific, alliances in Europe, and Japanese aggression led to the American fight in the Pacific. However, unlike the war in Europe, the war between Japan and the U.S. was a“war without mercy,” because, as mentioned, racial prejudices dehumanized both opponents. See: John Dover, War Without Mercy: Race& Power in the Pacific War, New York: Pantheon Books, 1986. 42 NATIONAL SECURITY CULTURES- A VIEW FROM THE BALKANS