  A non-perturbative finite-size scaling technique is used to study the
evolution of the running coupling (in a certain adapted scheme) in the SU(3)
Yang-Mills theory. At low energies contact is made with the fundamental
dynamical scales, such as the string tension K, while at larger energies the
coupling is shown to evolve according to perturbation theory. In that regime
the coupling in the MS-bar scheme of dimensional regularization is obtained
with an estimated total error of a few percent.
