Suchergebnisse

"Countries have instituted polices to make their armed forces more inclusive, and soldiers now undergo cultural awareness training before they see active duty. Policy makers and military organizations agree that culture is important. But what does "culture" mean in practice, and how is it important? Drawing on case studies from Europe and North America, Culture and the Soldier answers these questions by examining how culture--defined as reproduced identity, values, and norms--both shapes the military and can be wielded by it. In Part 1, scholars and practitioners show how culture, as a force, can influence how soldiers remember battle and adjust to civilian life; how women are treated within the ranks; and how causalities are viewed and treated inside and outside the military. In Part 2, they show how culture, as a factor, can be leveraged by militaries in a range of ways, from preventing cultural dislocation among soldiers in Afghanistan to mounting propaganda campaigns in support of totalitarian regimes. By bringing to light the ways in which culture is influencing military organizations and modern combat, this volume offers provocative insights into how cultural awareness and culture can be deployed to improve armed forces at home and in military engagements abroad."--

"Why are some states able to deliver public services to their citizens while others cannot? Why are some states beset by internal conflict that leaves many impoverished? Much of what has become known as the failed states literature attempts to engage with these questions, but does so in way that betrays a particular bias, engaging in advocacy for intervention rather than analysis. The Idea of Failed States directly challenges existing thinking about conventional state strength as it finds that institutional approaches to state strength obscure as much as they reveal. The question of why some states are strong and others weak has traditionally been addressed using measures of economic growth, resources, and quality of life. This book compares the dimensions of state strength characterised by community, society, and nation and uses social capital concepts to further illuminate them. Applying this approach across forty-two countries shows'weak' states exhibiting a consistent and unique patterns of relationships between community, society, and nation as well as equally consistent and unique relationships in strong states. A blend of theory and empirics, The Idea of Failed States present a new way to think about the state--one that applies to both strong and weak alike. This work should be of interest to students and scholars researching social capital, public policy, international development and security studies."--Provided by publisher

Since the release of the 2015 United Nations Peacekeeping Missions Military Special Forces Manual, there has been surprisingly little scholarly attention devoted to it. Indeed, much of the recent literature on the topic of special operations forces (SOF) is descriptive, sensationalized, or simply boosting the image of SOF as the proverbial "easy button" for decision-makers. This article seeks to critically engage with the 2015 United Nations manual on SOF through the framework of specialized generalists, boundary spanning, and military autonomy. 1 This paper will then continue the argument that SOF has a role in peace operations, albeit a limited one. Finally, it will conclude with some recommendations for how these findings can inform Canada's employment of SOF in the future. Indeed, given that Canada is a relative newcomer to the "global SOF network," 2 such critical inquiry is warranted.

"Drawing together researchers and practitioners from the academic, security, and defence community, this unique book investigates why countries go to war. It uncovers the conditions under which military deployments occur and what this means for future decisions involving the use of force. The book explores how recent experiences with military interventions, war weariness amongst publics, regional flash points, and the financial crisis, are factors that impact wartime decision-making. Given the diverse backgrounds of the contributors (academic experts, serving military officers, and defence scientists), the debate is vivid and rich, revealing the complexity of the issues that play into the decision to go to war. One of the key findings is that reasons for going to war have as much to do with domestic concerns as they do with international threats. Other conclusions of the book relate to the changing character of war, whether it is fewer military fatalities overall or the unpredictable impact the improvised explosive device had in Afghanistan and Iraq. As with all seemingly simple questions, the answers are multi dimensional. The authors in this volume demonstrate the depth and complexity of the question: Are we Going To War?"--

"Drawing together researchers and practitioners from the academic, security, and defence community, this unique book investigates why countries go to war. It uncovers the conditions under which military deployments occur and what this means for future decisions involving the use of force. The book explores how recent experiences with military interventions, war weariness amongst publics, regional flash points, and the financial crisis, are factors that impact wartime decision-making. Given the diverse backgrounds of the contributors (academic experts, serving military officers, and defence scientists), the debate is vivid and rich, revealing the complexity of the issues that play into the decision to go to war. One of the key findings is that reasons for going to war have as much to do with domestic concerns as they do with international threats. Other conclusions of the book relate to the changing character of war, whether it is fewer military fatalities overall or the unpredictable impact the improvised explosive device had in Afghanistan and Iraq. As with all seemingly simple questions, the answers are multi dimensional. The authors in this volume demonstrate the depth and complexity of the question: Are we Going To War?"--

"For decades, the Canadian Armed Forces has used the work of foreign scholars and writers in its professional military education to try to understand the human dimension of warfare: why and how people are motivated to fight, and how they behave once they do fight. Yet the specific Canadian context, experience, and perspective are often lost in favour of appeals to universal truths. The first major Canadian study of combat motivation in almost forty years, Why We Fight redresses this imbalance by presenting some of the best new work on the subject. Bringing together top military practitioners and scholars to discuss some of the most controversial issues of modern warfare, Why We Fight examines the face of battle as experienced by Canadians. It explores sexual violence in war, professionalism, organizations, leadership, shared intent, motivation in extremis, and the toxicity of the "warrior" culture. Its chapters offer key insights on combat motivation theories, the modern operating environment, and the collective and individual identities of the men and women who fight for Canada. Many worry that technology is leading us towards a post-human age, particularly in war. Why We Fight affirms the centrality of the human being in warfare in Canada's past, present, and future."

The concept of soldier enhancement often invokes images of dystopian futures populated with dehumanized military personnel. These futures serve as warnings in science fiction works, and yet the enhancement of soldiers' combat capability is almost as old as war itself. Today, soldier enhancement is the purpose of military training and the application of innovative technologies, but when does it begin to challenge individuals' very humanity? Bringing together the work of a diverse group of practitioners and academics, Transhumanizing War examines performance enhancement in the military from a wide range of perspectives. The book builds on two key premises: that rapid advances in science and technology are outstripping governments' and military organizations' capacity to adapt, and that this has put pressure on the connection between the military and the public. The contributors to this collection grapple with the implications of continued technological advancement and the possibility that innovative solutions to performance enhancement will risk further alienating the soldier from society. Navigating the fine line between technological promise and ethics, this volume presents a guide to responsible implementation in Canada and abroad. Offering unique insights into a debate on the bleeding edge of public discourse, Transhumanizing War considers the best ways to improve combat effectiveness while still preserving soldiers' humanity.

This Canadian contribution to Parameters' Strategic Lieutenant series shows how domestic context creates the conditions for professional military education reform to a greater extent than the global strategic context. The article assesses the junior officer education delivered by Canada's military colleges and analyzes interviews with key stakeholders responsible for the formulation and implementation of reform at the military colleges.