Expeditionary military networks and asymmetric warfare

Abstract

Military organizations participating in current expeditionary missions face new challenge associated with dilemmas common to asymmetric warfare. Apart from dilemmas faced by local government, populations, and organizations, military organizations struggle with their task environment, performance, and main and supportive processes. Complementing doctrinal innovations in this area, the chapter proposes a generic model linking these processes to value creation, and it examines specific changes introduced by asymmetric warfare. Notable changes include the increasingly dialectic, constructivist, and discordant nature of organizational processes. Moreover, asymmetric warfare challenges singular definitions of military organizations' and their members' professional identity, and demands ongoing, in-depth learning.

Citation

van Fenema, P.C. (2009), "Expeditionary military networks and asymmetric warfare", Caforio, G. (Ed.) Advances in Military Sociology: Essays in Honor of Charles C. Moskos (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 12 Part 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 267-283. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-8323(2009)000012A020