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Book part
Publication date: 16 December 2009

Omar Gutiérrez

The evolution of military profession in Latin American countries has not been the subject of research as compared to civil–military relationships because of the political…

Abstract

The evolution of military profession in Latin American countries has not been the subject of research as compared to civil–military relationships because of the political intervention of the latter. Since the 1980s, with the restoration of democracy in countries of the Southern Cone, the design and management of defense is no more a monopoly of the armed forces, and they are now exposed to a wide range of influences. On the basis of the framework proposed by Moskos, Williams, and Segal in their book: The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War, where they argue the case of the United States of America as a paradigm of the military profession changes because of the postmodernism in industrialized countries, we pretend to make a comparative analysis of the changes or modernizations experienced by the military profession in Southern Cone's countries, mainly Argentina, Brazil, and Chile.

Details

Advances in Military Sociology: Essays in Honor of Charles C. Moskos
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-893-9

Book part
Publication date: 15 October 2008

Tony Krönert

The relations between the Latin American states and their armed forces have been a special one at all times. In this region the military played and still plays a major political…

Abstract

The relations between the Latin American states and their armed forces have been a special one at all times. In this region the military played and still plays a major political role. But the political role of the military has changed several times during the last century. These changes were forced by social movements, new patterns of thought, the USA or the Cuban Revolution. During the years, the military had different self-perceptions, which caused in a lot of interventions and military dictatorships. Today, it seems that democracy is well accepted throughout Latin America, but the military still has possibilities of influence.

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Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-8485-5122-0

Article
Publication date: 21 March 2016

L.C.O. Klaus

After discussing recent academic attempts to assess the status of worldwide military transparency and accountability in nations which adopted open governance paradigms, this paper…

Abstract

Purpose

After discussing recent academic attempts to assess the status of worldwide military transparency and accountability in nations which adopted open governance paradigms, this paper tries to show that such countries allegedly committed to democracy and open data should coherently fight for military transparency and citizen inclusion in the governance process, avoiding the prevalence of military secrecy over military transparency. The most important contribution of the paper is discussing the lack of military transparency, until now taken for granted as a traditional armed forces ’informal right, and proposing concrete definitions of military transparency and secrecy within the context of the open government partnership. In addition to the definitions, an exploratory model of how military accountability can affect military transparency has been suggested.

Design/methodology/approach

For the proposed endeavour, first a description on the context of open governance where the involved public defence sector is inserted is given. Second, notions of military transparency and secrecy are proposed. Finally, the paper discusses when military secrecy could be granted and what it means for military information to be unjustifiably kept secret. At the end, the urge of the citizen involvement to open the still insulated military governance systems is highlighted.

Findings

This paper proposes notions of military secrecy and military transparency and suggests the second term as a broader notion which includes the first. This paper also indirectly identifies the conditions for the inadmissibility of military secrecy and calls attention to the bad externalities of unjustifiably holding public information back.

Research limitations/implications

The consideration of the proposed notions of military secrecy and military transparency could minimize the traditional excuse of military confidentiality that armed forces worldwide tend to not to convey public information to the public while making military accountability perfectly possible without overexposing its strategies regarding national defence.

Practical implications

Providing armed forces and citizens with concrete definitions of military secrecy and military transparency could not only help military institutions to develop a sincere transparency policy based on open government terms, but it could also guide interested media and citizens with their control and oversight tasks by establishing clear limits for alleged secrecy while releasing the borders for military transparency.

Social implications

The suggested approach for military transparency and secrecy is not only adequate to the globalized strategy of open governance but also mainly a way to finally reward citizens’ often misused and manipulated trust.

Originality/value

It is the first attempt of an academic definition for military secrecy and military transparency taking into consideration the open government terms and aiming at improving military accountability.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Jaime Garcia Covarrubias

After September 11th the defence community of the United States of America has been trying to adapt to the threats of the 21st century. Since 2001, many specialists have devoted…

Abstract

After September 11th the defence community of the United States of America has been trying to adapt to the threats of the 21st century. Since 2001, many specialists have devoted themselves to explaining the concept of security, while the Federal government in Washington has organised a Transformation Office attached to the Defence Department. There has been much progress in the intervening years, and two wars plus a cunning terrorist attack have helped to definitively shape the concept.

Details

Military Missions and their Implications Reconsidered: The Aftermath of September 11th
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-012-8

Book part
Publication date: 18 July 2007

René Moelker

Civil–military clashes that result from tensions or even a ‘gap’ between the military organisation and civil society are rather seldom. However, from time to time the headlines of…

Abstract

Civil–military clashes that result from tensions or even a ‘gap’ between the military organisation and civil society are rather seldom. However, from time to time the headlines of the newspapers report of ‘scandals’, ‘abuses’ or ‘wrongs’ that result from civil–military tensions. Sometimes those wrongs came out in the open after some delay. This happened in respect to a coup-attempt by General Kruls shortly after World War II (Hoogenboezem, 2004). Evaluation of and reappraisal of the war against Indonesian freedom fighters in 1946–1947, euphemistically called ‘police actions’, led to large-scale public discussions 20 years later. In the 1970s, the Dutch citizens acknowledged that these police actions actually were deeds of war and the legitimacy of this war was intensely discussed as were the war crimes committed during the anti-guerrilla operations (Doorn & Hendrix, 1970). In the 1980s, the soldiers’ union published a black book on hazing practises in the armed forces that made it into the headlines. It led to research (Stoppelenburg, 1990) and attempts to stop these practices that often stemmed from the conscripts themselves. Union work and societal forces in favour of democratisation considerably contributed to civilianisation of the armed forces. The one-liner ‘as military as necessary, as civilian as possible’ became factual accepted policy. In the early 1990s, the suspension of conscription, the most important decision of defence restructuring, barely raised societal discussion (Joana et al., 2005; Moelker, Olsthoorn, Bos-Bakx, & Soeters, 2005), but the mishap in Srebrenica in 1995 certainly did! Peacekeeping gradually was seen and socially accepted as core business and when it became evident that keeping the peace in Bosnia was not without risks and when genocidal events befell the refugees in Srebrenica, the civil–military gap was clearly revealed and became the main issue of public debate. It led to discussion on the right of freedom of speech for civil servants when armed forces functionaries overtly expressed themselves in the newspapers (Kreemers, 2002). But the humanitarian debacle also led to a parliamentary inquiry (Parlementaire Enquête commissie, 2003) that, in 2003, caused government to fall. Parliamentary decision-making procedures regarding peacekeeping missions have been improved since. Article 100 of the Constitution states that parliament must be informed on peacekeeping operations unless there are very serious considerations not to do so. Government informs parliament by use of the ‘toetsingskader’ (Moelker, 2004). This is a list of criteria that is used to provide a checklist for informing parliament and to improve the quality of the decision-making. The ‘toetsingskader’ acknowledges that decision-making is an intertwined and convergent process that improves quality by inputs from civilian stakeholders and civilian and military experts. It enables a priori parliamentary control. A list for use by parliamentarians in other countries is given by Born (2003, p. 125).

Details

Cultural Differences between the Military and Parent Society in Democratic Countries
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-444-53024-0

Article
Publication date: 3 June 2022

Mukesh Kumar Singh and Vikas Gupta

This study aims to empirically analyze the significance of various knowledge management (KM) elements to the environment in a military organization and establish the efficacy of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to empirically analyze the significance of various knowledge management (KM) elements to the environment in a military organization and establish the efficacy of performance indicators of civil organizations for a military organization.

Design/methodology/approach

The research methodology includes the development of a research model based on a comprehensive literature review. A sample of 454 Indian Air Force Veterans was obtained and structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis using statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) analysis of moment structures (AMOS) was conducted to test the hypotheses. The study first employed exploratory factor analysis (EFA) for redefining the theoretical constructs and then confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to test the hypotheses.

Findings

The study empirically establishes the significance of various KM elements on the knowledge environment that creates, stores, transfers and applies knowledge to achieve military objectives. Findings indicate the complexity of KM in a military setup while applying the performance measures used in the civil organization.

Research limitations/implications

The study expects to expand the scope of the KM literature to the militaries of developing countries and provide a methodology to the leaders and practitioners in the military organizations, and to study the available KM practices, models and tools in the civil world.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present research is one of the first to generate empirical insights into a knowledge environment in military organizations and test its relation with parameters used in civil organizations. The paper would significantly contribute to the underexplored area of KM in military organizations and infuse a theoretical rigor into the KM literature.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 52 no. 10
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 29 November 2012

Johan Österberg and Emma Jonsson

Purpose – The purpose of the study was to get a deeper understanding of officers’ views of the factors that contribute to army ranger conscripts’ willingness to apply for…

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of the study was to get a deeper understanding of officers’ views of the factors that contribute to army ranger conscripts’ willingness to apply for international military service as well as to look at the officers’ own role in the recruitment process.

Methodology/approach – A grounded theory approach was used. Nine officers from the Swedish Army Ranger Battalion were interviewed.

Findings – Factors that seem to promote the possibility to recruit conscripts to international military service could be understood from five main categories: international military service, education, officers, the Swedish Army Ranger Battalion, and recruitment.

Originality/value of paper – Interviewing key figures in the recruitment process of the Swedish Armed Forces.

Details

New Wars, New Militaries, New Soldiers: Conflicts, the Armed Forces and the Soldierly Subject
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78052-638-6

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 1 January 2005

Heidi L. Smith and Christopher J. Luedtke

The United States military, like most militaries, has traditionally been a male-dominated organisation. Contemporary military historians argue that wars and the militaries that…

Abstract

The United States military, like most militaries, has traditionally been a male-dominated organisation. Contemporary military historians argue that wars and the militaries that fight them are “an entirely masculine activity” (Keegan, 1993, p. 76) and “[b]efore it was anything else, war was an assertion of masculinity. When everything else is said and done, an assertion of masculinity is what it remains” (Van Creveld, 2001, p. 161). Because the military's “core activity” is combat (…), a task viewed primarily in masculine terms because it has generally been defined as “men's work”, a “deeply entrenched cult of masculinity pervades US military culture” (Dunivin, 1997, p. 2). Language has codified the long history of the masculine warrior paradigm. Van Creveld notes that the Old Testament utilises the same term for “adult man” and “warrior” while medieval Germans used “becoming a man” and “carrying a sword” interchangeably (Van Creveld, 2001, p. 164). James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy in the late 1980s, called combat the “quintessentially male obligation in any society” (Webb, 1997, p. 4). If societies have obligated men to combat, they have rewarded them by connecting combat to the achievement of manhood. Men bestow manhood on one another: men are made, not born (Goldstein, 2001). According to Kimmel (2000a, p. 214), “What men need is men's approval (…) we test ourselves, perform heroic feats, take enormous risks, all because we want other men to grant us our manhood.”

Details

Military Missions and their Implications Reconsidered: The Aftermath of September 11th
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-012-8

Article
Publication date: 27 April 2010

Ali Unlu, Naim Kapucu and Bahadir Sahin

Crisis management has gained importance in the policy agendas of many countries around the world due to the increases in the number of natural disasters and terrorist attacks…

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Abstract

Purpose

Crisis management has gained importance in the policy agendas of many countries around the world due to the increases in the number of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Thus, this paper has two purposes. The first is to illustrate how the Turkish Government's Disaster and Crisis Management System has been developed. The second purpose is to make a qualitative evaluation of the current disaster and crisis management systems.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review shows that the disaster and crisis management system in Turkey has been developed after tragic events. The paper examines what kinds of initiatives were introduced and what is the trend in shift. After analyzing recent cases and exploring some government initiatives, alternative approaches and suggestions were included.

Findings

Turkey has developed its disaster and crisis management system since 1930, which mostly depended on experiences. The current disaster and crisis management system is governed by a centralized structure which is the responsibility of different ministries. Nonetheless, the system is very weak at local level. Furthermore, participation of non‐profit organizations is very limited at both national and local levels. Thus, coordination and management of first‐response operations during crises are problematic and ineffective. Particularly, the system is not designed for different types of crises such as terrorist attacks.

Practical implications

Crisis management in Turkey needs a more unified and flexible structure to deal with current problems effectively. Further suggestions for better implication are also provided

Originality/value

The effectiveness of the disaster and crisis management system is analyzed in natural and man‐made disasters. Findings show that centralized and decentralized systems have different functions in different situations.

Details

Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, vol. 19 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-3562

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 21 May 2020

Christian Pauletto

The development of technologies for the conduct of cyber operations represents an opportunity for states to defend their interests in international relations but also bears risks…

Abstract

Purpose

The development of technologies for the conduct of cyber operations represents an opportunity for states to defend their interests in international relations but also bears risks and challenges. Since the early 2000s, the United Nations “group of governmental experts (GGE) on developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security” debates on this issue. This paper aims to investigate how states are challenged in the development of international cyber norms and where capacity to act is idle, i.e. to assess how much has been reached in the international community’s debate on cyber threats and malicious behaviors in the international security context and to identify directions to move GGE work further.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology uses an extensive text-based desk research and relies on a thorough collection, analysis and interpretation of the United Nations (UNs) documents. When specific substantial topics are addressed in the GGE, the content of the debate was confronted with issue-specific academic literature on those matters.

Findings

The results highlight that the GGE managed to gather consensus on a number of cooperation and normative measures in this politically highly sensitive topic and more deliverables are expected during this and next year. The paper identifies a weakness in terms of operational implementation though. The paper proposes a few examples of concrete headways that could complement existing consensus, especially on the implementation side.

Originality/value

Because of its political sensitivity, the GGE has worked with discretion and has attracted little academic attention. This paper is an original and timely attempt to assess the achievements and possible outlook of this endeavor of the international community, including the incipient work of a recently established open-ended working group. It also attempts to connect the subject matter discussed in the UN with related academic literature, including in respect of definitional and conceptual issues.

Details

Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, vol. 14 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6166

Keywords

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