Armed Forces & Society recent issues

Our Intellectual Freedom

Williams, J. A. — 2008-06-16

The U.S. Navy's Maiden Voyage: Effects of Integrating Sailors and Civilian Mariners on Deployment

Kelty, R. — 2008-06-16

The U.S. federal government is increasingly civilianizing the military as a manpower-management strategy. Effects of this policy are not well understood. Data from a case study of civilian mariners integrated with sailors on a U.S. Navy ship were analyzed to determine the effects of social comparisons on each group's job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and intentions to remain with their current employer. Results indicate both sailors and civilian mariners view sailors as less advantaged compared to their civilian peers. The effect of these social comparisons on each group's satisfaction, commitment, and retention attitudes was mixed, having a significant negative impact for sailors but not for civilian mariners. These results identify an unintended negative consequence of the decision to integrate civilian and military personnel in an operational unit. The way civilian mariners were integrated is discussed as a possible reason for the differential effect of social comparisons between the two groups.

I versus We: Collective and Individual Factors of Reserve Service Motivation during War and Peace

2008-06-16

This study examines conditions of peace and war to find whether the "rally `round the flag" effect is indeed attributed to rising levels of social collectivism. Reserve service motivation in peacetime and wartime was compared among 1,004 Israeli reservists. Levels of motivation and the factors that affect them were examined during the optimism of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (February 2000) and about a year and a half into the second Intifada (October 2000). Findings suggest that motivation to serve in wartime is indeed higher than in peacetime. However, they also suggest that similar factors predict motivation in both times, although their relative impact is altered by the situation. Reservists were more likely to be motivated by individual rather than collective incentives (in both peacetime and wartime situations), thus suggesting that "rally `round the flag" occurrences are not necessarily reflective of the social cohesion and collective reasoning.

Reserve Soldiers as Transmigrants: Moving between the Civilian and Military Worlds

Lomsky-Feder, E., Gazit, N., Ben-Ari, E. — 2008-06-16

This article suggests a new perspective for examining the particular social and organizational characteristics of military reserves forces and the special experiences of serving in the reserves. To illustrate the unique social position of reservists, the authors develop a theoretical model that likens them to transmigrants. Accordingly, the authors suggest that society may benefit from looking at reserves both as sorts of social and organizational hybrids or amalgams—they are soldiers and civilians, they are outside yet inside the military system, and are invested in both spheres—and as continual migrants journeying between military and civilian spheres. The authors end by suggesting that it may be fruitful to study three segments of the military, each of which has its own dynamics: regulars, conscripts, and reserves. This differentiation allows society to examine different patterns of motivation, cohesion, political commitment and awareness, and long-term considerations that characterize each segment.

Mediating Structures and the Military: The Case of Religious Soldiers

Rosman-Stollman, E. — 2008-06-16

Very few armed forces consciously relate to the religious component of soldiers' identities. Like religions, the military system demands individuals to conform to rules and schedules. Should military and religious obligations clash, soldiers are forced to choose. When modern armed forces relate to religious elements in their members' identities, how do they do so? What are the conditions most conducive to a military relating to the religious component of its soldiers' identities? This article posits a framework for the analysis of both questions, employing the concept of mediating structures to illustrate the mechanisms whereby militaries and religions accommodate each other and Luckham's typology of boundaries (integral, permeable, fragmented) to identify the conditions that are most—and least—hospitable to mediation. This framework is illustrated by references to institutional and individual relations between religion and armed forces in Iran, Israel, Turkey, the United States, and India.

Management and Leadership Performance in the Defense Department: Evidence from Surveys of Federal Employees

Oh, P. S., Lewis, D. E. — 2008-06-16

The authors use data from the Federal Human Capital Survey to measure comparative leadership and management performance among executives in the military bureaucracy. The authors evaluate whether differences in executive backgrounds, training, and management environments influence employee evaluations of leadership, management, and work climate. Military service agencies get systematically higher evaluations in leadership and work climate, but not management. Among the services, the Air Force consistently received the highest evaluations. Air Force managers have the highest ranks, the longest military service, and a high level of graduate education when they assume executive positions; these characteristics are positively correlated with performance. Other managerial characteristics associated with high performance were long job tenures and private management experience. The authors conclude that greater attention to graduate training, exploring ways to increase tenure, and the selection of retired officers with private management experience for important executive posts may improve performance.

When the Military Leaves and Places Change: Effects of the Closing of an Army Post on the Local Community

Hill Thanner, M., Segal, M. W. — 2008-06-16

Fort Ritchie Army Garrison in Cascade, Maryland, slated for closure as part of the 1995 base realignment and closure (BRAC) round, officially ceased military operations on September 30, 1998. More than eight years later, a confluence of circumstances had prevented its reuse, and the community had yet to benefit from reuse efforts. To understand how such base closings affect the local community and the character of a place, an ethnographic case study and a post hoc social impact assessment were conducted. Told in this article is the story of how one community has responded and adjusted to the loss of the military, which provides lessons for other communities facing base closings and for federal entities tasked with overseeing and facilitating the process.

The Privileges of Rank: The Peacetime Draft and Later-life Attainment

MacLean, A. — 2008-06-16

This article examines the effects of peacetime cold war military service on the life course according to four potentially overlapping theories that state that military service (1) was a disruption, (2) was a positive turning point, (3) allowed veterans to accumulate advantage, and (4) was an agent of social reproduction. The article argues that the extent to which the effect of military service on veterans' lives corresponds with one or another of the preceding theories depends on historical shifts in three dimensions: conscription, conflict, and benefits. Military service during the peacetime draft era of the late 1950s had a neutral effect on the socioeconomic attainment of enlisted veterans. However, it had a positive effect on veterans who served as officers, which partly stemmed from status reproduction and selection. Yet net of pre-service and educational differences by rank, officers in this peacetime draft era were still able to accumulate advantage.

Book Review: Mandel, R., (2006). The Meaning of Military Victory. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers

Bonura, M. — 2008-06-16

Book Review: Danopoulos, C. P., Vajpeyi, D., & Bar-or, A., eds. (2004). Civil-Military Relations, Nation-Building, and National Identity: Comparative Perspectives. Westport, CT: Praeger International Security

Morgan, M. J. — 2008-06-16

Book Review: Amateur Photographer. (2004). Directed by Irina Gedrovich. Written by Lev Roshal. Produced by Efim Reznikov and Olesya Buryachenko/Granat Studio Cinematography Service, Russian Ministry of Culture, distributed in the United States by First Run/Icarus Films, 32 Court Street, 21st Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201; http://www.frif.com/new2007/amat.html; mailroom @frif.com. Running time: 26 minutes. Available in DVD and VHS

Frey, D. S. — 2008-06-16

Book Review: Abrahamsson, B., Egnell, R., and Yden, K. (2006). Effects-Based Operations, Military Organization, and Professionalization. Stockholm, Sweden: Swedish National Defence College

Thomas, R. — 2008-06-16

Book Review: Fruhstuck, S. (2007). Uneasy Warriors: Gender, Memory, and Popular Culture in the Japanese Army. Berkeley: University of California Press

Repo, J. — 2008-06-16

Acknowledgement of Referees

2008-06-16

Transformation of the Turkish Military and the Path to Democracy

Satana, N. S. — 2008-03-12

Democratization scholars argue that Turkey has successfully transitioned to democracy and is consolidating liberal democracy. The political elite and the parties are deemed important factors in crafting democracies. However, the Turkish political leadership has not changed much until recently; therefore, it remains a puzzle why consolidation is taking place. There are two explanations: (1) there is no consolidation of democracy (2) a factor other than the turnover in political elite/change in the political system has led to consolidation. I argue that consolidation is in progress because of the lengthy but persistent transformation of the military in Turkey. I examine previously overlooked changes in Turkish military with respect to its structure and its relations to the society. I find that the change in the military contributes to the consolidation of democracy in Turkey, and other transitional democracies. As with any other institutional change, this process is slow and risky.

Military Spouse Employment: A Grounded Theory Approach to Experiences and Perceptions

Castaneda, L. W., Harrell, M. C. — 2008-03-12

This study responds to the recognition that the majority of military spouses have paid employment but that neither the Department of Defense nor other organizations understand their motivations for work or their perceptions of how the military lifestyle has affected their employment. This article summarizes the input from more than a thousand military spouses who participated in interviews for this research. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to examine spouse experiences and perceptions regarding their employment. Findings indicate that the majority of military spouses believe that the military has a negative effect on their employment. In addition, the interviews revealed that these spouses work for a variety of reasons, both financial and nonpecuniary. The reasons for the military's negative effect and spouse motives for working are discussed, along with the ensuing implications for policy.

The U.S. Military's Implementation of the Joint Duty Promotion Requirement

Veneri, M. C. — 2008-03-12

Prior to 1986, the inability of the U.S. military to operate in a unified, multiservice, or "joint" manner affected operational effectiveness. The Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986 directed changes throughout the U.S. defense establishment to rectify this problem. This article looks at the implementation of the joint duty officer promotion requirement mandated under Title IV, Joint Officer Management, of the Goldwater-Nichols Act. The joint duty assignment requirement mandated that all officers serve in a joint duty assignment prior to promotion to Brigadier General or Rear Admiral (O7). This article examines the implementation of this policy, U.S. military compliance with this policy, and the impact of the joint duty assignment on an officer's promotion to O7. Findings indicate that the military services are not fully complying with this policy and that officer promotion time is adversely affected when an officer meets the joint duty assignment promotion requirement.

Where Military Professionalism Meets Complexity Science

Paparone, C. R., Anderson, R. A., McDaniel, R. R. — 2008-03-12

The authors challenge the old school of hierarchical strategic leadership that dominates the military professional culture and, in contrast, emphasize complex adaptive systems (CASs) as a compelling alternative mental model to view the military profession. The authors suggest eight leadership tasks that come to the fore when the mental model of the military as a professional CAS is used to examine the circumstances that engulf military activities: relationship building, loose coupling, complicating, diversifying, sensemaking, learning, improvising, and emergent thinking. These are distinguished from the traditional tasks of role defining, standardization, simplifying, socializing, decision making, knowing, commanding and controlling, and planning based on estimates.

The Gambia's "Elected Autocrat Poverty, Peripherality, and Political Instability," 1994-2006: A Political Economy Assessment

Saine, A. — 2008-03-12

This article assesses "democratization" under military and quasimilitary regimes in the Gambia following the 1994 coup d'état until 2006. The "transition" program back to "civilian" rule in 1996, the 2001 and 2006 presidential elections, and the aftermath of deepening authoritarianism and economic crisis are also evaluated. The formation of a five—political party coalition, the National Alliance for Democracy and Development, in 2005 raised expectations for a new political dispensation. Its breakup in 2006, however, dashed hope of this occurring. President Jammeh won a third 5-year term amid suffocating external and domestic indebtedness, declining exports, poor economic performance, and endemic corruption. Continued poor leadership and policy choices are likely to exacerbate abject poverty, countercoups, instability, and conflict. McGowan's neo-Marxist/liberal political economy approach has helped rekindle more critical scholarship on the linkage between underdevelopment and conflict in Africa and the Third World as well as provide an antidote to neo-liberal economic policies.

Civil-Military Relations in Indonesia and the Philippines: Will the Thai Coup Prove Contagious?

Beeson, M. — 2008-03-12

This article examines civil-military relations in Indonesia and the Philippines in the after-math of the largely unexpected recent coup in Thailand. The central issue it investigates is whether Indonesia and the Philippines may prove equally susceptible to military intervention. The conclusion is that although the potential for coups in the Philippines can never be discounted, Indonesia looks surprisingly stable by contrast. One key cause of this apparent stability, it is argued, is the military's role in economic activities, which makes it more or less content with the status quo. Although the dynamics of civil-military relations are significantly different in both the Philippines and Thailand, all three cases suggest that there is a need to take the political economy of civil-military relations much more seriously if we wish to understand them fully in the contemporary era.

The Military's Corporate Interests: The Main Reason for Intervention in Indonesia and the Philippines?

Lee, T. — 2008-03-12

In "Civil–Military Relations in Indonesia and the Philippines," Mark Beeson argued that the likelihood of future military interventions in Indonesia and the Philippines was best understood by examining the countries' political economies. Beeson contended that because the Indonesian military remains heavily involved in economic activities, it will likely remain politically quiescent. And because fewer opportunities exist for the Philippine military to engage in business undertakings, the specter of further military interventions remains. Beeson's argument is characteristic of the corporate interest perspective in the civil-military relations literature. This article examines the effectiveness of corporate interest arguments in explaining military interventions into the political arena. It advances two main arguments: first, corporate interest propositions are under-specified and not analytically useful to explain military interventions. Second, by concentrating on the corporate interests of the Indonesian and Philippine militaries, Beeson omitted more salient factors that have led to prior interventions in the two countries.

There Are Several Principals-- Each One Worthy of Research

Coletta, D. — 2008-03-12

In defense of the argument made in "Courage in the Service of Virtue," in effect that courageous military advice better serves the republic when it accounts for political competition facing civilian principals, the author answers the complaint that his analysis accorded too much deference to the executive and ignored Congress and the people the real principals of American civil–military relations. The principal–agent model has more than one useful application, and executive authority over the U.S. military is both more fragile and more important for democratic control than the critics imply.

"The Stuff of Tragedy": Shinseki's Reply to Levin

Moten, M. — 2008-03-12

Damon Coletta's "Courage in the Service of Virtue" accuses General Eric K. Shinseki of publicly challenging administration policy in a way that "improvised in areas such as war-fighting and diplomacy beyond his official purview," contradicted the combatant commander, aided the French, abetted the Democrats, emboldened Saddam, and damaged American civil–military relations because it dismissed the policy makers' "right to be wrong." Shinseki did none of these things, including publicly challenging administration policy. This article will provide some historical corrective and context for this debate. It will examine Shinseki's options and argue that, rather than damaging civilian control, Shinseki protected it through acts of commission and omission, through forthrightness and restraint toward both sets of his civilian masters enumerated in the Constitution to control the military, the executive and legislative branches of government.

Book Review: Schwartz-Barcott, T. P. (2004). War, Terror & Peace in the Qur'an and in Islam: Insights for Military & Government Leaders. Carlisle, PA: Army War College Foundation Press

Camacho, P. R. — 2008-03-12

Book Review: McKee, C. (2002). Sober Men and True: Sailor Lives in the Royal Navy, 1900-1945. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Steele, C. — 2008-03-12

Book Review: Carreiras, H. (2006). Gender and the Military: Women in the Armed Forces of Western Democracies. London: Routledge

Kirke, C. — 2008-03-12

Book Review: Smith, P. (2005). Why War? The Cultural Logic of Iraq, the Gulf War, and Suez. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Burk, J. — 2008-03-12

Book Review: Taylor, R. H. (2007). Homeward Bound: American Veterans Return from War. With Sandra Wright Taylor. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International

Ross, S. M. — 2008-03-12

Managing Civil-Military Cooperation: Experiences from the Dutch Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan

Rietjens, S. J. H. — 2007-12-12

From a management perspective, this article presents a process model to analyze cooperation between military and civilian actors in peace support operations. By means of multiple case study research, the article applies the model to eight partnerships between the Dutch Provincial Reconstruction Team and civilian actors (nongovernmental organizations, district governors, local constructors) in Baghlan, Afghanistan. These partnerships include explosives removal, power plant construction and police training courses. The article shows that civil-military cooperation processes follow six successive steps: decision to cooperate, partner selection, design, implementation, transfer of tasks and responsibilities, and evaluation. It is concluded that there is a lack of unambiguous and useful military guidelines regarding civil-military cooperation; the military are often unaware of other actors operating in the area and their programs, cooperation is frequently supply-based rather than demand-driven, and many military personnel involved in civil-military cooperation have little experience with and training in the subject.

The Competing Claims of Operational Effectiveness and Human Rights in the Canadian Context

Harrison, D., Laliberte, L. — 2007-12-12

This article explores the tension between military objectives and the "democracy value" cherished by Western civilian societies, using the situations of injured military members and the living conditions of civilian spouses; in particular, the responses of the Canadian Forces to members' posttraumatic stress disorder, and to spouses who are victims of domestic violence. The authors show how these responses currently privilege military objectives over the democracy value to an extent that is incompatible with the human rights of civilians or military members. They conclude by discussing how military leadership training could be modified to produce an altered balance between the two value systems.

Institutional Motives for Serving in the U.S. Army National Guard: Implications for Recruitment, Retention, and Readiness

Griffith, J. — 2007-12-12

The present study extended recent investigations of the motivations of American youth and active-duty soldiers to serve in the military. Unlike previous studies, this study employed a sample of reservists and examined their reasons for joining. Consistent with recent studies, institutionally-motivated soldiers were more likely to plan to remain in military service, would report for duty so they did not let their buddies and family down, and believed in the mission and service to the country. In contrast, materially-motivated soldiers were less likely to remain in reserve military service if deployed overseas, more likely to report for duty to meet contractual obligations and to avoid disciplinary actions, but less likely to report to serve the country. These factors have implications for the level of commitment and combat readiness of soldiers, in particular Army reservists, who are increasingly relied on for national defense strategy.

Their Hands in the Till: Scale and Causes of Russian Military Corruption

Bukkvoll, T. — 2007-12-12

The change from Yeltsin to Putin has had minimal effect on Russian military corruption. Putin, despite his desire to rebuild Russian strength, has not shown himself willing or able to seriously deal with this problem. The fluctuations in the level of military corruption in the post-Soviet period seem largely to be explained by changes in availability of things to steal or embezzle. Thus, the latter years' substantial increases in defense spending have been accompanied by a steep rise in military corruption. Today, Russian military corruption is one of the main obstacles to military reform in Russia and to Russia serving as a partner in international military cooperation. It might also make the traditionally pro-military Russian public loose faith in the country's armed forces.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell": Does the Gay Ban Undermine the Military's Reputation?

Belkin, A. — 2007-12-12

This article asks what impact, if any, the "don't ask, don't tell" policy might have on the U.S. military's reputation. Original empirical research is presented to suggest that the policy harms the military's reputation in four ways: the policy is inconsistent with public opinion, it prompts many journalists to criticize the armed forces while attracting almost no favorable media coverage, it provides a vehicle for antimilitary protesters to portray military culture as conflicting with widely accepted civilian values, and it is inconsistent with the views of junior enlisted service members.

HIV/AIDS Prevention Strategies in the Armed Forces in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Critical Review

Sagala, J. K. — 2007-12-12

The objective of this study is to highlight and review literature and current practices on HIV/AIDS prevention and education in African militaries. It examines the potential implications of HIV/AIDS on military effectiveness; the historical link between soldiers, war, and infectious diseases; and the problem of HIV/AIDS and African military forces. The study also reviews literature on worldwide military HIV prevention and education programs, including studies conducted in Africa. It highlights various strategies put in place by African militaries and the contributions of the U.S. Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program and UNAIDS-Department of Peacekeeping Operations. These agencies supplement the efforts of African governments in implementing effective military HIV prevention, education, and surveillance programs. The study concludes with calls for further research on HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and African militaries.

The Military as a Distinct Ethnic or Quasi-Ethnic Identity in Developing Countries

Zirker, D., Danopoulos, C. P., Simpson, A. — 2007-12-12

Culture, identity, and ethnicity are central to understanding political behavior and the complex questions of military behavior in developing countries. Drawing on distinctive military periods in Fiji, Pakistan, and Uganda, each of which exemplifies, respectively, the main elements of the three schools of thought regarding ethnicity—primordialist, instrumentalist, and constructivist—this study argues that the fundamental behavior patterns associated with ethnicity relate directly to the problems and promises of military establishments in developing countries. By recognizing and understanding the dynamics of the culture of identity, military establishments in new political systems may better understand their own ethnic or "quasi-ethnic" politics. As developing military establishments build a quasi-ethnic identity, this will reinforce the growth of nationalism, which, in an age of ethnicity, would seem to posit a direct threat to democracy.

Book Review: Collier, P., & Sambanis, N., eds. (2005). Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Volume 1: Africa. Washington, DC: The World Bank. Collier, P., & Sambanis, N., eds. (2005). Understanding Civil War: Evidence and Analysis, Volume 2: Europe, Central Asia, and Other Regions. Washington, DC: The World Bank

Gallagher Cunningham, K. — 2007-12-12

Book Review: Boggs, Carl, and Tom Pollard. (2007). The Hollywood War Machine: U.S. Militarism and Popular Culture. Boulder, CO: Paradigm

Huebner, A. J. — 2007-12-12

Book Review: Pinch, Franklin C., Allister T. MacIntyre, Phyllis Browne, and Alan C. Okros, eds. (2006). Challenge and Change in the Military: Gender and Diversity Issues. Kingston, Ontario, Canada: Canadian Defence Academy Press

Sion, L. — 2007-12-12

Book Review: Kennedy, Carrie H., and Eric A. Zillmer, eds. (2006). Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications. New York: Guilford

Annen, H. — 2007-12-12

Book Review: Cleary, Laura R., and Teri McConville, eds. (2006). Managing Defence in a Democracy. London: Routledge

Springer, P. J. — 2007-12-12

Book Review: Willbanks, James H., The Tet Offensive: A Concise History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006, 272 pp., $29.50 (hardcover)

Helton, B. D. — 2007-12-12

North Korea and the ROK U.S. Security Alliance

Seongwhun, C. — 2007-09-05

The Republic of Korea–U.S. alliance has encountered the most turbulent period in the history of the bilateral relationship. The apparent decline of the relationship worsened with the developing North Korean nuclear crisis after October 2002 and the election of new leadership in South Korea. Gaping differences are appearing over key issues, which adversely influence the bilateral relations. This article argues that there are two underlying reasons that have brought about these differences—identity crisis and deficiency in mutual understanding. Variations in state identity can affect the national security interests or polices of states, and Seoul and Washington have shown different identities, especially with respect to Pyongyang. While alliance is a moving target that needs continuous attention and adaptation, the two countries failed to catch up with each other's changes. This article investigates and highlights the gaping alliance differences and proposes some remedial measures for a better future of the bilateral alliance.

Mutations in America's Perceptions of Its Professional Military Leaders: An Historical Overview and Update

Kemble, C. R. — 2007-09-05

America's civil-military relations continuum is influenced by evolving perceptions of its professional military leaders, with "image" often weighing more than analysis. Moreover, this historical overview submits, significant transmutations are seemingly again underway. This historical record, with emphasis on the influence of "opinion shapers," is traced herein to provide a context for ongoing studies. In America's first century, both sharply negative and positive perceptions became entrenched, but generally military leaders enjoyed high repute in influential circles. At century's turn, progressive revisionists, avowedly antimilitary, gained influence. The twentieth century saw severe criticism, only partially muted by the World Wars, from previously admiring sectors. Around 1990, there came signs of adjustments and synthesis. Rationales for habitually negative views weakened. "Antiwar" no longer perforce equated to "antimilitary." Scholarship was more balanced and was dubious of caricatures, praiseworthy or damning. Vietnam era disdain shifted more to concern for forces "in harm's way." Whether such adjustments will continue remains to be measured.

Paraguay: A Semi-Authoritarian Regime?

Sondrol, P. C. — 2007-09-05

Despite the oft-touted "transitions to democracy" paradigm, in much of the world, hybrid regimes that are better-termed "semi-authoritarian" proliferate, displaying the trappings of democracy, such as elections, but not the substance of democracy. This article, utilizing the Paraguayan case, generalizes to the broader theoretical examination of these newer forms of nondemocracy, providing a counterpoint to some of the transitions literature.

Civil Society versus Military Sovereignty: Cultural, Political, and Operational Aspects

Lebel, U. — 2007-09-05

From its inception and throughout the military sovereignty era, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) were endowed with a religious status. In Israeli society, bereaved parents of fallen soldiers enjoyed a special relationship with the army, and their bereavement afforded them a unique place in the shaping of public opinion about security policy. However, as this paper shows, after the first Lebanon War (1982) cracks began to appear in this special union. From the early 1990s, bereaved parents supported by new social movements and a symbiosis of the judicial arena and the media challenged the security-defense-military arena and its policies of commemoration of the dead, treatment of soldiers, accident prevention, secrecy, and even appointments. Using the High Court and the media to directly influence defense and security policy, civil society succeeded in changing the IDF's tactics, the treatment of Palestinian detainees, and thus elevated human rights and international law over security considerations.

On the Clausewitz of the Cold War: Reconsidering the Primacy of Policy in On War

Echevarria, A. J. — 2007-09-05

Throughout the Cold War, scholars gave considerable privilege to Clausewitz's observation that war is the "mere continuation of political activity (Politik) by other means." It is often referred to in intellectual shorthand as the primacy of policy. This article questions the extent to which emphasis on the primacy of policy has been overstressed, influenced perhaps by the strategic context of the Cold War. Clausewitz's trinitarian concept of war—hostility, chance, political purpose—which appears in what scholars generally agree is On War's only finished chapter, does not portray policy as more dominant than the other tendencies; instead, it presents them as equals, stressing only each one's uniqueness in relation to the others. Reinterpreting policy as equal to the other two aspects of the trinity tends to strengthen the relevance of Clausewitz's overall theory to contemporary wars.

Courage in the Service of Virtue: The Case of General Shinseki's Testimony before the Iraq War

Coletta, D. — 2007-09-05

Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki testified to the Senate Armed Services Committee before Operation Iraqi Freedom that several hundred thousand American Army soldiers were needed to occupy Iraq following a successful completion of the war. In hindsight, after many postwar problems occurred during Army and Marine efforts to stabilize Iraq, General Shinseki's action has been almost universally praised as prescient and courageous. This article counters that, from a civil-military relations perspective, Shinseki's testimony was neither sufficiently accurate nor sufficiently respectful of civilian control to serve as a healthy model for future officers. The U.S. civil-military relationship framed by the 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act, which preserved the power of individual service chiefs to provide independent testimony, is better served when high-ranking officers adopt a notion of courage in light of military authority delegated to regional combatant commands and in consideration of the political vulnerabilities of their civilian masters.

Civil Military Relations Who Are the Real Principals? A Response to "Courage in the Service of Virtue: The Case of General Shinseki's Testimony before the Iraq War"

Camacho, P. R., Hauser, W. L. — 2007-09-05

This response to Coletta's "Courage in the Service of Virtue: The Case of General Shinseki's Testimony before the Iraq War" argues that too much significance is attributed to Shinseki's remarks. The larger question is whether military leaders should speak up when their civilian leadership's plan is grossly inadequate. Second, the response considers questions about the middle levels of power. The authors suggest that the principal–agent argument is Shinseki's defense and the ultimate principals are the American public. Third, a table is offered as a means of comparing and contrasting the Huntington–Janowitz positions with new theoretical focuses. Fourth, the conclusion suggests that concerns touched on in the tables (the obligation to speak up, the public space, the implications of economic development, and the changing nature of warfare) overshadow the Shinseki issue and that social action theory and type construction methodology are of service in addressing civil–military relations.

Further Considerations Concerning the Cohesion-Performance Relation in Military Settings

Griffith, J. — 2007-09-05

A recent issue of Armed Forces and Society published an interchange among MacCoun, Wong, Kolditz, and others regarding the relation of cohesion to performance. The discussion was purposefully narrow in its scope, but other literature should be considered to properly frame the larger question of cohesion's function in military settings. Specifically, current and future discussions should acknowledge: (1) the primary function of cohesion as revealed in historical and observational accounts of soldiers in combat; (2) emergent similarities between social support and cohesion, which support the notion that cohesion acts as a moderator rather than a main effect of performance; and (3) findings from a recent meta-analysis that contradict those of Mullen and Cooper. Viewing cohesion's relation to performance as indirect rather than direct has very different and important implications for research, applications, and expected effects of cohesion on group performance.

Book Review: Krebs, Ronald R. (2006). Fighting for Rights: Military Service and the Politics of Citizenship. Ithaca, NY and London: Cornell University Press

Allred, K. J. — 2007-09-05

Book Review: Sebag-Montefiore, Hugh. (2006). Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press

Kiesling, E. E. C. — 2007-09-05

Book Review: Herspring, Dale R. (2006). The Kremlin and the High Command: Presidential Impact on the Russian Military from Gorbachev to Putin. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press

Barylski, R. V. — 2007-09-05

Film Review: Pirjo Honkasalo (Director), Kristiina Pervila, and Pirjo Honkasalo (Producers). (2005). The 3 Rooms of Melancholia. United States: First Run/Icarus Films

Carlton-Ford, S. — 2007-09-05

Book Review: Born, H., Johnson, L. K., & Leigh, I., eds. (2005). Who's Watching the Spies: Establishing Intelligence Service Accountability. Washington, DC: Potomac Books

Poponete, V. — 2007-09-05

Book Review: Kennedy, C. H., & Zillmer, E. A., eds. (2006). Military Psychology: Clinical and Operational Applications. New York: Guilford Press

Annen, H. — 2007-09-05

Book Review: Anderson, L. (2003). Pursuing Truth, Exercising Power: Social Science and Public Policy in the 21st Century. New York: Columbia University Press

Fiala, I. — 2007-09-05