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Military Forces in 21st Century Peace Operations

No Job for a Soldier?

By James V. Arbuckle

Published April 28th 2009 by Routledge – 200 pages

Series: Contemporary Security Studies

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Description

A major new study of the realities of contemporary warfare, which presents a range of fresh insights and is essential reading for all students and professionals engaged in the field.

This book clearly shows us that:

  • neither military nor civilian agencies can act effectively alone in resolving modern conflicts
  • joint civil-military efforts are needed, and those efforts must be deliberately planned from the outset of an operation; they cannot be added on as afterthoughts when all else has failed
  • the record of our efforts over nearly a decade and a half since the end of the Cold War demonstrates that we are doing badly at creating civil-military partnerships, and that we are not getting better.

James V. Arbuckle shows how these issues are neither structural nor organizational - they are cultural. They involve attitudes, beliefs, perceptions – positive and negative, true and false. The solutions will involve changing attitudes, moving beyond prejudices, replacing competition with cooperation. The principal mechanisms for this will be common civil-military training and education.

Contents

Part 1: Peace in the Modern World 1. Preface 2. Introduction 3. Towards a Conceptual Framework for Peace Operations Part 2: Pride and Prejudice: Military Culture and Popular Perceptions 4. Introduction 5. The Role and Influence of Cultures 6. Cohesion and Continuity - The Clangour of Their Shields 7. A Closer Look at Military Organizational Culture 8. Culture and Change: A Barrier or a Window? 9. Civil-Military Cultures in Collision: Festina Lente 10. Unit Rotations – Les Absents se Trompent 11. The US Forces: The Military Antipodeans 12. Pride and Prejudice: You Never get a Second Chance to Make a First Impression Part 3: Sense and Sensibility: The Military as a Partner Agency 13. Introduction 14. The Military Roles in Support of Humanitarian Operations 15. First Generation Peacekeeping: The Age of Consent 16. Rules of Engagement 17. Force Structures: Always Use a Sledgehammer to Crack a Walnut 18. The Command and Control of Joint and Combined Military Operations 19. The Military Staff Committee: Reveille, or Last Post? 20. Reaction Forces: Compulsory and Irreproachable Idleness Part 4: Training and Education: A Part of the Main 21. General 22. Training vs. Education 23. Training Establishments: Where and by Who? 24. Training for Whom? 25. So What? Part 5: Conclusion: To Save Succeeding Generations

Author Bio

James V. Arbuckle served 36 years as an infantryman in Canada and in Germany, and with UNFICYP and UNPROFOR. He is a member of the Faculty of the Lester B. Pearson Canadian International Peacekeeping Training Centre, and was from 1999-2003 working with the OSCE. He now lives in Austria.

Name: Military Forces in 21st Century Peace Operations: No Job for a Soldier? (Paperback) – Routledge 
Description: By James V. Arbuckle. A major new study of the realities of contemporary warfare, which presents a range of fresh insights and is essential reading for all students and professionals engaged in the field. This book clearly shows us that: neither military nor civilian...
Categories: Military Studies, International Security, Peace Studies