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- Ydén, Karl, 1965
(författare)
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"Kriget" och karriärsystemet. Försvarsmaktens organiserande i fred
- 2008
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Military organizations comprise two contradictory logics of action. The logic of conflict revolves around the use of organized violence against an enemy (at close range). The logic of cooperation characterises interaction with friendlydisposed parties, in order to secure legitimacy and working exchange relations. Previous research highlight tension between these logics of action, but do not study the mechanisms by which it is managed. The present study describes and analyzes how contradictory logics of action are manifested in the Swedish Armed Forces, and how tensions between the logics are managed. By examining everyday practices in training of an elite unit, the study shows junior officers training soldiers according to a construction of “the demands of war”. The training manifests a logic of conflict emphasizing physical stamina, endurance, discipline and a marked social distance between officers and soldiers. The study also shows that middle and higher level officers are almost entirely occupied with white-collar work, albeit in uniform. They interact with the environment, displaying a logic of cooperation imbued in the Armed Forces as a peacetime authority and “Government Employer”, subject to institutional pressures. The study concludes that the logic of conflict in soldier training is largely decoupled from the military administration’s logic of cooperation. The main mechanism producing decoupling is the military career system, in which promotion is a regular feature. Certain positions and assignments are compulsory steps in the career; at low levels training conscripts for “war”, at higher levels carrying out white collar work according conforming to the institutional rules of modern society. The study shows how the career system frames officers’ interactions and produces decoupling between the contradictory logics of action. The two logics of action sharply mark the career system, but they are also shaped and conditioned by the career system’s emphasis on job rotation. The career system constitutes an institutional logic that creates the means-ends relationships by which rewards, status and power are distributed. The logic of the military career system overrides considerations pertaining to soldier training as well as to effective administration. The military career system, rather than the Armed Forces’ official goals, shapes the prevailing logic of the organization.
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| 2. |
- Larsdotter, Kersti
(författare)
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Exploring the utility of armed force in peace operations : German and British approaches in northern Afghanistan
- 2008
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Ingår i: Small Wars & Insurgencies. - 0959-2318 .- 1743-9558. ; 19:3, s. 352-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The robust approach of the American forces in for example Afghanistan and Iraq is often criticised and compared to the more soft approach of the British forces. However, there are surprisingly few systematic studies on the relationship between the conduct of force and the outcome of peace operations. Two kinds of military conduct in Afghanistan have been explored in this article, one that could be called 'minimum force' and one that could be called 'show of force'. Contradicting the commonly held idea of the superiority of 'minimum force', 'show of force' correlated with a better outcome than the 'minimum force' approach. However, before arguing that a 'show of force' approach is a better way to conduct peace operations, more reliable data on the outcome, and additional case studies, are needed.
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| 3. |
- Weissmann, Mikael, 1977-
(författare)
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The Missing Link : bridging between social movement theory and conflict resolution
- 2008
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Rapport (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper explores what benefits the theoretical development, operationalisation andimplementation of conflict resolution can get from bridging with social movement theory.Four different social movement theories are included: the political process, resourcemobilisation, collective behaviour- and the new social movement approach. For conflictresolution Peter Wallensteen’s theoretical approach is used. The analysis is limited to thepost-Cold War period and intrastate conflicts (civil wars and state formation conflicts). Thiscovers 95% of all post-Cold War conflicts. Four questions are asked and answered: 1. Whatdoes the link between social movement theory and conflict resolution look like?; 2. How cansocial movement theory benefit the development of conflict resolution theory?; 3. How cansocial movement theory benefit the operationalisation of conflict resolution theory?; 4. Howcan social movement theory and social movements be beneficial for the implementation ofconflict resolution theory (i.e. conflict resolution)? The theoretical findings are tested on onecase study (East Timor). The theoretical analysis shows that there exist a link between socialmovement theory and conflict resolution on all levels. The case study confirms the theoreticalfindings.
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| 5. |
- Weissmann, Mikael, 1977
(författare)
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Understanding the East Asian Peace Informal and formal conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the Taiwan Strait, the Korean Peninsula, and the South China Sea 1990-2008
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The overall purpose of this dissertation is to provide an empirical study of the post-Cold War East Asian security setting, with the aim of understanding why there is an East Asian peace. The East Asian peace exists in a region with a history of militarised conflicts, home to many of the world's longest ongoing militarised problems and a number of unresolved critical flashpoints. Thus, the post-Cold War East Asian inter-state peace is a paradox. Despite being a region predicted to be ripe for conflict, there have not only been less wars than expected, but the region also shows several signs of a development towards a more durable peace. The dominant research paradigm – neorealism – has painted a gloomy picture of post-Cold War East Asia, with perpetual conflicts dominating the predictions. Other mainstream international relations theories, too, fail to account fully for the relative peace. One of the greatest problems for mainstream theories, is accounting for peace given East Asia's lack of security organisations or other formalised conflict management mechanisms. Given this paradox/problem, this dissertation sets out to ask "Why is there a relative peace in the East Asian security setting despite an absence of security organisations or other formalised mechanisms to prevent existing conflicts from escalating into violence?" In order to answer this question, the case of East Asian peace is approached by comparing three embedded case studies within the region: the Taiwan issue, the South China Sea, and the Korean nuclear conflict. It explores the full range of informal and formal processes plus the Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding Mechanisms (CPPBMs) that have been important for the creation of a continuing relative peace in East Asia between 1990 and 2008. The study furthermore focuses on China's role in the three cases, on an empirical basis consisting of interviews conducted with key persons during more than 1.5 years fieldwork in China. The three cases show that informal processes exist, and that they have furthermore been important for peace, both by preventing conflicts from escalating into war, and by building conditions for a stable longer-term peace. Their impact on the persistence of peace has been traced to a range of different CPPBMs. Returning to the level of the East Asian case, a common feature of many of the identified processes is that they can be understood as aspects or manifestations of the East Asian regionalisation process. Specifically, elite interactions (personal networks, track two diplomacy), back-channel negotiations, economic interdependence and integration, and functional cooperation have together with (China's acceptance of) multilateralism and institutionalisation (of peaceful relations) been of high importance for the relative peace. Whereas formalised conflict management mechanisms and the U.S. presence have also contributed to peace, this dissertation shows their contribution to be much more limited.
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