Neither Victors nor Victims

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Whetham
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
High Street ◽  
National Survival ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Realistic Goal

Between 2007 and 2011, Wootton Bassett, a small Wiltshire town in the UK, became the focus of national attention as its residents responded to the regular repatriations of dead soldiers through its High Street. The town’s response came to symbolize the way that broader attitudes developed and changed over that period. As such, it is a fascinating case study in civil–military relations in the twenty-first century. Success may be the same as victory, but victory, at least as it has been traditionally understood, is not a realistic goal in many types of contemporary conflict. Discretionary wars—conflicts in which national survival is not an issue and even vital national interests may not be at stake—pose particular challenges for any government which does not explain why the cost being paid in blood and treasure is ‘worth it’.

Erosion of Civilian Control in Democracies: A Comprehensive Framework for Comparative Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 001041402198975
Author(s):  
Polina Beliakova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Civilian Control ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Large N ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
The Military ◽  
New Framework

Civilian control of the military is a fundamental attribute of democracy. While democracies are less coup-prone, studies treating civilian control as a dependent variable mostly focus on coups. In this paper, I argue that the factors predicting coups in autocracies, weaken civilian control of the military in democracies in different ways. To capture this difference, I advance a new comprehensive framework that includes the erosion of civilian control by competition, insubordination, and deference. I test the argument under conditions of an intrastate conflict—a conducive environment for the erosion of civilian control. A large-N analysis confirms that while intrastate conflict does not lead to coups in democracies, it increases the military’s involvement in government, pointing to alternative forms of erosion taking place. Further case study—Russia’s First Chechen War—demonstrates the causal logic behind the new framework, contributing to the nuanced comparative analysis of civil-military relations across regimes.

scholarly journals What do we do now? Examining civilian masculinity/ies in contemporary liberal civil-military relations

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-259
Author(s):  
Katharine M. Millar
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Contemporary Politics ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

AbstractIn contemporary Western, liberal democratic societies, the soldier is frequently regarded as ‘the best of us’, taking on the unlimited liability for the protection and betterment of the whole. In the context of volunteer militaries and distant conflicts, the construction of men (and the universalised masculine citizen) as ‘always-already’ soldiers (or potential soldiers) poses a substantial obstacle to the identification or performance of ‘good’ civilian masculinity – particularly during wartime. The theorisation and articulation of a positive, substantive civilian masculinity, or masculinities, rather than one defined simply by an absence of military service and implication in the collective use of violence, is a central challenge of contemporary politics. As a means of illuminating the complex dynamics of this challenge, this article examines charitable practices of civilian support for the military, and corresponding constructions of masculinity, in the UK during the ‘war on terror’. In doing so, the article demonstrates the ways in which gendered ‘civilian anxiety’, through its connection to citizenship, comes to condition the political possibilities and subjectivities of all those who seek belonging in the liberal political community. The article concludes by arguing for the essentiality of a research programme oriented around ‘civilianness’, and civilian masculinity/ies.

Conclusion

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tony Banham
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
Prisoners Of War ◽  
First Century ◽  
Cost Of War ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
The Many ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
British People

So we decided to emigrate to Australia and I suppose we could now be called ‘Dinkum Aussies’ – after 30 years.1 By 1946 Hong Kong’s pre-war colonial society, which had celebrated its hundredth birthday just five years earlier, had gone forever. Hong Kong, to the British people who lived there between the twentieth century’s two great wars, had been perhaps the prime real estate to be had in the empire. Life there was entertaining and cheap, profits were bountiful. But then came the threat of war. Mindful of their own situation in 1939, the British government instructed the Hong Kong government to mandate evacuation of British women and children should the colony be threatened by attack. In mid-1940, as the Battle of Britain stamped an indelible, greasy smoke stain through British skies thousands of miles away, the majority of Hong Kong’s civilians prescriptively escaped the threat of Asian war. Those families split asunder would often—in the context of the more than 200 husbands killed, and the many divorces—never be reunited; the cost of war being measured in permanently broken homes. That evacuation, in stages from Hong Kong to the Philippines, from the Philippines to Australia, and from Australia to the UK, or back to Hong Kong, and—in many cases—back to Australia again, would define many lives. Looking at Australia’s population today, a surprisingly large number can—at least in part—track their heritage back to Hong Kong’s pre-war society: the garrison, the businessmen, earlier evacuees who had washed up in the colony, and local families. From the perspective of Australia’s twenty-first century population, the effects of Hong Kong’s evacuation still reverberate through tens of thousands of its people. Many of the ancestors of those Australians are buried in Hong Kong or—for those who died as prisoners of war—in Japan, or they lie lost and forgotten, skeletons in Hong Kong’s remotest ravines or at the bottom of the South China Sea....

Retirement Day

2019 ◽  
pp. 291-303
Author(s):  
Andrew Marble
Keyword(s):  
First Century ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
Partnership For Peace ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
Operations Other Than War ◽  
Historic Change ◽  
The Military

The chapter is set at Fort Myer, Virginia, on September 30, 1997, the day General John Shalikashvili retired from the US military. The chapter overviews the retirement ceremony from Shalikashvili’s perspective as he reviews the honor guard with President William J. Clinton and Secretary of Defense William Cohen and thinks back to that night when he first laid eyes on US soldiers in Pappenheim and the role that luck has played in his attaining the American dream. The chapter also thumbnails his accomplishments as chairman: (1) confronting historic change, especially by realizing Partnership for Peace and NATO expansion, (2) was more supportive of non-traditional military missions (military operations other than war, MOOTW), (3) prepared the US military for the challenges of the twenty-first century, particularly by downsizing the military yet upgrading their capability and readiness, including by emphasizing joint education, joint planning, and joint training, and (4) rebalanced civil-military relations. The chapter ends with Shalikashvili’s closing remarks, emphasizing his love for soldiers and their families.

scholarly journals An exploration of the role of advanced clinical practitioners in the East of England

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (15) ◽  
pp. 864-869
Author(s):  
Claire Hooks ◽  
Susan Walker
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Self Awareness ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Cost ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Individual Accountability

Medical staff shortages in the UK have provided impetus for the introduction of advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs). This case study explored the views of 22 ACPs, managers and doctors in primary and acute settings in a region of England, to understand how the role is used, and barriers and facilitators to its success. ACP roles improved the quality of service provision, provided clinical career development and enhanced job satisfaction for staff and required autonomous clinical decision-making, with a high degree of self-awareness and individual accountability. Barriers included disparate pay-scales and funding, difficulty accessing continuing education and research, and lack of agreed role definition and title, due to a lack of standardised regulation and governance, and organisational barriers, including limited access to referral systems. Facilitators were supportive colleagues and opportunities for peer networking. Regulation of ACP roles is urgently needed, along with evaluation of the cost-effectiveness and patient experience of such roles.

scholarly journals The social supply chain and the future high street

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon Fletcher ◽  
Anita Greenhill ◽  
Marie Griffiths ◽  
Rachel McLean
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
The Social ◽  
High Street ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how independent social and commercial activities have developed in response to the perceived decline in the UK High Street and in response to the challenges of increasing digital retailing opportunities. This examination is undertaken through the lens of the social supply chain as a means to understanding, suggesting and expanding on current research regarding retailing and the UK High Street. The authors reveal some of the challenges being posed by the changing patterns of growth and consumption in cities and couple these with shifting supply chain trends. Design/methodology/approach – A case study approach is used to explore the rapid advances and influence of digital technologies on businesses operating on the primary business street of suburban centre, towns or cities (described in the UK collectively as the “high street”). The research is conducted through the analytical lens of the social supply chain. Findings – Theoretically extending the “social” in the social supply chain, the authors illustrate the usefulness of the nuanced concept of the “social supply chain” with two related strategies concerning delivery and balance. These strategies are themselves interlinked with the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption. Examples of social supply chain strategies presented include retail businesses giving away something as an incentive, where the underlying requirement from the customer is that they will bring their own specialist product, skill or social network to a specified location (real or virtual). Originality/value – For the purpose of this paper, the authors use two distinct strategies relating to delivery and balancing and in relation to the actions of co-creation, co-production and co-consumption to emphasise and analyse changes currently occurring in the UK High Street. The authors take a social supply chain management (SCM) perspective to undertake a systematic critical review of the various recent efforts undertaken by local governments, communities and trader groups to revitalise the High Street.

scholarly journals Historical Analysis of Civil-Military Relations in Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 123-140
Author(s):  
Khadga K.C.
Keyword(s):  
Historical Analysis ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
National Interests ◽  
Developing Democracies ◽  
Organizational Reform ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Democratic Control ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Democratic Norms

As like in other developing democracies, it is obvious that there are many CMR problems in Nepal. A lack of national security policies and common national interests, ignorance about security sensitiveness, political instability, parochialism, mistrust, are prominent factors contributing to Nepal’s adverse civil-military relations. However, the military though has already begun to tuning with democratic norms and values should further be engaged in serious organizational reform that includes among others; enhancing professionalism, further accountability, transparency and loyalty of army to the civilian authority follow by earliest promulgation of democratic constitution with the clear provision of democratic control over armed forces.

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