scholarly journals Soldiers and ‘respect’ in complex conflicts: an Afghan case

2017 ◽  
pp. 3-21
Author(s):  
Cornelia Vikan
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Abused ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Moral Problem ◽  
Moral Decision ◽  
Military Mission ◽  
The Military ◽  
International Security Assistance Force ◽  
Point Of Departure

This paper discusses the meaning of ‘respect’ in complex conflicts and aims to be a contribution to thinking about ethics in war along with the Just War tradition. The point of departure is the increased focus on soldiers as moral decision-makers in war, illustrated by the introduction of core values in the Norwegian Armed Forces. ‘Respect’ is one of these core values. However, it is not clear how we should understand ‘respect’ in this kind of context. I use a case where a group of Norwegian soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) sought the cooperation of a group of mujahedeen to solve the military mission of establishing security. As confidence between the parties grew, the soldiers became horrified witnesses to a practice of bacha bazi, where a young boy is dressed up for entertainment and sexually abused. My discussion of different perspectives of ‘respect’ in this specific context shows the importance of acknowledging the multitude of moral stakes in a moral decision-process instead of closing the eyes for a moral problem.

Are Military and Medical Ethics Necessarily Incompatible? A Canadian Case Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 639-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christiane Rochon ◽  
Bryn Williams-Jones
Keyword(s):  
Medical Ethics ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Dual Loyalty ◽  
Canadian Armed Forces ◽  
Military Institution ◽  
The Military ◽  
Military Physicians

Military physicians are often perceived to be in a position of ‘dual loyalty’ because they have responsibilities towards their patients but also towards their employer, the military institution. Further, they have to ascribe to and are bound by two distinct codes of ethics (i.e., medical and military), each with its own set of values and duties, that could at first glance be considered to be very different or even incompatible. How, then, can military physicians reconcile these two codes of ethics and their distinct professional/institutional values, and assume their responsibilities towards both their patients and the military institution? To clarify this situation, and to show how such a reconciliation might be possible, we compared the history and content of two national professional codes of ethics: the Defence Ethics of the Canadian Armed Forces and the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Medical Association. Interestingly, even if the medical code is more focused on duties and responsibility while the military code is more focused on core values and is supported by a comprehensive ethical training program, they also have many elements in common. Further, both are based on the same core values of loyalty and integrity, and they are broad in scope but are relatively flexible in application. While there are still important sources of tension between and limits within these two codes of ethics, there are fewer differences than may appear at first glance because the core values and principles of military and medical ethics are not so different.

normally only gradually, and this situation is not universally the case. There is growing understanding of the need for security arrangements which underpin the economic and political co-operation whose value is so clear to most decision-makers. Those who wish to see greater co-operation from the Latin American states in the non-proliferation and arms control fields should attempt to understand these phenomena and make a greater effort to bring the Latin Americans along. The North can help a great deal in educating key members of the civilian elites in these countries about defence matters. This would go a long way to easing some of the issues of civil-military relations mentioned. Showing more transparency ourselves in the working of arms control groupings can help to reduce concerns in these countries about their ability to resist excessive northern pressures if they accept the objectives sought by those countries in such groups. Working with nascent but interested elements of civil society, from universities and research centres for example can help to build the constituency for these objectives in key countries. And efforts to show the military that collaboration does not necessarily mean the end of a legitimate degree of armed forces influence in the security area and more widely in foreign policy, and that arms control does not necessarily imply ruin for them and their families, need to be made and indeed should be more closely studied in order to address these real concerns. There is thus a good deal which can be done. But culture remains formative and vital to states and individuals. These societies are the result of a lived historic experience and only an understanding of the very real security concerns they have will allow us to obtain more support from them in security fields which are, as in the past, still offering great challenges globally and regionally.

2012 ◽  
pp. 193-196
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Arms Control ◽  
Good Deal ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
The North ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Research Centres

scholarly journals VETERANS AND SOCIETY

2017 ◽  
pp. 13-15
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR PREBILIČ
Keyword(s):  
Historical Memory ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Annual Conference ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
International Consultation ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

In 2015, in Athens, a decision was made that the upcoming conference of military historians under the auspices of the Partnership for Peace programme in the Conflict Studies Working Group (CSWG) would be hosted by Slovenia. In cooperation with the Ministry of Defence and with its support we established an organisational committee, consisting of four institutions: the Military Museum in the name of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Slovenia, Institute of Contemporary History, Faculty of Social Sciences, and the French Ministry of Defence, represented by the Veterans and War Victims Office. We would like to thank the Minister of Defence Andreja Katič and Brigadier Milko Petek for their assistance with the organisation, financing, and understanding of the role of the Republic of Slovenia in the international scientific community. This understanding and complete support were crucial for the realisation of a successful international consultation, where we managed to confront an overabundance of experiences and present numerous challenges, as well as ensure that all the participants left Ljubljana with plenty of good impressions and new knowledge, also about the Slovenian defence system and our history. Regarding the selection of topics, which the researchers from more than thirty countries would research and then present at the annual conference, we agreed that this time we would focus on a topic that was not as distinctively military: war veterans. Why veterans? We, military historians, far too often concentrate on important conflicts, battles and wars, where the most important roles are in the hands of military commanders, political decision-makers, and coalitions of forces. With great zeal we study tactics, operations, strategies, and analyse the impact of every possible more or less important factor that influenced either the course of the conflict in question or its results. We analyse and interpret the consequences of engagements, battles and wars by means of various archive materials, revealing layers of secrets involved in what may already be numerous conventional facts... However, when the weapons fall silent, as the stage is once again taken over by politicians and as normal life in its myriad of ways resumes (as war and its consequences are undoubtedly abnormal circumstances), the elimination of the consequences of war comes to the forefront. Everyone focuses on the restoration of devastated cities and infrastructure as well as on the revitalisation of state economies. The militaries of the victorious as well as – even more so – the defeated side retreat to the background. Soldiers, perhaps especially those who cannot continue working in the military structures due to the consequences of wars, become even less visible. Precisely these consequences of wars leave permanent scars on the soldiers. They can alter the soldiers' personalities irreversibly and completely, and often change the way of the former soldier's lives forever. Unfortunately it frequently happens that the soldiers' societal, social and general status takes a turn for the worse as well. Precisely for this reason a number of various veteran organisations have been established, whose purpose is not only to maintain contacts between the former soldiers but also to represent them, their status and their rights, and bring the attention to their unequal position in the society. One would expect that the status of veterans would thus be addressed properly and that further potential marginalisation of the former members of the armed forces would no longer be an issue, but unfortunately that is not the case. Although the attitude of the state towards the veterans in fact reflects its maturity, sensitivity to the vulnerable, and respect of its most meritorious citizens, this issue is often not settled in a manner that one would expect. The reasons for this situation can be found on both sides: on the side of the decision-making elites, which far too eagerly assign top priority to other, possibly more pressing issues; as well as on the side of the veteran organisations themselves, which should certainly operate in such a way as to represent a direct and tougher negotiator when it comes to the status of veterans. During the economic crisis, when the negative consequences almost as a rule affect the lowest social strata most adversely, the situation of the veterans is not much different. The cutbacks of national and consequently defence budgets result in the diminished resources available for the veterans. Most often the veterans are where the financial cuts actually begin. For this reason the discussion about the status of veterans is a very pressing topic, even today. At the same time the veteran organisations are the ones that represent a live historical memory of extreme efforts and great sacrifice. As such they are a living reminder of what wars and post-war events represent. The decision-makers should learn so much from them... And perhaps these sorts of discussions will contribute to changes in these relations. Esteemed veterans, we should thank you, pay our respect to you, and endeavour to maintain the sincerest possible relations with you. As it is, it is a fundamental characteristic of every veteran that they have put their nation as a whole before their own interests as well as before the interests of their loved ones and those of other groups. For this noble goal they have been prepared to sacrifice everything: their lives. For this reason it is only proper and decent that the highest possible quality of life be ensured for our veterans by means of sincere relations and by including the veterans in all aspects of life in the modern society.

German and Soviet Military Doctrinal Innovation before World War II

2004 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-144
Author(s):  
Cynthia Roberts
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Military Doctrine ◽  
World War ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Military ◽  
Point Of Departure

In the lead-up to World War II, both Germany and the Soviet Union pursued important changes in military doctrine that proved crucial during the armed confrontation between the two countries in 1941–1945. Using a new book by the military historian Mary Habeck as a point of departure, this essay explains how the German and Soviet armed forces by the late 1930s had developed almost identical doctrines without extensively borrowing from each other. Although the doctrinal innovations that informed the German Blitzkrieg and the Soviet conception of “deep battle” have long attracted attention, Habeck's book is the first detailed comparison of the development of armored warfare in these two countries. Although the book does not provide a comprehensive explanation of the sources of innovation in military doctrine, it sheds a great deal of light on the revolutionary changes in German and Soviet military doctrines during the interwar years.

scholarly journals (NE)OBSTOJ SLOVENSkE VOJAŠkE IDENTITETE

2012 ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
VLADIMIR PREBILIČ ◽  
JELENA JUVAN
Keyword(s):  
Time Perspective ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Military History ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Core Values ◽  
The Self ◽  
Self Image ◽  
Memory Code ◽  
The Military ◽  
Military Tradition

Kodeks vojaške etike Slovenske vojske (SV) med drugim določa: »pripadniki Slovenske vojske pri opravljanju vojaške službe /…/ spoštujejo slovensko vojaško zgodovinsko tradicijo in skrbijo za ohranjanje nacionalnega vojaškega zgodovinske- ga spomina« (Kodeks, 2009). Pri tem se nedvomno vprašamo, kaj sploh je slovenska vojaška zgodovinska tradicija, ki jo morajo pripadniki SV spoštovati, in kakšen je omenjen vojaški zgodovinski spomin. Časovna opredelitev zgodovinskega spomina je pri tem nujna. Do kod v preteklosti seže slovenski vojaški zgodovinski spomin? Kateri so dejavniki, ki so pomembno vplivali nanj in so posledično opredelili slovensko vojaško tradicijo? Kaj predstavlja slovensko vojaško tradicijo? Ali med dejavnike njenega oblikovanja prištevamo zgolj zmagovite dogodke ali vse vojaške izkušnje, tudi tiste, manj uspešne? Z drugimi besedami – katere so vrednote, ki določajo vojaško tradicijo nekega naroda? Na ta vprašanja bi morala imeti Slovenska vojska pripravljene skrajno jasne odgovore, ki bi omogočali tudi njeno jasno vizijo in bi pomembno vplivali na raven samopodobe slovenskih oboroženih sil ter na njen položaj v slovenski družbi. Žal pa se zdi, da je to področje v veliki zadregi, ki se kaže že v izhodišču – kdo pravzaprav lahko opredeli slovensko vojaško tradicijo in kako se bo ta utrjevala v prihodnje. The Military Code of Ethics of the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) states that: » members of the Slovenian Armed Forces /. / – have to respect Slovenian military tradition and promote the preservation of national military history memory« (Code, 2009). This certainly raises a question of how the military history tradition of the SAF is defined and what can be understood as a military history memory. In this respect, time perspective should be considered. How far back does Slovenian military history memory go? Which facts have importantly influenced it and, consequently, defined Slovenian military tradition? What is understood as Slovenian military tradition? Have only victories shaped military tradition, or was it also other military experi- ences, even the less successful ones? What are core values which define a nation's military tradition? The SAF should have very clear answers to these questions. Unambiguous answers would significantly influence the self-image of the SAF and its position in the Slovenian society. Unfortunately, there seems to be a great quandary in the very core of this issue – who is actually responsible for defining Slovenian military tradition and how it can be nurtured in the future.

Religious Diversity and Technology

2013 ◽  
pp. 166-185
Author(s):  
Charlotte E. Hunter ◽  
Lyman M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Diversity Management ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Military Leaders ◽  
Research Areas ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
Military Mission ◽  
Leadership Policy ◽  
The Military

Religious and humanist identity and values, although often invisible, may affect (a) job performance, (b) conduct, and (c) organizational commitment. A 2009 research survey of active-duty service members in the U.S. armed forces investigated religious and humanist identification and values; results revealed areas that may significantly affect a leader’s ability to successfully exercise command. A military leader’s diversity management plan cannot be effective without a means of discerning, then understanding implications to the military mission of religious/humanist beliefs/values present among personnel. This chapter explores the benefits of survey technology in providing military leaders with needed information, implications for leadership policy and future research areas.

scholarly journals LEGITIMATE DEFENSE AND THE MILITARY RULES OF ENGAGEMENT OFTHE ARMED FORCES

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-42
Author(s):  
Marin-Atanasie Lăzău
Keyword(s):  
Use Of Force ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Comparison Method ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Public Security ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
International Context ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Military ◽  
General Concern

In a practical sense, we can say that legitimate defense is at the foundation of any military action or inaction, it is at the same time the legal basis for any decision made by military decision-makers. Of no lesser importance are thoseregarding the general public, society as a whole, given the situation in the current international context, when the right to free movement is already established, therefore any person may be directly or indirectly confrontedwith a limit-situation in which, one’s instinct of self-preservationwould require and result in an attitude of legitimate defense, when one’s own life is endangered, as is the case more and more often nowadays.For these reasons, the obligation to ensure public security, order and the safety of citizens through a solid cooperation in the civilian-military relationship has become a matter of major general concern, enshrined by the entire legislation applicable to the field.Given these new features of the concept of legitimate defense, we will try, in this article, by using the comparison method, in addition to the general opinions expressed by the quoted authors, by the doctrinarians of the studies carried out, to include in its content elements of justification of a military nature,for the simple reason that this article is aimed at an audience segment thatbelongs both to civil society and to the military, with an emphasis on the latter, who are increasingly confronted with this concept of use of force.

‘Monkeys play by sizes’: the reconstruction of military hierarchy in Ghana's armed forces

Africa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 874-892
Author(s):  
Humphrey Asamoah Agyekum
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Negotiation Process ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
The Everyday ◽  
Independence Era ◽  
Current Constellation ◽  
The Military ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
National Defence

AbstractGhana's post-independence era has been shaped by a series of coups and numerous attempted military interventions. While the involvement of the Ghana Armed Forces in politics has received widespread academic attention, the detrimental effects of these events on the military as an institution remain largely understudied. Using the coups of 1979 and 1981 as a point of departure, the article explores from an institutional perspective how the disruption of the everyday in the Ghanaian barracks resulted in the temporal breakdown of discipline and the collapse of military hierarchy. The article further examines the measures taken by the Provisional National Defence Council junta to rebuild and nurture hierarchy following its breakdown. It is also argued that restoration of hierarchy in the Ghanaian barracks called not only for an appeal to soldierly values, such as respect for rank and authority, but also for dramatic performances of authority and military hierarchy. The article depicts hierarchy in various settings, while exploring how the military order is expressed and lived in the current constellation. In short, the article not only illustrates a historical evolution, but also demonstrates that the maintenance of order and hierarchy in a closed institution such as the military is an ongoing and continuous negotiation process.

THE EFFECT OF THE RELIGIOUS FACTOR ON THE MILITARY MEN VALUE BASED ORIENTATION FORMING

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 137-142
Author(s):  
ALEXEY ROMAKHIN ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Russian Federation ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Russian Army ◽  
Religious Factor ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Military

This article reveals the problem of the role of the religious factor in the formation of the value orientations of the military personnel of the Russian army from its inception to the present state. In the article, the author reveals the significance of the Church in the formation of the value orientations of military personnel. The problem of religious situation in foreign armies is considered. The article presents data from sociological studies confirming the increase in the number of religious servicemen in the modern Armed Forces. The concept of “religious factor” is revealed. The author suggests considering the influence of the religious factor on the formation of value orientations through the functions of religion. The article provides examples of the influence of religion on the formation of value orientations of military personnel from the time of the Baptism of Russia to the present. Examples of writers of Russian classical literature about the influence of religion on the morale of troops are given. Examples of religious participation in major battles and wars of the past years are shown. The significance of the religious factor in uniting the people and the army is shown. The work of officials of the Ministry of defense of the Russian Federation in strengthening values among military personnel in modern conditions is demonstrated. The role of the Minister of defense of the Russian Federation, General of the army S.K. Shoigu in strengthening the faith of the Russian army is outlined. Issues related to the construction of the Main Temple of the Armed Forces and its impact on the public masses were discussed. In this study, the author aims to show the significant role of religion in the formation of value orientations in Russian military personnel. The analysis shows an increasing role of religion in the minds of military personnel in modern conditions.

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