Transformations of the Military Profession and Professionalism in Scandinavia

What characterises the development and social transformation of the military profession in Scandinavia? Has the broadening of tasks, function and scope of the military profession lead to changes in the values, outlook and behaviour of groups of the armed forces? And what kind of changes are the cultural and structural interpenetration of civilian and military spheres, including hybrid forms of professionalism, generating and what are the significance and implications of such changes? Transformations of the Military Profession and Professionalism in Scandinavia brings together a number of expert scholars within Military Studies and related fields to provide timely and updated answers to these highly important questions – answers with potential implications far beyond the Scandinavian case.

Medical Ethics for the Military Profession

This paper summarizes medical ethics in the military profession to raise military leaders’ awareness of Military Medical Ethics (MME) and the ethical issues that may impact their medical services and personnel. First, it summarizes core concepts, including the four principles of medical ethics (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice), the two legal frameworks for the use of military force in war, jus ad bellum and jus in bello, and the concept of dual loyalty. It then examines MME issues during conflict, in garrison healthcare, and during the COVID-19 epidemic. Finally, it concludes by arguing that MME is an important domain of military ethics that should be taught to military leaders to complement the detailed education of MME for military medical professionals.

Strategic framework of professional preparation of trainees in the field of security and defense, professional field of Administration and Management - Socio-demographic and educational aspects

ObjectivesTo clarify the factors that influence the individual’s career orientation and professional fulfillment of cadets, which can be deeply personal as well as dictated and conditioned by the external environment.MethodsA Survey of trainee opinion in the professional field of Administration and Management at the National Military University.ResultsThe study focuses on the socio-demographic and educational aspects of the need for training in the professional field of Administration and Management, following the example of the Department of Security Logistics, National Military University, Bulgaria. Respondents in the survey were 164 trainees from 5 consecutive years of study in the Bachelor's degree program in the professional field of “Military Affairs”.ConclusionsIt is necessary to direct its efforts to recruit future trainees mainly from secondary schools, vocational high schools of economics and vocational high schools of mechanical and electrical engineering, trainees from families with low- and middle-income, trainees with strong personal motivation to practice the military profession, trainees who achieve high results in their education. The information channels for accessing better, timely and reliable information about the applying process and training at the Vasil Levski National Military University should be expanded using social networks, media and more information campaigns in schools. To a large extent, parental opinion about trainees’ choice of the military profession, also has an influence which was found to be very positive.

Character in the British army: A precarious profession

Finding balance between institutional or bureaucratic inclinations and professional ones is a challenge for all professions, but this is especially difficult for the military profession owing to its unique role and the unusual pressures that are placed upon armed forces personnel. The military profession is charged with delivering violence for the benefit of wider society and by morally appropriate means. It is unique among professions by virtue of the authorised use of abhorrent methods and a requirement for personnel to be prepared to die in the performance of their duties. The special conditions of the military profession are further underscored by the supremacy of the mission and group over individual, such that at times institutional imperatives can dominate. The cultivation of appropriate professional military character is clearly a very complex endeavour, particularly when members of the profession must face some of the most challenging conditions imaginable. In this chapter, I shall focus on the British Army to argue that although the British Army Officer Corps is a profession, it must be considered a precarious one owing to an ongoing interplay between institutional and bureaucratic factors on the one hand and a requirement that Army officers exercise professional and ethical autonomy on the other. Moral aspects of the profession form the main emphasis of the chapter since a defining feature of any profession is its ethic or code of ethics (Bayles 1988, Oakley and Cocking 2002, Wolfendale 2009).

The autonomy of the military profession as a condition for civil and democratic control of the military and the fulfillment of the main social role of the military

The interference of the military in politics in a state is indisputably disastrous for its democracy. However, even the "too tight grip" of civil control of the military can be dangerous for a society, if its result is suboptimal or misused military power. The purpose of civil and democratic control of the military is to create a social environment in which the military accepts democratic values and does not pose a threat to the functioning of democracy, while maintaining a high level of professional efficiency and integrity. Therefore, it is necessary to simultaneously find a solution to the civil-military paradox and preserve the professional autonomy of officers from the challenges that come from the sphere of politics. Starting from Huntington's theory of civil-military relations, using a case study and the hypothetico-deductive method, this paper shows that the autonomy of the military profession is one of the conditions for proper functioning of civil and democratic control of the military, and that respecting and strengthening professionalism of officers is a necessary condition for preserving and developing the military capabilities to successfully carry out its missions and tasks. The understanding of civil and democratic control of the military as a process by which a dynamic balance between its participants is achieved is also propagated.