Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War
Military organizations are cultures, and such cultures have ingrained preferences and predilections for how and when to employ force. This is the first study to use a comparative framework to understand what happened with the U.S. military endeavor in Somalia and the British effort in Bosnia up to 1995. Both regions were potential quagmires, and no doctrine for armed humanitarian operations during ongoing conflicts existed at the outset of these efforts. After detailing the impact of military culture on operations, Cassidy draws conclusions about which military cultural traits and force structures are more suitable and adaptable for peace operations and asymmetric conflicts. He also offers some military cultural implications for the U.S. Army's ongoing transformation.

The first part of the study offers an in-depth assessment of the military cultural preferences and characteristics of the British and American militaries. It shows that Britain's geography, its regimental system, and a long history of imperial policing have helped embed a small-war predilection in British military culture. This distinguishes it from American military culture, which has exhibited a preference for the big-war paradigm since the second half of the 19th century. The second part of the book examines how cultural preferences influenced the conduct of operations and the development of the first post-Cold War doctrine for peace operations.

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Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War
Military organizations are cultures, and such cultures have ingrained preferences and predilections for how and when to employ force. This is the first study to use a comparative framework to understand what happened with the U.S. military endeavor in Somalia and the British effort in Bosnia up to 1995. Both regions were potential quagmires, and no doctrine for armed humanitarian operations during ongoing conflicts existed at the outset of these efforts. After detailing the impact of military culture on operations, Cassidy draws conclusions about which military cultural traits and force structures are more suitable and adaptable for peace operations and asymmetric conflicts. He also offers some military cultural implications for the U.S. Army's ongoing transformation.

The first part of the study offers an in-depth assessment of the military cultural preferences and characteristics of the British and American militaries. It shows that Britain's geography, its regimental system, and a long history of imperial policing have helped embed a small-war predilection in British military culture. This distinguishes it from American military culture, which has exhibited a preference for the big-war paradigm since the second half of the 19th century. The second part of the book examines how cultural preferences influenced the conduct of operations and the development of the first post-Cold War doctrine for peace operations.

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Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War

Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War

by Robert M. Cassidy
Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War

Peacekeeping in the Abyss: British and American Peacekeeping Doctrine and Practice after the Cold War

by Robert M. Cassidy

Hardcover

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Overview

Military organizations are cultures, and such cultures have ingrained preferences and predilections for how and when to employ force. This is the first study to use a comparative framework to understand what happened with the U.S. military endeavor in Somalia and the British effort in Bosnia up to 1995. Both regions were potential quagmires, and no doctrine for armed humanitarian operations during ongoing conflicts existed at the outset of these efforts. After detailing the impact of military culture on operations, Cassidy draws conclusions about which military cultural traits and force structures are more suitable and adaptable for peace operations and asymmetric conflicts. He also offers some military cultural implications for the U.S. Army's ongoing transformation.

The first part of the study offers an in-depth assessment of the military cultural preferences and characteristics of the British and American militaries. It shows that Britain's geography, its regimental system, and a long history of imperial policing have helped embed a small-war predilection in British military culture. This distinguishes it from American military culture, which has exhibited a preference for the big-war paradigm since the second half of the 19th century. The second part of the book examines how cultural preferences influenced the conduct of operations and the development of the first post-Cold War doctrine for peace operations.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780275976965
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 04/30/2004
Series: Praeger Security International
Pages: 296
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

ROBERT M. CASSIDY, U.S. Army, is a Special Assistant with the U.S. Army Europe Commanding General's Initiatives Group. He is a graduate of the French Joint Defense College. He has served as a squadron executive officer for a heavy division cavalry squadron, as assistant professor of international relations at West Point, and as a cavalry troop commander in the 82nd Airborne Division. He has a Ph.D. in international security from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
Military-Strategic Culture and Doctrine
British Military Strategic Culture: The Cardwellian Conundrum
American Military Strategic Culture: The Uptonian Paradox
Existing Peacekeeping Doctrine at the End of the Cold War
The American Military in Somalia: Into the Abyss
The British Army in Bosnia: Adapting on the Hoof
Strategic Change and Doctrinal Outcomes for Peace Operations
Conclusion and Implications
Bibliography
Index

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