ABSTRACT
The aim of this book has been to contribute to a large body of literature that seeks to improve operational conduct and effectiveness of the military and other relevant agencies in the contemporary strategic context. More specifically, an original theoretical contribution has been made by studying the civil-military aspects of effectiveness and how different patterns of civil-military relations affect the operational conduct and effectiveness of states and their armed forces in the most likely and important operations of the contemporary strategic context – complex peace operations. The theoretical framework developed in the book argues that the nature of civil-military relations affect the conduct and effectiveness of operations in at least two important ways: directly, by providing the highest levels in the chain of command – the level where strategic aims are set and operational plans made, and indirectly by being the arena in which decisions regarding size, culture, equipment and doctrine of the armed forces are made. The civil-military interface is not only a factor that contributes to determine the nature of the armed forces, it also determines the quality of strategic and operational leadership when these armed forces are deployed. The nature of civil-military relations is, thereby, an important factor, among many others, when seeking to understand military relations in contemporary warfare. The main argument is that in the contemporary strategic context of complex peace operations, integrated civil-military approaches are necessary for effectiveness in achieving the often far-reaching political aims of democratization and economic development. Such integrated, or comprehensive, approaches to operations also require integrated institutions at the national strategic level, and at the international organizational level in cases of multinational operations within different organizational frameworks. There are two main reasons why integrated civil-military structures at the strategic level provide better results in complex peace operations. First, the indirect impact means that integrated structures provide more accurate and up-to-date interpretations of, and adjustment to, the functional imperative of the armed forces. This means that the instruments of national power, not least the military, are better suited to the tasks of the contemporary strategic context. Second, the direct impact of integrated structures is that they provide more inclusive command and control structures at the strategic
level, which means that all relevant actors in complex operations are coordinated through integrated planning and execution of operations – providing a so-called comprehensive approach to operations. The practical application of civil-military relations in the operational chain of command is in the book interpreted as a form of mission command. A key feature of successful mission command is, according to command and control theory, mutual trust and understanding across the civil-military divide. Integrated structures are more likely to create such trust and understanding through experiences of reciprocity. The book has tested the outcome of two different patterns of civil-military relations – the divided US approach and the more integrated British approach. A number of significant findings of these two cases were made.
