Mastering Both: The Planned and the Unforeseen An Epistemological Investigation of Swedish Military Professionalism

Tillberg, Lotta Victor

doi:10.31374/book2-g

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Existing studies clearly demonstrate that the choice of peace operations leadership personnel influences the prospect of peace (Fröhlich, 2013; Karlsrud, 2015a; Oksamytna, Bove & Lundgren, 2021). This is true despite the fact that UN leaders’ influence on the ground may be hampered by bureaucratic obstacles, a lack of resources, interagency competition and the influence of powerful states and the national capitals of troop contributing countries, amongst others (see Victor Tillberg & Tillberg, 2013: 149–150). Therefore, more research on these leaders is desirable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019

Jenne

2022

Journal of Peace Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

It is widely recognized that UN peace operations have been critically influenced by their leadership personnel in the field since the first UN peacekeepers were deployed in 1948. But who exactly are the people that lead peace operations and decide how these are implemented on the ground? This special data feature introduces a new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations from its interception in 1948 up to 2019. The relevance of different authorities in peace operations is discussed, followed by an examination of general trends in the data with regards to the duration of term in different leadership positions, the national and regional origin of peace operations authorities, and the distribution of gender. It is shown that scholars studying a variety of topics, including policymaking at the UN, the use of force in peace operations, international responsibilities, and the role of the global south in international politics, can benefit from paying closer attention to the question of who occupies leadership positions in UN peace operations.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019

Jenne

2022

Journal of Peace Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Contemporary organisational studies mainly consider the human element of the military profession, for instance, how military commanders negotiate different and competing logics (Holsting 2017;Holsting and Damkjer 2020) or the difference between intuitive and structured decision-making processes (Schmitt 1995;Tillberg 2021). From this field, it is often argued that organisations turn bureaucratic and produce textbook solutions because the staff officers or their commanders are not appropriately educated (Storr 2022;Clemmesen 2015;Snider 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

War, PowerPoint, and hypnotised chickens

Sjøgren

2023

STSENC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article discusses concepts to explore decision-making processes in a military headquarters. Military planning is commonly perceived as a systematic and structured approach to organising ways and means to achieve military ends. While standardised procedures and decision-making tools are crucial for large military organisations to function efficiently, these devices are not neutral. Routines within the staff organisation carry implicit beliefs shaping the perception of war as a managerial problem with an optimal solution that can be elicited through a process and presented in a bulleted list. By examining organisational outcomes as socio-material assemblages, this article sheds light on how daily routines influence potential solutions and shape what can and cannot be thought. Conventional approaches in organisational studies have either overlooked the role of organisational tools or studied them as a matter of technology adoption. The entanglement of the social and material in organisational life should be observed and described empirically to understand how order is reconstructed after it has broken down.

show abstract

“…The expeditionary era denotes the military development described by Moskos et al (2000) as postmodern: a development where conflict management and small rapid reaction forces with elite skills and operations within alliances' borders have overtaken territorial defense (Sookermany, 2011, p. 475). Expeditionary warfare is conducted without fixed frontlines, in gray-zone areas, and in contexts where enemies can be difficult to distinguish from friends (Victor Tillberg, 2021;Victor Tillberg & Tillberg, 2013). Even if the expeditionary era can be said to be returning to a more national and territorial focus, several of the above factors are still fundamental prerequisites for military operations.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Military Competence-in-Use in the Expeditionary Era: A Swedish Example From Missions Abroad

Tillberg

Kaulio

Tillberg

et al. 2022

Armed Forces & Society

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In Swedish military policy, the concept of kompetens (competence) describes the skills and capability of military personnel. Furthermore, “competence-in-use,” a multidimensional conceptual tool, has been used for decades in Swedish military instruction and training without having ever been empirically proven. In this pilot study, designed as an exploratory case study, we will try to connect theory to practice by examining the actual situations in which military competence is used. This article has two aims: First, to examine the relevance of the concept of competence-in-use in Swedish military practice abroad, and second, to combine and evaluate two methods in an exploratory case study. To capture firsthand experiences of real combat situations, we selected a sample of 28 firsthand narratives from Swedish service members. Our mapping identifies the blurred transition between combat and noncombat situations. By way of conclusion, we suggest that our analysis tool is further tested, for example, in comparative studies between nations.

show abstract

Mastering Both: The Planned and the Unforeseen An Epistemological Investigation of Swedish Military Professionalism

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019

Who leads peace operations? A new dataset on leadership positions in UN peace operations, 1948–2019

War, PowerPoint, and hypnotised chickens

Military Competence-in-Use in the Expeditionary Era: A Swedish Example From Missions Abroad

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About