The poverty of power in military power: how collective power could benefit strategic studies

Drill, discipline and decency? Exploring the significance of prior military experience for prison staff culture

“…This absence of military behaviour is characterized as an environment without clear leadership and goal-orientation: ‘No challenge, no pride, no direction which they have been used to. Frustration at knowing that if there was more Military ways of working, it would be safer and run better.’ In this comment, while acknowledging that being ‘military’ in part means taking direction, this respondent also emphasized the sense of pride and common purpose resonant both of Smith’s (2008: 283) description of the military as engendering ‘a sense of fusion with the group that starts to occlude egoism’, and of Angstrom and Haldén’s (2019: 182) discussion of collective rather than coercive power.…”

“…In this chapter, Foucault described a young military cadet rising from his bed and metronomically putting on his uniform as the start of his ‘infinitesimally choreographed daily routine’ (McKinlay, 2013: 139). Drill, along with ‘the experience of the barracks, the subjection and indoctrination into instruments of controlling time and space such as precise time-tables, the division of the day into discrete tasks, the habit of answering to orders and for some learning to transmit them’, facilitated development of ‘the disciplined factory worker, the overseer’ (Angstrom and Haldén, 2019: 182) and, as the argument extends, the prisoner. As Smith (2008: 276) summarizes:when repeated often enough, drill would end in the formation of the trained docile body, at once more powerful because it was more efficient and autonomous in the exercise of power, and yet also more obedient and pliable to authority.…”

“…Critiques of Foucault’s portrayal of the military as a vehicle for the creation of docile automatons argue that he neglected both the need for meaning in military organisations and the need for ‘cultural perspectives that capture the intense group solidarity and existential dimensions of military life’ (Angstrom and Haldén, 2019: 182). Rather than seeing the military simply as wielder of coercive power after Foucault, contemporary theorists now argue for a focus on the collective meanings produced in military organizations which underscore the military as ‘a producer of collective power’ (Angstrom and Haldén, 2019: 182).…”

“…Foucault’s notion of governmentality rests on a triangle of powers including discipline and military apparatus but, if, as Angstrom and Haldén (2019), Powel (2017) and Smith (2008) argue, the military was not what Foucault claimed it was, then there are wider implications for understandings of the prison. As Moran et al (2019: 221) noted, though, very little scholarly attention has been paid to the relationship between the military and the prison.…”

The effect of cadet resilience on self-efficacy and professional achievement: verification of the moderated mediating effect of vocational calling

“…Professional achievement within the military is a multifaceted and profound concept that reflects the dedication, competence, leadership, and contributions of service members within the armed forces ( Johansen et al, 2014 ; Šimanauskienė et al, 2021 ). It signifies not only individual success, but also the collective strength of the military as an institution ( Angstrom and Haldén, 2019 ). One of the most visible and universally recognized indicators of professional achievement in the military is the attainment of higher ranks and positions.…”