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Begin New Search Political Geography Europe Publication Year within 3 Years

2401. Military Culture 2.0: The Female Cadet’s Approach, Feminine Competencies, and Pan-Critical Feminism - Drawing examples from American and Norwegian Special Forces

Author:
Mariah Loukou
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
Military values of honour, courage and loyalty are synonymous to male soldiers due to the association of the military with the alpha-male narrative. However, the everchanging nature of war urges for a new approach. One that is identified with female cadets and feminine competencies. The article explores examples from the U.S. and Norway to show practically how military training and education can benefit from the female soldiers’ approach. To back this argument, the author, explores feminist institutionalism and body politics. The author then suggests a new theoretical tool, pan-critical feminism, as the means to incorporate female values and competencies to represent the changing cohort of military institutions. The article finally discusses military culture through the lens of organisational culture to show that there is space for testing this idea, even though social perceptions create barriers to its implementation.
Topic:
Culture, Armed Forces, Feminism, and Military
Political Geography:
Europe, Norway, North America, and United States of America

2402. Military Officers and the Design Gaze

Author:
Therese Heltberg
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This paper investigates how design thinking and its appurtenant practices can be integrated into leadership practices in various military contexts. It addresses the findings of a qualitative research study that followed six Danish Defence officers as they worked. The paper investigates how these officers translate and enact design thinking amid efforts to handle specific, complex problems faced in their actual work-life, including the opportunities and barriers that they meet. The paper suggests the concept of a “design gaze” to understand and illuminate how design transforms military officers’ approaches and understandings of specific complex problems as well as their interactions with stakeholders and participants. At the institutional level, the paper points to three organisational problems that were rendered visible through the application of a design approach: “invisible” problems, “homeless” problems, and “transversal” problems. Finally, the paper discusses implications for organisational learning.
Topic:
Armed Forces, Leadership, and Military
Political Geography:
Europe and Denmark

2403. A Risk-Increasing Safety Strategy? Evaluating the traditional risk mitigating strategy in dealing with dumped ammunition and explosive remnants of war

Author:
Geir Petter Novik, Morten Sommer, and Eirik Bjorheim Abrahamsen
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
In Norway, hundreds of thousands of tonnes of explosive remnants of war remain in nature. It has always been recognized that the ordnance could represent a certain explosive risk if disturbed, and that some of the constituents in the ammunition could be harmful to the environment, but, even so, a tacit assumption by decision makers is that, if left alone, the ammunition will slowly become harmless over time. Some argue, however, that the risks are in fact increasing, not diminishing, with time, and that our current risk management strategy could prove to accelerate the risk rather than mitigate it. This article outlines some of the critical issues facing our current risk reduction strategy, as well as raising some concern as to whether the current strategy could be outdated and in need of revision. This study builds up a picture of how the strategy has evolved over time, and how new knowledge and broader risk perspectives can provide further insights into how this strategy could be revised. The conclusion of this investigation is that, on the basis of improved risk assessments highlighting the complex risk picture and the strength of knowledge concept, there is an urgent need to revise the current risk mitigating strategy.
Topic:
Weapons, Risk, and War Remnants
Political Geography:
Europe and Norway

2404. NATO Allies’ geopolitical diversity and the cohesion of the Alliance

Author:
Thierry Tardy
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The Russia-Ukraine war has revealed a high degree of cohesion among NATO Allies, who largely converge on what the Alliance is about and how it should respond to the Russian threat. In the longer- term, though, NATO’s cohesion will be dependent on Allies’ success in knitting together a common vision from their varying strategic cultures and threat assessments. And indeed, from the United States’ global reach and first-class military to France’s strategic autonomy imperative and the UK’s renewed ambition for ‘Global Britain’; from the Baltic states’ and Poland’s geographical proximity to Russia, to Italy’s and Spain’s regional southern focus; and from Türkiye’s special defence and foreign policy posture to Germany’s Zeitenwende, the Atlantic Alliance brings together a wide range of geopolitical diversity. This Policy Brief draws on a study conducted by the author1 to build a typology of NATO Allies based on three sets of variables: the nature of the relationship between any given Ally and the United States; the Ally’s perception of the Russian threat; and the extent to which NATO is given exclusivity in the Ally’s defence policy. Against this backdrop, Allies can be classified into three groupings that reveal persistent fault lines running through the Alliance, making cohesion a permanent challenge.
Topic:
NATO, Geopolitics, Alliance, Diversity, Russia-Ukraine War, and Cohesion
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

2405. Finland and Sweden in NATO: the potential of new security providers

Author:
Hanna Ojanen
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Finland and Sweden’s accession to NATO is occurring at an accelerated pace. In January 2022, neither government was considering NATO membership; in May 2022, they moved decisively into the application process. In response, NATO member states have rush processed their membership, with most NATO countries ratifying Accession Protocols. In November 2022, they are a mere two ratifications short of membership. Both Finland and Sweden are sending a strong message to Allies and Russia by joining NATO without preconditions as already active contributors and security providers within the Alliance. For its part, NATO would not only gain two new member states but also a new regional subgroup of Nordic countries that have their own perspectives and strategic cultures. Moreover, Finland and Sweden will bring a model for bilateral defence cooperation.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, NATO, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, Finland, and Sweden

2406. Russia’s military after Ukraine: down but not out

Author:
Łukasz Kulesa(ed.)
Publication Date:
07-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The June 2022 Madrid Summit decided on the next steps in enhancing the Alliance’s deterrence posture, describing Russia as “the most significant and direct threat to Allies’ security and to peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area”.1 The poor performance of the Russian forces in the first months of their war against Ukraine and the scale of casualties and material losses they suffered should however prompt further reflection about Russia’s ability to recover and challenge NATO militarily. If the Russian military seems unable to prevail over Ukrainian forces (supported by a number of NATO countries), it may reasonably be asked whether unrolling “the biggest overhaul of our collective defence and deterrence since the end of the Cold War”2 is justified. This Policy Brief argues that NATO’s goals to shore up the Eastern flank are indeed warranted for three reasons – Russia’s political will to claim a victory, evidence of learning from past mistakes, and the existing Russian industrial capacity. In fact, the Russian military will probably experience a relatively speedy recovery. With the caveat that much is contingent on day-to-day developments and the ultimate outcome of the war, it is also plausible that Russia will “build back better” rather than simply rebuild a military which has proven to be ill-prepared for the operation against Ukraine.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Deterrence, Russia-Ukraine War, and Madrid Summit
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

2407. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Keynote by Julie Gottlieb and Clarisse Berthezene on Conservative Women

Author:
Lyndsey Jenkins
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marked a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Dr Lyndsey Jenkins opens the second day's proceedings, before Professors Julie Gottlieb ‪@universityofsheffield‬ and Clarisse Berthezene deliver their keynote lecture, entitled 'Continuities and Change in British Conservative Women's Policies and Practices'. They historicise the role of women in the Conservative Party during the interwar and immediate postwar periods, before considering how Conservative women contributed to the Women's Voluntary Service and other non-partisan associations.
Topic:
Elections, Women, Domestic Politics, and Representation
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

2408. Breaking the Glass Chamber: In Conversation with Frances Scott and Lesley Abdela

Author:
Frances Scott and Lesley Abdela
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marked a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Mari Takayanagi from ‪@ukparliament‬ invites Frances Scott (founder of the 50:50 Parliament campaign) and Lesley Abdela (founder of the 300 Group) to reflect on their efforts to increase women's political representation since the 1980s. They argue that representation shapes policy and point to the '6 Cs' that prevent women from participating in politics and public life: culture, cronyism, candidate selection, chronic lack of money, chronic lack of time, and chronic lack of confidence.
Topic:
Elections, Women, Domestic Politics, and Representation
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

2409. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Caroline Slocock in conversation with Dr Emily Stacey

Author:
Emily Stacey
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marked a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Caroline Slocock (the Director of Civil Exchange and the first female Private Secretary to the Prime Minister) talks to Dr Emily Stacey about working for Britain's first woman Prime Minister, the challenges of balancing motherhood with a career at the Treasury, and why Conservatives continue to channel Margaret Thatcher more than 30 years after she left office.
Topic:
Politics, Elections, Women, Representation, and Labour Party
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe

2410. Breaking the Glass Chamber: Keynote Lecture on Muslim Women in the Labour Party by Farah Hussain

Author:
Harriet Harman
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:
2022 marked a series of historic anniversaries for women in British politics. Forty years since the election of Harriet Harman, the Mother of the House; thirty-five years since the election of the first Black woman MP, Diane Abbott; thirty years since the first woman, Betty Boothroyd, was elected Speaker of the House; and twenty-five years since the election of more than a hundred women MPs for the Labour Party. At its landmark Breaking the Glass Chamber conference from 15 to 17 September 2022, the Mile End Institute brought together historians, political scientists, and sociologists to explore what politics meant to and for women in the second half of the twentieth century. In this video, Farah Hussain from ‪@QMPoliticsIR‬ and a Visiting Research Fellow at the MEI presents her intersectional research on Muslim Women in the Labour Party. Using original interview data with Muslim women in the party, Farah examines the role of political parties and their members in creating diverse chambers in local government and the relationship between Labour and the British South Asian Muslim community.
Topic:
Elections, Women, Domestic Politics, Labour Party, and Muslims
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Europe