Armed Forces And Conflict Resolution

Covers the various aspects of war in the twenty-first century where asymmetric warfare has changed many rules of the game, imposing a profound transformation on the military, not only tactical, but also structural, preparatory, mental and ideological. This book also covers the delicate relations between the armed forces and societies.

A selection of the papers presented at RC01's international conference in Seoul (July 2008). It offers a view of the panorama of social studies on armed forces and conflict resolution in a context of fast-moving change that renders many preceding theoretical previsions obsolete.

This book provides a contemporary account of the linkages between the academic field of conflict resolution and the practice of military peacekeeping, through the lens of pre-deployment training for military personnel about to embark on UN peacekeeping operations. Military personnel serving on United Nations peacekeeping operations are deployed into highly challenging post-conflict environments, where the likelihood of violence remains high. Moreover, these personnel are deployed part of a wider peace process, and are thus situated as an anchor point in a transition from war to peace. This dimension of their work therefore means that a range of skills and techniques are relied upon, which come not from traditional military training, but from other, non-traditional fields. It is into this gap where the academic field of conflict resolution has made a valuable contribution to understanding international peacekeeping. Since the 1970’s, studies have sought to understand international peacekeeping as a necessary stage in conflict de-escalation, and ultimately transformation. From this, there is a history of engagement including studies which seek to understand the skills peacekeepers may need to assist them in their day to day activities, and the role that international peacekeeping plays in wider projects of conflict transformation.

A selection of the papers presented at RC01's international conference in Seoul (July 2008). It offers an overview of the panorama of social studies on armed forces and conflict resolution in a context of fast-moving change. It presents studies that move beyond the very concept of globalization.

This innovative book presents the reader with a clear international view of interdisciplinary and intradisciplinary approaches to military and conflict-resolution studies. In this first title on its subject, leading expert Giuseppe Caforio offers a thorough analysis of the new aspects and trends of the social sciences in studying the military. Since the end of the Cold War, military operations other than war, crisis-response operations, the fight against terrorism, and hi-tech warfare have posed for the militaries of all countries a new set of human and social challenges and problems of an intensity that had never been seen in peacetime. Sociology, social psychology, anthropology and the science of conflict are grappling with these issues, common to all armed forces, with a new fervour. This new book offers an update on the state-of-the-art on this theme and defines the latest study and research trends in the field. Social Sciences and the Military contains essays by some of the most highly regarded scholars on the subject and will be essential reading for all students of civil-military relations, conflict resolution and military studies in general.

This new edition of the volume is presented on the wave of the success which had its first edition (2003). It is entirely updated to the current situation of the disciplines covered, and expanded with particular regard to the new missions, that have become the main challenge for the armed forces in these first decades of the new millennium, with new insights to technological development toward so-called cyborg warriors, new forms of leadership and changes in soldier's identity and organisational culture. It is compiled of documents coming from various researchers at universities around the world as well as military officers devoted to the sector of study. Covered in this volume is a historical excursus of studies prior to contemporary research, interpretive models and theoretical approaches developed specifically for this topic, civic-military relations including issues surrounding democratic control of the armed forces, military culture, professional training, conditions and problems of minorities in the armed forces, an examination of the structural change within the military over the years including new duties and functions following the Cold War.

This book explores the conditions under which non-state armed groups (NSAGs) participate in post-war security and political governance. The text offers a comprehensive approach to post-war security transition processes based on five years of participatory research with local experts and representatives of former non-state armed groups. It analyses the successes and limits of peace negotiations, demobilisation, arms management, political or security sector integration, socio-economic reintegration and state reform from the direct point of view of conflict stakeholders who have been central participants in ongoing and past peacebuilding processes. Challenging common perceptions of ex-combatants as "spoilers" or "passive recipients of aid", the various contributors examine the post-war transitions of these individuals from state challengers to peacebuilding agents. The book concludes on a cross-country comparative analysis of the main research findings and the ways in which they may facilitate a participatory, inclusive and gender-sensitive peacebuilding strategy. Post-War Security Transitions will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, security governance, war and conflict studies, political violence and IR in general.