Are post-Cold War militaries postmodern?

Armed Forces and Society

Volumn 27, Issue 3, 2001, Pages 319-342

  Booth, Bradford ^a   Kestnbaum, Meyer ^a   Segal, David R ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0035646061     PISSN: 0095327X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X0102700301     Document Type: Article

References (96)

1. Charles C. Moskos, John Allen Williams and David R. Segal, eds. The Postmodern Military (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). See also: Charles C. Moskos and James Burk. "The Postmodern Military" in The Military in New Times, ed. James Burk (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1994) 141-62; Fabrizio Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier," Armed Forces & Society 23 (1997) 467-484, and Jan van der Meulen, "Post-modern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions" in The Clausewitzian Dictum and the Future of Western Military Strategy, ed. Gert de Nooy (The Hague, The Netherlands. Kluwer Law International. 1997). Though Battistelli and van der Meulen also refer to the postmodern, our critique focuses exclusively on the developmental construct first outlined by Moskos and Burk (1994) and further developed in Moskos et al. (2000). The essential arguments in the two pieces are quite similar, and both are referenced in this paper as exemplars of the "postmodern military" thesis.
2. Charles C. Moskos, John Allen Williams and David R. Segal, eds. The Postmodern Military (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). See also: Charles C. Moskos and James Burk. "The Postmodern Military" in The Military in New Times, ed. James Burk (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1994) 141-62; Fabrizio Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier," Armed Forces & Society 23 (1997) 467-484, and Jan van der Meulen, "Post-modern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions" in The Clausewitzian Dictum and the Future of Western Military Strategy, ed. Gert de Nooy (The Hague, The Netherlands. Kluwer Law International. 1997). Though Battistelli and van der Meulen also refer to the postmodern, our critique focuses exclusively on the developmental construct first outlined by Moskos and Burk (1994) and further developed in Moskos et al. (2000). The essential arguments in the two pieces are quite similar, and both are referenced in this paper as exemplars of the "postmodern military" thesis.
3. Charles C. Moskos, John Allen Williams and David R. Segal, eds. The Postmodern Military (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). See also: Charles C. Moskos and James Burk. "The Postmodern Military" in The Military in New Times, ed. James Burk (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1994) 141-62; Fabrizio Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier," Armed Forces & Society 23 (1997) 467-484, and Jan van der Meulen, "Post-modern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions" in The Clausewitzian Dictum and the Future of Western Military Strategy, ed. Gert de Nooy (The Hague, The Netherlands. Kluwer Law International. 1997). Though Battistelli and van der Meulen also refer to the postmodern, our critique focuses exclusively on the developmental construct first outlined by Moskos and Burk (1994) and further developed in Moskos et al. (2000). The essential arguments in the two pieces are quite similar, and both are referenced in this paper as exemplars of the "postmodern military" thesis.
4. Charles C. Moskos, John Allen Williams and David R. Segal, eds. The Postmodern Military (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000). See also: Charles C. Moskos and James Burk. "The Postmodern Military" in The Military in New Times, ed. James Burk (Boulder, CO.: Westview Press, 1994) 141-62; Fabrizio Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier," Armed Forces & Society 23 (1997) 467-484, and Jan van der Meulen, "Post-modern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions" in The Clausewitzian Dictum and the Future of Western Military Strategy, ed. Gert de Nooy (The Hague, The Netherlands. Kluwer Law International. 1997). Though Battistelli and van der Meulen also refer to the postmodern, our critique focuses exclusively on the developmental construct first outlined by Moskos and Burk (1994) and further developed in Moskos et al. (2000). The essential arguments in the two pieces are quite similar, and both are referenced in this paper as exemplars of the "postmodern military" thesis.
5. While Moskos, Williams, and Segal point out that many of the changes in military organization discussed in their volume pre-date the end of the Cold War, they emphasize that the end of the Cold War "provided the major thrust to move the military toward the Postmodern model" (Moskos, et al., The Postmodern Military 2000:2). On a related note, it has become commonplace to refer generically to the post-Cold War era since the demise of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact. However, belligerent acts by North Korea and concerns about the export to China of technologies with potential military applications reflect the fact that the Cold War is not yet over in Asia, and that the transformation is only regional.
6. Jean Baudrillard, The Gulf War Did Not Take Place (Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press. 1995).
7. Christopher Dandeker, "New Times for the Military: Some Sociological Remarks on the Changing Role and Structure of the Armed Forces in Advanced Societies," British Journal of Sociology 45 (1994): 637-54; Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
8. Christopher Dandeker, "New Times for the Military: Some Sociological Remarks on the Changing Role and Structure of the Armed Forces in Advanced Societies," British Journal of Sociology 45 (1994): 637-54; Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
9. David R. Segal, "From Convergence to Chaos: Theoretical Perspectives on the Transformation of Industrial Societies." Research in Social Movements, Conflicts and Change 14(1992): 1-11.
10. These reductions in force size are in fact worldwide trends that transcend the European theater and the Atlantic region. See David R. Segal and Nehama E. Babin, "Institutional Change in Armed Forces at the Beginning of the Twenty-First Century," in Sociology: Advances and Challenges in the 1990s, ed. Stella Quah and Arnaud Sales (London: Sage, 2000).
11. Moskos and Burk, "The Postmodern Military"; Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier."
12. Moskos and Burk, "The Postmodern Military"; Battistelli, "Peacekeeping and the Postmodern Soldier."
13. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
14. Ibid, 2.
15. Moskos and Burk, "The Postmodern Military," 145.
16. Moskos, et al., The Postmodern Military, 1.
17. Christopher Dandeker, "New Times and New Structures: Armed Forces for the Twenty-first Century. A View from the United Kingdom," in The Western European Military Establishment: A Re-Assessment, ed. Gwyn Harries-Jenkins (London. European Research Office of the U.S. Army, 1996).
18. Charles C. Moskos, "From Institution to Occupation: Trends in Military Organization," Armed Forces & Society 4 (1977): 41-50.
19. Morris Janowitz, "From Institutional to Occupational: The Need for Conceptual Continuity," Armed Forces & Society 4 (1977): 51-54.
20. Morris Janowitz, The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait (Glencoe, IL: Free Press, 1960).
21. George Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory (New York: McGraw-Hill. 1997); David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity (Cambridge, Blackwell Publishers, 1989); Dennis Smith, Zygmunt Bauman: Prophet of Postmodernity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999).
22. George Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory (New York: McGraw-Hill. 1997); David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity (Cambridge, Blackwell Publishers, 1989); Dennis Smith, Zygmunt Bauman: Prophet of Postmodernity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999).
23. George Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory (New York: McGraw-Hill. 1997); David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity (Cambridge, Blackwell Publishers, 1989); Dennis Smith, Zygmunt Bauman: Prophet of Postmodernity (Cambridge: Polity Press, 1999).
24. Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity (Stanford, CA. Stanford University Press, 1990), 1.
25. Pauline Marie Rosenau, Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads and Intrusions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992), 8, cited in Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory, 9.
26. Pauline Marie Rosenau, Post-Modernism and the Social Sciences: Insights, Inroads and Intrusions (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992), 8, cited in Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory, 9.
27. Dennis Smith, Zygmunt Bauman: Prophet of Postmodernity, 9.
28. Zygmunt Bauman, Intimations of Postmodernity (London: Routledge, 1992), 187.
29. Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory.
30. Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity, 9.
31. Jean-Francois Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984), xxiv.
32. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
33. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Postindustrial Society (New York: Basic Books, 1973); Daniel Bell, "The Axial Age of Technology." Foreword in The Coming of Postindustrial Society. Special anniversary edition (New York: Basic Books, 1999) ix-lxxxv.
34. Daniel Bell, The Coming of Postindustrial Society (New York: Basic Books, 1973); Daniel Bell, "The Axial Age of Technology." Foreword in The Coming of Postindustrial Society. Special anniversary edition (New York: Basic Books, 1999) ix-lxxxv.
35. Defense Almanac (Alexandria, VA: Armed Forces Information Services, 1997).
36. David R. Segal, John Blair, Frank Newport, and Susan Stephens, "Convergence, Isomorphism and Interdependence at the Civil-Military Interface," Journal of Political and Military Sociology 2 (1974): 157-172.
37. Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity.
38. Michael J. Piore and Charles F. Sabel, The Second Industrial Divide: Possibilities for Prosperity (New York: Basic Books, 1984).
39. Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory.
40. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
41. David R. Segal and Mady Wechsler Segal, "Change in Military Organization," Annual Review of Sociology 9 (1983): 151-170.
42. Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity.
43. Tom Burns and G. M. Stalker, The Management of Innovation, 2nd ed. (London: Tavistock, 1968).
44. Dandeker, "New Times and New Structures."
45. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 64.
46. Daniel Bell, "The World and the United States in 2013," Daedalus 116 (Summer, 1987): 1-31; 13-14. Cited in Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 65.
47. Daniel Bell, "The World and the United States in 2013," Daedalus 116 (Summer, 1987): 1-31; 13-14. Cited in Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 65.
48. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
49. Steven Kull and I. M. Destler, An Emerging Consensus: A Study of American Public Attitudes on America's Role in the World-Summary of Findings (College Park, MD: Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland, 1996).
50. David R. Segal, "Five Phases of United Nations Peacekeeping: An Evolutionary Typology," Journal of Political and Military Sociology 25 (1995): 65-79.
51. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 63.
52. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity.
53. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military, 2.
54. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
55. Martin Shaw, Post-Military Society: Militarism, Demilitarization and War at the End of the Twentieth Century (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991); Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity.
56. Martin Shaw, Post-Military Society: Militarism, Demilitarization and War at the End of the Twentieth Century (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991); Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity.
57. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
58. Max Weber, Economy and Society, ed. Guenther Roth and Claus Wittich (Berkely and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1978).
59. Max Weber, Economy and Society.
60. Mary Katzenstein and Judith Reppy, Beyond Zero Tolerance: Discrimination in Military Culture (Lanham, MD. Rowman and Littlefield: 1999). Karen O. Dunivin, "Military Culture: Change and Continuity," Armed Forces & Society (Summer, 1994): 531-47. William Arkin and Lynne R. Dobrofsky. "Military Socialization and Masculinity," in Making War/Making Peace: The Foundations of Social Conflict, ed. Francesca M. Cancian and William James Gibson (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990).
61. Mary Katzenstein and Judith Reppy, Beyond Zero Tolerance: Discrimination in Military Culture (Lanham, MD. Rowman and Littlefield: 1999). Karen O. Dunivin, "Military Culture: Change and Continuity," Armed Forces & Society (Summer, 1994): 531-47. William Arkin and Lynne R. Dobrofsky. "Military Socialization and Masculinity," in Making War/Making Peace: The Foundations of Social Conflict, ed. Francesca M. Cancian and William James Gibson (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990).
62. Mary Katzenstein and Judith Reppy, Beyond Zero Tolerance: Discrimination in Military Culture (Lanham, MD. Rowman and Littlefield: 1999). Karen O. Dunivin, "Military Culture: Change and Continuity," Armed Forces & Society (Summer, 1994): 531-47. William Arkin and Lynne R. Dobrofsky. "Military Socialization and Masculinity," in Making War/Making Peace: The Foundations of Social Conflict, ed. Francesca M. Cancian and William James Gibson (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1990).
63. Moskos and Burk, "The Postmodern Military".
64. Ibid.
65. For example, see Ethnicity, Integration, and the Military: IUS Special Editions on Armed Forces and Society, No. 3, ed. Henry Dietz, Jerrold Elkin, and Maurice Roumani (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991).
66. Charles C. Moskos and John Sibley Butler, All That We Can Be (New York: Basic Books, 1996).
67. David R. Segal, "Diversity in the American Military," Sociological Forum 14 (1999): 531-539.
68. John Hillen, Future Visions for U.S. Defense Policy (Washington: Council on Foreign Relations, 1998).
69. Kull and Destler, An Emerging Consensus.
70. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military, 14.
71. Of course, the need for the military organization to reflect the values of its host culture in order to maintain public support represents an environmental contingency in itself. Maintaining a structural balance between operational and cultural imperatives requires that contemporary militaries become "Janus-faced organizations." Christopher Dandeker, "New Times and New Structures."
72. Richard Harvey Brown, "War as Spectacle." Forthcoming.
73. Baudrillard, The Gulf War Did Not Take Place.
74. Paul Patton, "Introduction," The Gulf War did not Take Place, 1-21.
75. Ritzer, Postmodern Social Theory.
76. Patton, "Introduction."
77. Ibid, 10.
78. Baudrillard, The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, 59.
79. Patton, "Introduction," 8.
80. Ibid, 10.
81. Patton, "Introduction." The fact that the military had substantial success in the selection and control of information is evidenced by the ratio of images that suggested a clean, "surgical" war carried out by pinpoint delivery of smart weapons, to those few that displayed the tens or maybe hundreds of thousands of Iraqi casualties that resulted from allied bombing. Indeed, the graphic display of human suffering caused by the conflict was not deployed until late in the crisis, at which point leaders feared public support would wane, and thus the war was brought to a quick ending.
82. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military.
83. Morten Ender and David R. Segal, "V(E) Mail from the Foxhole: Soldier Isolation, (Tele)Communication and Force-Projection Operations," Journal of Political and Military Sociology 24 (Summer 1995): 83-104.
84. Patton, "Introduction," 13.
85. Allan Millett and Perter Maslowski, For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America (New York: The Free Press, 1984).
86. Patton, "Introduction," 4; Michael Heim, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), cited in Patton, "Introduction."
87. Patton, "Introduction," 4; Michael Heim, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), cited in Patton, "Introduction."
88. Patton, "Introduction," 4; Michael Heim, The Metaphysics of Virtual Reality (New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993), cited in Patton, "Introduction."
89. David R. Segal and Mady Weschler Segal, Peacekeepers and Their Wives (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press; 1993).
90. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military; van der Meulen, "Postmodern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions"; Shaw, Post-Military Society.
91. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military; van der Meulen, "Postmodern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions"; Shaw, Post-Military Society.
92. Moskos et al., The Postmodern Military; van der Meulen, "Postmodern Societies and Future Support for Military Missions"; Shaw, Post-Military Society.
93. Karl Haltiner, "The Definite End of The Mass Army in Western Europe?" Armed Forces & Society: 25 (1999): 7-36.
94. Interestingly, however, at the time of this writing, a popular candidate for the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Presidency is a former Naval aviator and was a prisoner of war during the war in Vietnam - facts that are clearly contributing to the candidate's popularity.
95. David Segal, Recruiting for Uncle Sam: Citizenship and Military Manpower Policy (Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas 1989).
96. Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 169.