How Western Soldiers Fight
Organizational Routines in Multinational Missions

This study of military routines is vital for understanding why soldiers from Western democracies participating in multinational missions vary in their use of force.

Cornelius Friesendorf (Author)

9781108429108, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 7 June 2018

320 pages, 2 b/w illus. 3 maps 8 tables
23.5 x 15.7 x 2 cm, 0.59 kg

'Anyone wondering why the US Army applied warfighting templates to multinational missions in the Balkans and Afghanistan whereas British soldiers patrolled on foot, Germans stayed inside their camps and Italians prioritized crime-fighting should read this book. Unlike most accounts of military interventions, How Western Soldiers Fight uses micro-level routines and behaviour patterns to reveal what really shapes missions.' Alice Hills, Durham University

In contemporary missions, soldiers often face unconventional opponents rather than enemy armies. How do Western soldiers deal with war criminals, rioters, or insurgents? What explains differences in behavior across military organizations in multinational missions? How does military conduct impact local populations? Comparing troops from the United States, Britain, Germany, and Italy at three sites of intervention (Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan), this book shows that militaries in the field apply idiosyncratic organizational routines. Friesendorf uses the concept of routines to explain, for example, why US soldiers are trigger-happy, why British soldiers patrol on foot, and why German soldiers avoid risk. Despite convergence in military structures and practices, militaries continue to fight differently, often with much autonomy. This bottom-up perspective focuses on different routines at the level of operations and tactics, thus contributing to a better understanding of the implementation of military missions, and highlighting failures of Western militaries to protect civilians.

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Soldiers and unconventional problems
3. Potential explanations of military behavior
4. Organizational routines
5. How military routines evolved
6. Bosnia-Herzegovina
7. Kosovo
8. Afghanistan
9. Conclusion
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: International organisations & institutions [LBBU], Military tactics [JWKT], International relations [JPS], Military history: post WW2 conflicts [HBWS], Peace studies & conflict resolution [GTJ]