Description: 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.
Brief description: Cornelius Friesendorf is a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH). Previous activities include working for an EU police reform support project in Myanmar, and teaching International Relations at Goethe University Frankfurt. He has published on security sector reform, counter-insurgency, organized crime, and privatized security.
Review Quotes: 'Why are some militaries better at policing, peace operations and counterinsurgency than others? Looking at how the Americans, British and Germans fared in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan, Cornelius Friesendorf finds that the answer lies in routines which embody each army's biases and practices. This outstanding book exemplifies the importance of organisational analysis in security studies.' Theo Farrell, Executive Dean of Law, Humanities and the Arts, University of Wollongong, Australia