Philippe Manigart

European Public Opinion on the Future of Its Security

This article reports some preliminary results from a comparative research project on how security issues have been perceived in the twelve E.C. countries since the early 1970s among the mass public. This period has been characterized by breathtaking changes in the political and military world environment. How have Europeans reacted to these changes and what are their opinions on the future shape of European defense policy? The empirical evidence is based on a secondary analysis of public opinion surveys conducted in the European Community in the last twenty-one years. The trend analyses show that Europeans are overwhelmingly favorable to the creation of a common European security organization. This does not mean, however, that NATO is no longer thought to be essential or that the E.C. should supplant or replace NATO as the most important forum for making decisions about the security of Western Europe.

Zero Draft in the Low Countries: The Final Shift to the Mil-volunteer Force

Belgium and the Netherlands were the first two countries in continental Europe to abolish conscription after the Cold War. Notwithstanding differences in organizational practices, as well as in civil-military culture, decisionmaking in both countries was driven by the same motives and followed a similar pattern. The twofold logic of much smaller armed forces and new missions made the choice for an all-volunteer force almost inevitable. The ideology legitimizing the draft for so long appeared to have lost much of its magic and most of its political supporters from left and right. While there is a general awareness that recruitment will be vital for the success of an all-volunteer force, the profile of the new soldiers, in terms of motivation and representativeness, has crystallized in neither country. This can be looked upon as a crucial civil-military challenge. Probably more countries than the two under review will face this challenge in the near future. Given the structural forces at work all over Europe, the case for conscription and its citizenship surplus value will be more and more marginalized. The zero draft will become the rule rather than the exception, finalizing the long-term decline of the mass army.

Public Opinion and Security Matters in Europe

The emergence of a new world system is challenging European nations to fundamentally rethink the roles and structures of the institutions that have channelled their economic growth, secured their well-being, and guaranteed their security over the past 50 years. Most prominent among these institutions are the Atlantic Alliance and the European Union. In this chapter, we address more specifically the way Europeans perceive the problem of adapting and enlarging NATO and the development of a European security and defence identity. Public opinion with regard to policymaking is of particular relevance given that ‘the public’s view generally defines the acceptable bounds of politics, within which political elites can resolve the remaining controversies’.2 Although room for elite manoeuvre is probably greater in the security domain than in other political domains,3 security policy in recent years has more and more been shaped by the pressures of the mass media and of public opinion,4 as the examples of Somalia and ex-Yugoslavia clearly show.

Military families and war in the 21st century : comparative perspectives

This book focuses on the key issues that affect military families when soldiers are deployed overseas, focusing on the support given to military personnel and families before, during and after missions. Todays postmodern armies are expected to provide social-psychological support both to their personnel in military operations abroad and to their families at home. Since the end of the Cold War and even more so after 9/11, separations between military personnel and their families have become more frequent as there has been a multitude of missions carried out by multinational task forces all over the world. The book focuses on three central questions affecting military families. First, how do changing missions and tasks of the military affect soldiers and families? Second, what is the effect of deployments on the ones left behind? Third, what is the national structure of family support systems and its evolution?. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach, with contributions from psychology, sociology, history, anthropology and others. In addition, it covers all the services, Army, Navy/Marines, Air Force, spanning a wide range of countries, including UK, USA, Belgium, Turkey, Australia and Japan. At the same time it takes a multitude of perspectives such as the theoretical, empirical, reflective, life events (narrative) approach, national and the global, and uses approaches from different disciplines and perspectives, combining them to produce a volume that enhances our knowledge and understanding of military families. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, sociology, war and conflict studies and IR/political science in general.

How do military families cope with multiple deployments abroad of loved ones?: The case of Belgium

This book focuses on the key issues that affect military families when soldiers are deployed overseas, focusing on the support given to military personnel and families before, during and after missions. Todays postmodern armies are expected to provide social-psychological support both to their personnel in military operations abroad and to their families at home. Since the end of the Cold War and even more so after 9/11, separations between military personnel and their families have become more frequent as there has been a multitude of missions carried out by multinational task forces all over the world. The book focuses on three central questions affecting military families. First, how do changing missions and tasks of the military affect soldiers and families? Second, what is the effect of deployments on the ones left behind? Third, what is the national structure of family support systems and its evolution?. The book employs a multidisciplinary approach, with contributions from psychology, sociology, history, anthropology and others. In addition, it covers all the services, Army, Navy/Marines, Air Force, spanning a wide range of countries, including UK, USA, Belgium, Turkey, Australia and Japan. At the same time it takes a multitude of perspectives such as the theoretical, empirical, reflective, life events (narrative) approach, national and the global, and uses approaches from different disciplines and perspectives, combining them to produce a volume that enhances our knowledge and understanding of military families. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, sociology, war and conflict studies and IR/political science in general.

The Belgian Armed Forces in The “Post-Military Society”

PovzetekClanek proucuje vpliv novega poslanstva vojske kot “policijskonadzorne sile” (constabulary force) na podobo vojske v javnosti in na rekrutiranje poklicnega vojaskega osebja. Obravnava kompleksen odnos med novim (bodocim) poslanstvom vojske, njeno podobo v javnosti, kakrsno poskusa armada uveljaviti prek “stikov z javnostjo”, in obeti pridobivanja poklicnih vojakov, pri cemer se osredotoca na sodobne spremembe v Beligiji, zlasti na zaposlitvena pricakovanja in ambicije belgijske mladine. V “obicajnih” organizacijah obstaja pozitivna zveza med podobo, ki jo ima organizacija v javnosti, in obnovitvenimi pricakovanji. V primeru vojaske organizacije pa nastopa tretja spremenljivka, zaradi katere je odnos med prvima dvema kompleksnejsi: to je stopnja tveganja, ki je povezana z opravljanjem vojaskega poklica. Podatki iz mnenjskih raziskav kazejo, da sodelovanje belgijske vojske v misijah Zdruzenih narodov pozitivno vpliva na njeno podobo v belgijski javnosti, vendar pa zaradi tega vojaski poklici niso po...