Browsing by Author "Watters, B"

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    Breaking the Mould of the Orthodox Approach to Security Sector Reform: A Case Study of Israel’s Civil-Military Relationship
    (2021-06) Westerman, I; Watters, B
    Post-conflict Security Sector Reform (SSR) is a complex and difficult task which offers few historical examples of success. The challenges that SSR encounters are compounded by the western liberal democratic origins of the majority of the civil-military relations (CMR) theory from which it draws. By their nature, these theories are ill-suited to most post-conflict scenarios. This thesis offers a new perspective on the problem by suggesting that the use of elements of other less orthodox, but nonetheless still democratic, models of CMR would help SSR programmers to develop more appropriate objectives. It further argues that the Israeli system of CMR is an example of one such model. Using a critical realist approach, the thesis presents a single case study to investigate the research question: How has Israel’s CMR evolved since the state was founded in 1948? It employs thematic analysis to evaluate data obtained from a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with influential Israeli elites. From this, three ‘Big Ideas’ are identified. If adopted, these could help to break the mould of the previously unfruitful, orthodox approaches to post-conflict SSR. They are: first, that culture and history must impact the design of all SSR programmes from the very start; second, that more flexibility must be shown regarding military involvement in defence policy-making; third, that if the benefits of more unorthodox approaches to SSR are to be realised, clear provision must also be made for the system to adapt over time. The lens of critical realism brings a fresh perspective to the hitherto well documented subject of Israel's civil-military relationship, and the development of a novel analytical framework (CIPMIS) contributes to the wider body of knowledge in this field. Most significantly, analysis of this unique interview dataset enables the Israeli experience, for the first time, to directly inform understanding of post-conflict SSR.
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    The development of the British approach to improvised explosive device disposal in Northern Ireland
    (2015-10-30) Cochrane, B; Holmes, Prof E R; Watters, B
    When the army deployed to Northern Ireland in 1969 it was unprepared for the intensive bombing campaign that was to follow. Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (IEDD) was conducted in much the same way as it had been since the 19th century – manually, with one or two men pitting themselves against the device, or its creator. The painful experience of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland - and in particular the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) bombing campaign - led to the development of the contemporary British approach to IEDD. The army dealt with over 56000 Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) incidents by 2007, rendering safe over 6300 IEDs. These successes came at a heavy price. 17 Ammunition Technical Officers (ATOs) and three other EOD team members were killed in Northern Ireland. Most of these deaths occurred during the early 1970s. It must be asked why the IEDD was more dangerous then and why did it become apparently safer in later years, despite the terrorists’ growing prowess? This thesis argues that EOD changed in the 1970s as a result of the lessons learned when casualties occurred, and that the most important changes were conceptual. Safety and success for the EOD teams came not from out-braving the bombs, but from outthinking the bombers. The lessons learnt were distilled and formalised into a set of principles, philosophies and rules that guided the conduct of IEDD operations. This thesis explains how the EOD experience in Northern Ireland shaped the contemporary British approach to IEDD operations. It begins with an introduction and a historical background. The methodology used is discussed, and the available literature on the subject is reviewed. An overview of the development of IEDs and IED tactics is offered, and the state of IEDD at the start of the Northern Ireland campaign is examined. Each of the incidents resulting in an EOD fatality is discussed and analysed in a case study, and this is followed by a further selection of case studies that scrutinise non fatal incidents that had an influence on the conduct of operations. A chapter is devoted to an analysis of successful attacks on EOD teams and from this a number of theories are offered. The official responses to incidents, in the form of regulatory documents and training publications are then discussed before the roles of equipment and personnel selection are considered.
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    Leadership in the ‘Wicked’ Problem of Bosnia’s civil war: A case study examining ethical decision making under duress
    (Sage Publications, 2017-09-05) Watters, B
    The author, as a UN Commander in Bosnia in the early 1990s, faced what he believed to be an ethically insoluble dilemma entangled in the Wicked Problem of Bosnia’s civil war. Bosnia’s civil war was a Wicked Problem constructed by history, the warring factions and the UN’s policy of neutrality. The moral uncertainty of leading in Bosnia’s Wicked Problem generated a tendency to construct Tame Problems enabling forthright action guided by deontological principles of moral certainty. The reality of the Wicked Problem required leaders to adopt Utilitarian judgements based on projected consequences, as in Bosnia’s grey zone the Deontological certainties did not appear valid. When a Wicked Problem morphed into a crisis or Critical Problem requiring direct action, the morally correct course had to be instinctive aligning with Virtue ethics, the ethical character of the actors. This article is an attempt at reflective learning through post hoc sense making of events portrayed in a case study, the events fractured relationships, changed lives and provided stark lessons.
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    “Round numbers are always false” – More EMIC (culturally contingent) than ETIC (universal)? Is national culture a defining facet of leadership in the defence and security sector?
    (2021-06) Forgrave, Martyn W.; Watters, B
    Leadership as a function in human groups is found in all corners of the world and can be traced by as far as the start of recorded history. Plato (428/429 BCE 348/347 BCE) was the first to write about the general attributes that determine leadership. This quest to identify traits that predict effective leadership continues to this day. Since the mid-twentieth century, scholarly attempts have been made to establish a universal theory of leadership that transcends cultural boundaries. Although the search for a definitive universal model has so far proved inconclusive, cross-cultural research continues to be focussed on determining whether aspects of leadership and leadership theory are “universal” (etic) or culturally contingent (emic) (i.e., unique to culture). The GLOBE project (2004), the most expansive and significant cross-cultural study to date, found that although leadership is culturally contingent, universal attributes of leadership exist. Although cross-cultural research on leadership has exploded in importance in the last twenty-five years or so, its existence is almost absent in all U.K. defence policy and doctrinal publications. Yet, the MOD’s policy position is to be “international by design” (MOD, 2018) and the recently published Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (MOD, 2021) signposts deepening defence and security international engagement over the coming decade. A critical review was conducted of selected academic and military literature on leadership, culture, and cross-cultural leadership. A research methodology was designed and developed to focus on a predominantly quantitative approach. This was driven primarily by the research question. However, this was offset by open questions to provide a qualitative element. Therefore, a mixed methods approach was used in this thesis. The research investigated prototypical leadership in sixteen countries across four continents. The cross-cultural research, focussed on equivalence and comparability, was carried out using seven regions as independent variables. The selection of the “middle manager” strata of leadership (Brigadier General to Major) provided functional equivalence. The questionnaire sample size was 1067. The survey included closed and open ended questions which were translated into Arabic, Georgian, Ukrainian, Burmese, Spanish and Korean. The main findings included the identification of twenty-five essential leader attributes that were considered essential across seven regions in the defence and security sector. The thesis failed to reject the null hypothesis that ‘effective leadership attributes, skills and traits in the defence and security sector are culturally contingent across countries and regions.’ The identification of a core of essential military leader attributes, demonstrating “partial universality”, was offset by wider findings that showed leadership in the defence and security sector to be culturally contingent across the sixteen countries. A cross-cultural prototypical military leadership model was constructed to provide a systematic and structured understanding of cross-cultural leadership and a means of cross-cultural comparability. The contextual model is based on seven leader dimensions encapsulating ‘personality and self’, ‘motives’, ‘cognitive capacities and skills’, ‘emotional capacities and social skills’, ‘integrity and moral character’, ‘team skills’ and ‘task skills’. Recognising that culture and leadership have a symbiotic relationship, in which one cannot exist without the other (Ayman & Korabik, 2010), the leadership construct is bound by culture at the micro (individual), meso (organisational) and macro (national) levels. Finally, the research makes a discrete contribution towards an etymological study of “leader” and “leadership” across cultures. An understanding of the etymology assists with the way we think about, study and enact leadership (Case et al., 2011). The findings show that a variance in semantics is indicative of cultural contingency. Notwithstanding this, there is sufficient similarity to permit a route scheme of meaning. Recommendations are made to investigate an expeditionary version of the GLOBE study (2004) questionnaire where data can be collected and collated efficaciously to contribute to the project from an organisational perspective. Further research should examine how the GLOBE study’s six global leadership dimensions can be applied to the defence and security sector. Follow-on work should also be carried out to understand the behavioural manifestations of identified attributes in the defence and security sector. This would make an important contribution to interoperability workstreams and multinational activities with allies and partners. A formal review is recommended to address the cross cultural deficit in U.K. Defence and that the doctrinal gap is closed in the re-write of Leadership in Defence (2004). More broadly, a more coherent approach should be taken between the defence proponents of leadership and culture. Recognising both the complexity and importance of cross-cultural leadership, the Ministry of Defence may wish to take forward the idea of trans-cultural alliances between leadership schools to promote information exchange and achieve a better understanding of indigenous military leadership constructs. Finally, a cross-cultural study into the leadership gender gap in the defence and security sector would provide a valuable research topic. This would advance the status of women in professional military forces as culture has been found to be an obstacle to gender egalitarianism, participation, and advancement in armed forces around the globe.