The Long War and America's Relationship With Its Military

Abstract

The unique characteristics of the "Global War on Terrorism" have implications for the relationship society has with its military, and therefore, for military effectiveness in achieving political ends. Using an "institutional presence" theoretical foundation, four factors of the "GWOT" are described: the length of the conflict; its prosecution through an All-Volunteer Force; the fact that it is directed at non-states actors; and the nature of the enemies' methods. The author discovers that each factor does close, create or widen the gap between the military and society. However, this is not necessarily problematic given the nature of this struggle, particularly if one focuses on effective formulation and execution of strategy. Finally, recommendations for managing the gap are included.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 2008
Accession Number
ADA479656

Entities

People

  • Kimberly C. Field

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Counter WMD
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Department Of Defense
  • Department Of State
  • Education
  • Families (Human)
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Military Operations
  • National Security
  • Political Systems
  • Second World War
  • Societies
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies