Skip to main content

Advanced Search

Projected result for your current search: 0

Search Operators:

You can use operators in your search query to narrow down your results even more. Click on the search operator to see an explanation of how it works.
Finds documents with exactly this word group, in exactly this word order and spelling (e.g. "employer branding").
Finds documents with both search terms (e.g. sales AND bonus).
Finds documents with one or the other search term (e.g. porsche OR volkswagen).
Finds documents with all search terms. Blank space is understood as AND (e.g. man robot production).
Finds documents with no appearance of the word behind NOT (e.g. ford NOT "harrison ford").
Finds documents where the search term is mentioned at least "n" times."n" may be any number (e.g. COUNT(gear)>8).
Finds documents with both search terms in any word order, permitting "n" words as a maximum distance between them. Best choose between 15 and 30 (e.g. NEAR(recruit, professionals, 20)).
Finds documents with the search term in word versions or composites. The asterisk * marks whether you wish them BEFORE, BEHIND, or BEFORE and BEHIND the search term (e.g. lightweight*, *lightweight, *lightweight*).
Finds documents with the search term in different spellings. "?" allows only one character (e.g. organi?ation).
Special characters are understood as AND (e.g. Miller Bros. & Sons).

Semantic Search

powered by (Link opens in a new window)
loading …
Log in
Top

Bordieuan Field Theory as an Instrument for Military Operational Analysis

  • Open Access
  • 2017
  • Open Access
  • Book
Author
Håkan Gunneriusson
Book Series
New Security Challenges
Publisher
Springer International Publishing
Part of
Springer Professional "Business + Economics & Engineering + Technology"
Springer Professional "Business + Economics"
insite
SEARCH

About this book

This book is open access under a CC BY 4.0 license.

This book uses Pierre Bourdieu’s field theory as a lens through which to examine military operations. Novel in its approach, this innovative text provides a better, more nuanced understanding of the modern ‘battlespace’, particularly in instances of prolonged low-intensity conflict. Formed in two parts, this book primarily explores the scope of Bourdien theory before secondly providing a detailed case study of the Yugoslavian succession war of 1990-1992. Gunneriusson suggests that although theories do not necessarily provide answers, they do help us ask better questions. This volume suggests news lines of interdisciplinary investigation that will be of interest to members of armed forces, practitioners from NGOs, and policymakers.

Table of Contents

  1. Frontmatter

    Download PDF-version

  2. Theory and Background Field Theory as an Instrument for Operational Analysis

    1. Frontmatter

    2. Chapter 1. Terms in Search for a Theoretical Definition

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter deals with why social theory can be relevant in the context of military operations. The chapter does also give some examples of what have been done before in this matter, specifically the concept Effect-Based Operations (EBO). The French sociologist and theorist Pierre Bourdieu is also introduced here.
      Download PDF-version

    3. Chapter 2. Field Theory

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      In this chapter, the theoretical framework of field theory is presented. The freedom of framing the field depending on the task is discussed along with terms as capital, autonomous vs. heteronomous and illusio. An example of a social field of the discipline of history of war is also presented.
      Download PDF-version

    4. Chapter 3. The Political Field in the Operational Area

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter deals with one possible implementation of field theory in a generic operational area. The main challenge is to operationalise the concept of field-specific capital in order to classify and affect the adversary and other actors on the field.
      Download PDF-version

    5. Chapter 4. Field Operations as Information Warfare and Operationalisation of Theory

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter touches on concepts of information warfare, for example COIN-theory. Field theory as information warfare is the main topic. The purpose is to frame the field theory as a valid example of both method and theory regarding information warfare. This is especially important as a lot of the practice regarding information warfare is not anchored in a social theory but mostly in a best practice way of acting. That is all well but a theory provides a wider range of generalising and thus options of free-thinking.
      Download PDF-version

  3. Empirical Example

    1. Frontmatter

    2. Chapter 5. The Pre-war Strategic Situation in the Balkans from a Field Theory Perspective

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      The following is a short account of the events leading up to war in the Balkans, in particular in Bosnia. The intention and overall description in these few pages will help provide an example of the practical application of a field theory perspective to conflict, rather than describing the conflict in full. Some actors are chosen as examples for the purpose of theoretical explanation, even though there are others to focus on if one wants a complete historical account. Main actors as for example Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tudjman are also presented in this chapter.
      Download PDF-version

    3. Chapter 6. The Events in 1990

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter deals with the continuation of the conflict and the breaking up of Yugoslavia. By 1990, Federal Yugoslavia was unpopular. Most Yugoslavs wanted to move from communism to democracy, yet they associated federation with communism and Serb domination.
      Download PDF-version

    4. Chapter 7. The Events in 1991

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter deals with the final blows against Yugoslavia as the state it once was and its eventual reduction to an extension of Serbian politics. From the point of legitimacy, one can see this as the height of Milošević political career, even if his power would be strong well beyond this year. Serbian forces attack eastern Croatia and sack the city of Vukovar as the first major hostilities between the two parts of the former Yugoslavia.
      Download PDF-version

    5. Chapter 8. The Events in 1992

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      This chapter deals with how and why the war emerges in Bosnia and how the involved actors acted. Serbian and Croatian leadership with Slobodan Milošević and Radovan Karadžić, respectively, pushed for hostilities all when the leadership in Bosnia with Alija Izetbegović and parts of the international community as Germany did little to avert the coming disaster.
      Download PDF-version

    6. Chapter 9. Epilogue: Beyond 1992

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      The empirical example was to show just the initial years of the war, but a few things can be said of the last years of the war, without being conclusive on the matter. As war went on the violence escalated and the escalation gave way for even more violence. The logic of practice continued to change as the structuring field continued to be restructured. Without going into details it is worth mentioning that Milošević, who already had lost Serbian support, lost even more as he tried to balance between the international and national arenas at the same time. At the same time less international prolific actors could go full out on the national arena in support of Serbian interest.
      Download PDF-version

    7. Chapter 10. Conclusions of the Empirical Example

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      The discussion above demonstrates that it is possible to acquire useful knowledge for military purposes by studying the prelude to the conflict in Bosnia from a field theory perspective. As seen the method here is more the historian’s than one which one would need on a contemporary example. But the case here was to present the use of the theory, not of the methods. As has been said earlier, one can use almost any kind of method when one works with field theory.
      Download PDF-version

    8. Chapter 11. Post Scriptum: Hybrid Warfare and the Yugoslavian Blueprint

      • Open Access
      Håkan Gunneriusson
      Abstract
      With the recent development of Russian international politics, it is of interest to revisit Yugoslavia and discuss the lessons learnt there in the light of hybrid warfare. The events in Yugoslavia in the 1990s resemble in parts to what has been described as hybrid warfare in Ukraine in 2014–2017.
      Download PDF-version

  4. Backmatter

    Download PDF-version
Title
Bordieuan Field Theory as an Instrument for Military Operational Analysis
Author
Håkan Gunneriusson
Copyright Year
2017
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-65352-5
Print ISBN
978-3-319-65351-8
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65352-5

Accessibility information for this book is coming soon. We're working to make it available as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Premium Partner

    Image Credits
    Schmalkalden/© Schmalkalden, NTT Data/© NTT Data, Verlagsgruppe Beltz/© Verlagsgruppe Beltz, EGYM Wellpass GmbH/© EGYM Wellpass GmbH, rku.it GmbH/© rku.it GmbH, zfm/© zfm, ibo Software GmbH/© ibo Software GmbH, Lorenz GmbH/© Lorenz GmbH, Axians Infoma GmbH/© Axians Infoma GmbH, OEDIV KG/© OEDIV KG, Rundstedt & Partner GmbH/© Rundstedt & Partner GmbH