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2017 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

Leadership Norms as a Form of Internal (Self-)Control of the Armed Forces

Author : Nadja Douglas

Published in: Leadership in Extreme Situations

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of leadership norms as a specific form of internal control of the armed forces. To this end, the compatibility between (military) leadership norms and general civilian and societal norms shall be scrutinized and the question raised whether and how military leadership norms are of relevance for civilian control of the armed forces. A special focus will be laid on the multi-ethnic Russian armed forces since the problem of abuse and brutality due to leadership deficiencies, and hence the lack of control, are especially pronounced there. Delineating the traditions of leadership standards and education norms in the Russian military history, a tension between progressive and traditionalist tendencies towards norms of behavior, determined by moral-psychological norms, will be identified. The contemporary phenomenon of ethnic collectives and racial discrimination in the Russian armed forces serves as an example for the importance of civilian control in this sphere. The chapter argues that civilian actors, such as state institutions or societal organizations, regardless of the nature of the political system, should have influence on leadership standards and norms in order to foster internal control of the armed forces. The chapter concludes by drawing implications of leadership norms and control standards for the integration of armed forces with society and society-military relations in general.

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Footnotes
1
The “incompatibility theorem” originally refers to the positivist social theory of Auguste Comte (1798–1857), who first postulated an incompatibility between the military and modern industrialised societies.
 
2
In the Russian/Soviet understanding, military leadership is characterized by the complexity of decisions to be taken, involving among others, organisational, party-political, pedagogical, military-tactical, and psychological questions (Barabanshchikov and Fedenko 1981, p. 145).
 
3
A distinction is commonly drawn between the individual moral behavior of a serviceman (for example respect for the constitution, national and international humanitarian law standards, etc.) and the role and significance of the military in the societal context (cf. Stadler 2003, p. 9).
 
4
Studies have shown that morale depends upon whether soldiers agree with the overall political goals, for example of a mission. Furthermore, morale is also dependent upon whether soldiers find support from their social (non-military) environment. Only then does horizontal and vertical cohesion come into play (Biehl and Kümmel 2003, p. 251).
 
5
There is no explicit definition of Innere Führung and “inward leadership” is a rather rough translation. It reflects a unique German norm and concept of inner guidance, leadership and civic education that is geared towards reconciling both the identity of a citizen in uniform and the identity of a soldier within every member of the German armed forces (Reeb and Többicke 2014).
 
6
The idea of a ‘democratic army’, according to the founding father of the concept of Innere Führung, Wolf Graf von Baudissin, consists of “the organic integration of the army with the democratic state; the commitment of military leaders to this state and its constitution; the same values for the army and for the civilian realms of the state” (Baudissin 1970, p. 157).
 
7
The concept of the ‘citizen in uniform’ places high demands on leadership principles, i.e. demands on political consciousness, attitudes and behaviour during service.
 
8
Under ‘military education’ I understand the shaping of values and attitudes (including morale, cohesion and respect for the political authority, but also the imparting of ethical principles and democratic values). In contrast, ‘military training’ implies the understanding of orders and the preparation for technical tasks and specific missions.
 
9
I will refer to ‘serviceman’ or ‘soldier’ as being gender neutral, implying both male and female military personnel. Thus, the generic masculine is used in this text for the purpose of simplification. It equally includes and refers to females.
 
10
The military has a tendency to evade external scrutiny due to the so-called sui generis argument. This is linked to a specific (self) understanding of the military as a unique organization which, in order to fulfil its tasks, is eligible for special rights and the principle of secrecy. However, this self-understanding of armed forces impinges upon the fundamental societal and democratic principle of transparency (Dandeker 2001, pp. 34–37).
 
11
Continuous incidents of human rights violations, especially against conscripts, repressive recruitment procedures, forced labor and an annual peacetime death rate of 3% (Peredruk 2013) are just a few indicators that illustrate the deficits with regard to leadership standards and the system of internal and external control.
 
12
The Russian Federation is regularly ranked among the five most militarised countries in the world (see Bonn International Center for Conversion). The total size of the Russian armed forces (under the Defence Ministry and including other para-military forces as well as reservists) is estimated at 3.26 million people, i.e. approximately 2.3% of the Russian population (see International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), The Military Balance 2015, pp. 184–198). About 40 million people out of a total population of 142 million Russians have direct or indirect links to the armed forces and related groups (these people include military personnel as well as members and relatives of service families, employees of military-industrial enterprises, employees of military research institutes and agencies, service pensioners and families of veterans (Sakwa 2008, p. 411).
 
13
I define ‘progressive’ in this context as paying attention to soldier rights and freedoms as well as to military ethics in line with the general social values of society.
 
14
There is no equivalent in the Russian language. In Russia, the notion of voin-grazhdanin (soldier-citizen) is more common. It dates back to Czarist times and is linked to the idea of the ‘armed nation’ and the introduction of universal military service in Russia in 1874 (Savinkin 1999, p. 65).
 
15
The system of military-patriotic education is a relic from Soviet times, designed to strengthen the ability of the Soviet Union to defend itself. Introduced in stages from 1968 to the mid-1970s, the system placed military instructors (voennye rukovoditeli)—most of them reserve or retired officers—in secondary and vocational schools to teach military discipline, the use of light weapons, drill and certain technical military skills (Colton 1984, p. 399; Jones 1985, pp. 63–70). It has always been a fundamentally backward-looking programme, an attempt to foster feelings that, for earlier generations, emerged more spontaneously from experience (Colton 1984, p. 400). It was reintroduced in 2010 and enshrined by the order of the Ministries of Defense and Education of 24 February 2010, No. 96/134 and the law “On Education” of 2012. It is also part of the military curriculum of officer and other military training schools and academies as well as university military studies’ departments for the education of reserve officers.
 
16
Dedovshchina is a term to describe the tradition of barrack violence. It manifests as a form of hazing and brutality exerted by older conscripts (dedy = grandfathers) on younger ones (dukhy = ghosts). It is a military phenomenon, tolerated by officers if not supported by them as a means of maintaining discipline in the barracks, and is influenced by Russian social, political and economic realities (Daucé and Sieca-Kozlowski 2006, p. 17; Independent NGO Report on Forced Labor in the Russian Army 2012, p. 59).
 
17
The self-organisation of soldiers along ethnic lines is actually not a new phenomenon, but dates back to the Second World War.
 
18
According to figures from the Moscow Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, 10% of Russian youth today live in the North Caucasus (Chablin 2014). Since the two wars in Chechnya, no more recruits have been drafted from the Chechen Republic. For some time, the numbers of recruits from other republics in the North Caucasus were also reduced, but due to the shortage of conscripts, this measure was revoked.
 
19
‘Non-statutory relations’ is the euphemism employed by military officials to describe phenomena of hazing and bullying such as dedovshchina and zemlyashestvo (Sperling 2009, p. 224, emphasis added).
 
20
‘Military construction units’ are known for harsh working conditions. They have been officially dismantled and abolished in 2006.
 
21
According to a representative opinion poll by VTsIOM, around half of the Russians agree that the military structure mirrors society as a whole, while in 1996 only 25% agreed with this statement (VTsIOM opinion poll. 25 August 2015).
 
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Metadata
Title
Leadership Norms as a Form of Internal (Self-)Control of the Armed Forces
Author
Nadja Douglas
Copyright Year
2017
Book
Leadership in Extreme Situations

Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55058-9

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-55059-6

Copyright Year: 2017

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55059-6_8