Cultural Diversity in the Armed Forces - An International Comparison (Electronic book text)

This is a stimulating new examination of how the cultural pluralism of twenty-first century societies affects the diversity of (post-)modern armed forces. For a range of countries around the world, the issue is first and foremost thought of in terms of two variables: ethnicity and gender. In addition, partly depending on local circumstances and policies, other variables are addressed as well, especially language, religion and sexual orientation. This new book shows how the tension between military necessities and organizational effectiveness on the one hand, and political and social desiderata on the other hand, can be detected in all the countries under consideration. And nowhere are the solutions easy or painless. But then again, a representative military has always been a complicated, if not a paradoxical ideal, as is argued in the introductory chapter. At the same time, as is elaborated in the epilogue, multicultural society, at best, very much is work in progress. This book will be of interest to students of military studies, sociology, gender and political science.