Talking past each other? : how views of U.S. power vary between U.S. and international military personnel / Richard H.M. Outzen.

Format:

Book

Government document

Author/Creator:

Outzen, Richard H. M., author.

Contributor:

Army War College (U.S.). Strategic Studies Institute

Series:

Letort papers

The Letort papers

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Anti-Americanism.

United States.

United States--Military relations.

Military relations.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 56 pages).

Other Title:

How views of US power vary between US and international military personnel

How views of United States power vary between United States and international military personnel

Place of Publication:

Carlisle, PA : Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2013.

System Details:

text file PDF

Summary:

The 21st century U.S. military seldom operates alone. Except for initial entry and organizational training, it works almost always with and through foreign partners. Yet over the past decade, anecdotal evidence suggests that U.S. military organizations and personnel have trouble understanding, influencing, and cooperating with international partners. This evidence includes high-profile incidents from Iraq and Afghanistan: civilian deaths, Koran burnings, blue-on-blue or green-on-blue lethal attacks. It also includes more numerous, lower profile bits of friction that follow U.S. service members around the globe in the form of protests, lawsuits, criminal cases, and difficult military-to-military relations from Iraq and Afghanistan to Turkey and Pakistan. In some instances, the U.S. military may be entirely without fault, suffering friction driven by problematic local attitudes or political dynamics. On the other hand, it is possible that certain characteristics of thought or behavior within the U.S. military culture increase the likelihood of severe friction. Against this backdrop, the gap between the U.S. military's self-image and its image in the eyes of an international military audience is examined. When considering U.S. power, do response patterns indicate great difference between how U.S. military officers view themselves, and how they are viewed by their international peers? If so, is there anything that the United States can do about it, or does a fundamental and pathological anti-Americanism predetermine outcomes? Based on a survey administered at the National Defense University, this study offers observations and recommendations about the increasingly central question of how U.S. forces can form better and stronger ties with partners.

Contents:

Background theory : the academic study of anti-Americanism. Primary explanations for a growing phenomenon

Transitory explanation

Reflexive or "pathological" explanations

Other survey data relevant to "anti-Americanism"

Interpreting results of the survey. Areas of convergence and divergence

Focus group review of preliminary observations

International officer opinion in light of Pew and Gallup polling data

Implications and conclusions. Implications for anti-Americanism theory

Implications for U.S. policy and operations

Recommended mitigation measures.

Notes:

"February 2013."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 47-48).

Online resource; title from title screen (viewed February 1, 2013).

Other Format:

Print version: Outzen, Richard H.M. Talking past each other?

OCLC:

826367272