Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change

Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change

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Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change The Swedish Model Robert Egnell Visiting Professor and Director of Teaching, in the Security Studies Program in the Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, United States, and Associate Professor, Swedish National Defence College Petter Hojem Project Leader, Centre for Business and Policy Studies, SNS, Sweden and Hannes Berts Founding Partner and Senior Consultant, Sthlm Policy Group AB, Sweden

Robert Egnell, Petter Hojem and Hannes Berts 2014 Foreword Melanne Verveer 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-38504-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-1-349-48118-7 ISBN 978-1-137-38505-5 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137385055 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Contents Foreword by Melanne Verveer Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations vi viii x 1 Introduction: The Accomplishments and the Challenges 1 2 Gender, Feminism, and Military Effectiveness 20 3 Changing the Armed Forces 44 4 The Implementation and Impact of a Gender Perspective in Operations 76 5 Recruitment, Harassment, and Equal Rights: Human Resource Policies 108 6 Conclusion: Improving and Spreading the Implementation 123 Appendix: Interview Questionnaires 145 Notes 148 Bibliography 165 Index 175 v

Foreword Around the world, the scourge of active conflict is not only taking a toll on local populations but also undermining regional and global stability. There is growing recognition that government decisionmaking whether diplomatic or military has too often excluded the participation and contributions of women in preventing and resolving these violent conflicts. Although they are disproportionately affected by conflicts and constitute at least half of the population in most places, women are all too often viewed solely as victims and not as leaders and agents of change. In 2000, the United Nations Security Council took a major step in adopting UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325, which linked peace and security to women s agency. All NATO member states and many other countries have adopted National Action Plans that establish a policy framework to incorporate women s perspectives and considerations in ending conflict and building lasting peace. On 19 December 2011, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13595, instituting the US National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security. Then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced this initiative at Georgetown University, describing it as a comprehensive effort across the US government to advance women s participation for making and keeping peace. At that time, I served as the US Ambassador for Global Women s Issues and played a leading role in the lengthy interagency process which convened at the White House and included officials from the Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security, as well as USAID and other government bodies. The US plan represented a fundamental change in how we approach our diplomatic, military, and development-based support to women in areas of conflict. The military has an important role to play in the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in campaigns such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as in UN peacekeeping operations. We know that military forces are better equipped to fulfill their mission when they can engage with all members of the societies in which they operate. A gender perspective should influence the training of our troops as well as the quality of the training we provide to foreign military law enforcement personnel. In both cases, the goals are to ensure the protection of civilians, and address lawlessness and sexual and gender-based violence. vi

Foreword vii Research that increases our understanding of the role and impact of women and gender perspectives in and on peace and security, and that supports change processes by connecting theory and practice, is of utmost importance. There is much we can learn from the forerunners in the field. Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change focuses on the implementation of a gender perspective in the Swedish Armed Forces, and thereby provides important and timely contributions to our understanding both of these issues and of military effectiveness in conflict prevention and peace-building. Although there are differences between the Swedish and American military organizations and their broader societies, for example, there is still much that can be learned from the Swedish Armed Forces process of implementing UNSCR 1325. The book demonstrates why it is essential to place key implementers in strategic positions within an organization, as well as to gain the support of respected leaders both in peacetime and during military operations. The Swedish Armed Forces focus on gender as a tool for enhancing military effectiveness provides an important lesson in adopting a change process to the core military task of fighting and winning the nation s wars. The organizational change process that this book describes is a significant first step. More broadly, by providing a rare combination of military expertise and gender and feminist theory, this study enhances our understanding of the role and importance of women and gender perspective in peace and security. The applicability of these lessons can extend from NATO operations in Afghanistan to UN peacekeeping efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Scholarly research such as that contained in Gender, Military Effectiveness, and Organizational Change has too often been confined to the academic realm. Yet this is not just about theory; it is also about practice. I believe we must continue to build bridges between the worlds of scholars and of policymakers and practitioners. This book is an important contribution in that respect, as it actively seeks to build such a bridge by addressing practical challenges in a theoretically informed way. In the end, peace and security will become more attainable if this work is widely disseminated and taken to heart. Melanne Verveer US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women s Issues, 2009 2013 Director, Georgetown University Institute for Women, Peace and Security

Acknowledgements Research is always a far more collaborative process than the title page suggests. The authors of this particular book owe debts of gratitude to many people friends, relative, colleagues, and practitioners, who, over the course of three years, have assisted us with interviews, advice, critique, and encouragement. Without the many interviews, this project would not have been feasible, and our first thanks therefore go to all of the interviewees for their contributions and generosity with both time and effort. We would like to mention Charlotte Isaksson, Susanne Axmacher, and Anders Claréus at the Swedish Armed Forces HQ for their continuous engagement with us as authors and for commenting on numerous drafts of the book. We are also most grateful to Mayesha Alam at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, and Sahana Dharmapuri at Harvard University s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy. Robert s research assistants at Georgetown University have been incredibly helpful at different stages of the project. Many thanks to Ashley Frohwein, Rachel Friedman, Tessa Poppe and Karalie Palmer for your outstanding work. We are also most grateful to the Palgrave Macmillan team who not only saw the potential in this project, but who also masterfully supported us through the final phases to ensure that the manuscript reached its maximum potential. The help and input of all of these individuals has resulted in a final manuscript of far higher quality than what would otherwise have been possible. Throughout the research process, the authors have also benefited from the advice and contributions of many academics and practitioners. There are too many to thank by name, but we would be remiss if we did not thank those who have played a particularly notable role. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank numerous other people who in different ways have been involved in making this book happen: Brenda Opperman, member of the Commander ISAF Advisory and Assistance Team (COMISAF/CAAT), Krister Fahlstedt at the Swedish Armed Forces, Louise Olsson at the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Shane Quinlan at Georgetown University, Tom Adesko at Adesko Språkkonsult, and Anna Norrman Hedenmark at the Department for Peace and Conflict Research in Uppsala. The anonymous reviewers accurately and constructively pointed out weaknesses in the first draft. This helped us turn the initial research report into a book for a different audience. viii

Acknowledgements ix Importantly, this book would not have come to see the light of day without generous funding from the Swedish Armed Forces. The institutional homes of the researchers have also contributed tremendously to the writing process. We would like to thank, most importantly, the Center for Security Studies at Georgetown University and the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, the Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University, and Sthlm Policy Group. Finally, our families have once again provided us with the time and support necessary to complete this research. Special thanks go to Frank, Ditte, and Anna-Karin: there is no way of exaggerating the importance of your love and support to make our work possible without life completely crumbling, and we are, as ever, most grateful. With all this, it remains to be said that all lingering faults and errors in the book are entirely our own.

List of Abbreviations AOR CO COE EUFOR RD Congo EUFOR Tchad/RCA FHQ FMUP FS GA GFA GFP GMU HQ INGO ISAF KMU MET MOT NAP NBG NATO NGO NORDEFCO NORDSUP OD OHQ OMLT OPLAN OPORDER OSCE PoC PRT Area of Responsibility Commanding Officer Centre of Excellence European Union Force Democratic Republic of Congo European Union Force Chad/Central African Republic Field Headquarters Swedish Armed Forces Development Plan Swedish Continuation Force (contingent to ISAF) Gender Advisor Gender Field Advisor Gender Focal Point Basic Military Training Headquarters International Non-Governmental Organization International Security Assistance Force (Afghanistan) Complementary Military Training Mixed Engagement Team Military/Mobile Observation Teams National Action Plan Nordic Battle Group North Atlantic Treaty Organization Non-Governmental Organization Nordic Defence Cooperation Nordic Supportive Defence Structures Organizational Development (theory) Operation Headquarters Operational Mentor Liaison Teams Operation Plan Operation Order Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe Protection of Civilians Provincial Reconstruction Team (Afghanistan) x

List of Abbreviations xi RC North Sida SOP SWEDINT UNHCR UNSCR Regional Command North (Afghanistan) Swedish International Development Agency Standard Operating Procedure Swedish Armed Forces International Centre United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations Security Council Resolution