“No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations
Discipline forms the backbone of all military organisations. While discipline is traditionally associated with draconian punishment, this association is increasingly only applied to non-Western contexts. African rebel movements and similar, weak organisations are represented especially often as lack...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2015-01-01
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| Series: | Africa Spectrum |
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| Online Access: | http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/857 |
| _version_ | 1818453081003655168 |
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| author | Ilmari Käihkö |
| author_facet | Ilmari Käihkö |
| author_sort | Ilmari Käihkö |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Discipline forms the backbone of all military organisations. While discipline is traditionally associated with draconian punishment, this association is increasingly only applied to non-Western contexts. African rebel movements and similar, weak organisations are represented especially often as lacking non-coercive means of instilling discipline. This article explores the utility of coercive discipline in one such context – the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003). I argue that Liberia’s weak military organisations faced significant restrictions when it came to employing direct coercion. Executions, which are often equated with coercion in existing literature, threatened to rive the already frail organisations. Even other formal instruments of discipline, such as military hierarchies and rules and regulations, remained contested throughout the war. Consequently, more indirect means were adopted. Ultimately, the main users of coercion were not military organisations, but peers. This suggests that it is easier for strong organisations to coerce their members, and that the relationship between coercion and organisational strength may need to be reassessed. Furthermore, existing positive perceptions of camaraderie between broth¬ers-in-arms requires re-evaluation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:33:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-79b84afd20da49f68d9a665cb4bf4786 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1868-6869 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T21:33:18Z |
| publishDate | 2015-01-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Africa Spectrum |
| spelling | doaj.art-79b84afd20da49f68d9a665cb4bf47862022-12-21T22:46:38ZengSAGE PublishingAfrica Spectrum1868-68692015-01-01502329“No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military OrganisationsIlmari Käihkö0Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala UniversityDiscipline forms the backbone of all military organisations. While discipline is traditionally associated with draconian punishment, this association is increasingly only applied to non-Western contexts. African rebel movements and similar, weak organisations are represented especially often as lacking non-coercive means of instilling discipline. This article explores the utility of coercive discipline in one such context – the Second Liberian Civil War (1999–2003). I argue that Liberia’s weak military organisations faced significant restrictions when it came to employing direct coercion. Executions, which are often equated with coercion in existing literature, threatened to rive the already frail organisations. Even other formal instruments of discipline, such as military hierarchies and rules and regulations, remained contested throughout the war. Consequently, more indirect means were adopted. Ultimately, the main users of coercion were not military organisations, but peers. This suggests that it is easier for strong organisations to coerce their members, and that the relationship between coercion and organisational strength may need to be reassessed. Furthermore, existing positive perceptions of camaraderie between broth¬ers-in-arms requires re-evaluation.http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/857political science, war studies, area studiescivil wars, armed forces/military units, social cohesion, discipline300, 305, 320, 350Liberia1989-2003 |
| spellingShingle | Ilmari Käihkö “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations Africa Spectrum political science, war studies, area studies civil wars, armed forces/military units, social cohesion, discipline 300, 305, 320, 350 Liberia 1989-2003 |
| title | “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations |
| title_full | “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations |
| title_fullStr | “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations |
| title_full_unstemmed | “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations |
| title_short | “No die, no rest� Coercive Discipline in Liberian Military Organisations |
| title_sort | a€oeno die no resta€ coercive discipline in liberian military organisations |
| topic | political science, war studies, area studies civil wars, armed forces/military units, social cohesion, discipline 300, 305, 320, 350 Liberia 1989-2003 |
| url | http://journals.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/857 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT ilmarikaihka aœnodienorestacoercivedisciplineinliberianmilitaryorganisations |