The duality of tactical thought : a study of how Swedish land forces' commanders view tactics in irregular warfare

摘要

This is a sociological study of the views of officers in the Swedish Army and itsAmphibious Forces on tactics in Irregular Warfare (IW), in particular,Counterinsurgency (COIN). IW comprises struggles, where the military weaker partuses an indirect approach with smaller units and integrates the civilian and militarydimensions in a violence spectrum including subversion, terrorism, Guerrilla Warfareand infantry actions. IW is the main armed warfare style in insurgencies. COIN is thecombined political, military, economic, social and legal actions in counter insurgencies.Data has been collected by means of interviews with almost all (n =43) officers, whowere either commanding battalions or rifle and manoeuvre companies while undergoingtraining for general warfare and international operations. The main theoretical andmethodological inspiration is the traditional one for research on social fields,inaugurated by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. The statistical technique used isMultiple Correspondence Analysis. As a background and context base, an inquiryinspired by the Begriffsgechichte (Conceptual History) tradition explores the genesisand development of understandings of the term Irregular Warfare. The research questionis outlined as; “how can contemporary Swedish military thought on tactics in IrregularWarfare be characterized using descriptive patterns, mapped in relation to backgroundfactors and normative standards?The most significant findings are that there are two main opposing notions separatingthe officers’ views on tactics in Irregular Warfare: (1) a focus on larger, combat orientedand collectively operating military units versus smaller and larger, more intelligenceoriented and dispersed operating units, and (2) a focus on military tasks and kineticeffects versus military and civilian tasks as well as “soft” effects. The distribution ofthese views can be presented as a two-dimensional space structured by the two axes.This space represents four categories of tactics, partly diverging from normativemilitary standards for Counterinsurgency. This social space of standpoints showsdifferent structural tendencies for background factors of social and cultural character,particularly dominant concerning military backgrounds, international missionexperiences and civilian education. Compared to military standards forCounterinsurgency, the two tactical types characterized by a Regular Warfare mind-setstands out as counter-normative.Signs of creative thought on military practice and theory, as well as a still persistentRegular Warfare doxa are apparent. Power struggles might thus develop, effecting thetransformation to a broadened warfare culture with an enhanced focus also on IrregularWarfare. The result does not support research results arguing for a convergence ofmilitary thought in the European transformation of Armed Forces. The main argumentgoes beyond tactics and suggests sociological analysis on reciprocal effects regardingstrategy, operational art, tactics as well as leadership, concerning the mind-set andpreferences for Regular, Irregular and Hybrid Warfare.