Abstract
How do militaries ensure their monopoly of force when they have to compete with commercial employers? This paper addresses this question by comparing the Royal Army of Netherlands with the German Bundeswehr. While both have moved from being conscription armies to all- volunteer forces, they have done so at different times and exhibit differences with respect to their historical evolution and international engagement. Both armies offer therefore interesting laboratories to examine what are, thus far, largely theoretical but related arguments in connection with military recruitment practices, including the claims that armed forces in light of heightened competition from the private sector increasingly show signs of marketization and are losing their unique character. Based on a content analysis of recruitment videos of the German and Dutch militaries and an organizational culture model, we suggest that marketization appears not the only strategy to react to dwindling numbers in personnel. Instead, and depending on their military culture and competitive pressures, armed forces may also respond by amplifying their military character.
Panel: What Do You Want to Die For? Military Recruitment in Comparative Perspective
Cite this presentation
@inproceedings{eiss-2019-we-are-army-after-all-military-recruitment-in-the-netherlands-and-germany,
author = {Jutta Joachim and Andrea Schneiker},
title = {We Are Army After All? Military Recruitment in the Netherlands and Germany},
booktitle = {European Security Studies Conference 2019},
year = {2019},
url = {https://eiss-europa.com/papers/2019-we-are-army-after-all-military-recruitment-in-the-netherlands-and-germany.html}
}