Multinationality as a Challenge for Armed Forces

Abstract

With the French Revolution that brought the formation of mass armies based upon conscription of all male citizens, it became inconceivable in Europe that armies were composed otherwise than by subjects of the own country. Service in the armed forces became a national duty to comply with, either voluntarily or compelled, since loyalty to the country or its sovereign did require so. Soldiers were submitted to a purely national power of command, they tendered an oath on their country and, during several wars, even risked their lives for it. This narrow link between the nation-state on the one hand and the armed forces on the other had been lasting until World War II, and only then did it successively become looser and looser. It even obscured the fact that there had also been times when armies comprised soldiers from different countries.

Citation

Klein, P. and Haltiner, K.W. (2005), "Multinationality as a Challenge for Armed Forces", Caforio, G. and Kümmel, G. (Ed.) Military Missions and their Implications Reconsidered: The Aftermath of September 11th (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 2), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 403-414. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(05)02022-9