Warfare under scrutiny: British public perspectives and the British Army at war 2001-2014

Thesis

The information age has made Britain’s military operations since 2001 more visible to the public than ever before. It has strengthened connections between the public, political elites, and the military. Despite scholarly and practitioner literature suggesting consequences for the military’s operations, no systematic enquiry has examined their impact in this regard. This thesis addresses that gap by using British operations in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2014 as a case study, alongside comparative analysis of concurrent and later operations.

This study introduces the concept of Societal Operational Influence (SOI) to explain how political and military interpretations of public attitudes shape military behaviour. The research presents four key findings: (1) Public perceptions of soldiers are important to society’s appraisal of war, and are based on rational criteria—such as a campaign’s justifiability, success, and competent management—rather than on aversion to casualties. (2) Political and military elites consistently misinterpreted these public attitudes, resulting in significant impacts on campaigns to the lowest levels. (3) Society’s influence on operations is underrepresented in academic theory and military concepts, despite evidence of lasting effects on British military culture particularly regarding risk tolerance. (4) The extent of SOI varies depending on conflict intensity, public salience, and individual commanders’ responses. SOI can operate even without direct public engagement when elites act in anticipation of society’s responses.

These findings contribute to UK civil-military relations (CMR) theory by developing the understanding of society’s influence on the British military. They are likely to be applicable to states with similar CMR structures. They also update British understanding of the Clausewitzian relationship between the people, state, and military, arguing that public influence over modern warfare is greater than is usually recognised. These insights carry implications for the British military’s approach to the future use of force.

This thesis employs a mixed-methods approach, integrating media analysis, survey and polling data, previously unexamined secret archival materials, and elite interviews.

Authors: Shindler, A

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-ke8bmq44y
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: war in Afghanistan; British Army; NEWCOMBE; TELIC; civil-military relations; operation HERRICK
• Subjects: Civil-military relations