Warriors with a heart: Why risk it? Change and continuity in the Norwegian Army's role-perception

Abstract

After the Cold War, the Norwegian Armed Forces was without a job, and a gradual shift turned the Norwegian soldiers away from their initial role-perception of a citizen soldier towards a more professional warrior-role. This new role-perception has since been institutionalized and seen as the desired role-perception among employees in the Norwegian Army. This thesis seeks to answer the following research question: Is the role-perception thought to have emerged within the Norwegian Army during the operation in Afghanistan (2006-2012) still valid today, especially considering the colder climate in the post-Crimea security environment? By conducting in-depth interviews with students at the Norwegian Military Academy and the Norwegian Defence Command and Staff College this thesis found that the role-perception of a warrior still have an impact on the students which will be the future leaders of the Norwegian Army. The warrior-perception is seen as a golden standard and something to aspire to. Nevertheless, the role-perception of a citizen soldier still prevail among the soldiers in my sample. They see themselves mainly as protectors of the homeland, its people and its values, and need to find meaning within that framework to be willing to take and sacrifice life. Whether this can be seen as a consequence of a colder climate in the post-Crimea security environment is harder to answer. This thesis finds it difficult to conclude if the role-perception of a citizen soldier has emerged as a consequence of the changed security climate or simply have been resilient to the changes in role-perception thought to have been caused by the increased involvement in international operations. Research on, and understanding of, the dominant role-perception as an aspect of civil-military relations is important because it can impact the effectiveness of soldiers as well as the relationship between the Army, civilians and politicians. If politicians frame operations and reforms in a way that does not cohere with the role-perception of the soldier this could result in a sharper distinction between the civilian sphere and the military sphere. Knowledge on role-perception is therefore important to take into account when new reforms are decided upon and implemented.