Turkish–dutch encounters in peace operations

Abstract

This article examines cooperation between the Dutch and the Turkish armed forces during two peacekeeping missions, respectively in Kosovo (KFOR, 1999–2000) and Kabul (ISAF, 2002–2003). It is based on a literature survey and interviews with officers and NCOs of both sides. The article deals with the collaboration between the two armed forces as well as the interaction with the local populations in both areas of operation. Differences in style and modes of operation are analysed, leading to some thoughts for reflection with respect to intercultural military cooperation and peacekeeping in Muslim countries. The article contends that commanders at all levels should be prepared for the intercultural dimension of working with military from other nations, especially if they are deployed in areas that are culturally distant from their own. In addition the scope of CIMIC activities could be expanded in order to win the hearts and minds of the local population.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the assistance received from Dr. S.A. Wasti (Sabanci Universitesi, Istanbul) and for the useful suggestions by Professor dr. G. Teitler, Major M. Bos-Bakx, Dr. P. Olsthoorn (all Royal Netherlands Military Academy), Dr. N. Wasti (Middle East Technical Universtiy, Ankara) and J. Schwerzel (Free University, Amsterdam).

Notes

M. Heper and A. Güney, ‘The Military and the Consolidation of Democracy: The Recent Turkish Experience’, Armed Forces and Society, Vol.26, No.4, 2000, pp.635–57, esp. p.646. This type of information is collected every two years, see, The Values of Turkish Society, Tesev (Turkish Economic and Social Studies), Report 35-03, Istanbul, 2003.

M. Heper and A. Güney, ‘The Military and the Consolidation of Democracy: The Recent Turkish Experience’, Armed Forces and Society, Vol.26, No.4, 2000, pp.635–57, esp. p.646. This type of information is collected every two years, see, The Values of Turkish Society, Tesev (Turkish Economic and Social Studies), Report 35-03, Istanbul, 2003; Heper and Güney, ‘The Military and Democracy in the Third Turkish Republic, Armed Forces and Society, Vol.22, No.4, 1996, pp.619–42; K. Yesilkagit, Policy Change under Military Rule. The Politics of Clergy-training Colleges in Turkey, Leiden: Leiden University Press, 2001.

Heper and Güney (n.1 above); Yesilkagit (n.2 above); S. Kinzer, Crescent and Star: Turkey between Two Worlds, New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2001, p.96.

E. Özbudun and E. Fuat Keyman, ‘Cultural Globalization in Turkey: Actors, Discourses and Strategies’, in P.L. Berger and S.P. Huntingdon (eds.), Many Globalizations. Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002, pp.296–319.

A. Varoğlu and A. Biçaksiz, ‘Volunteering for Risk: the Culture of Turkish Armed Forces’, in J. van der Meulen and J. Soeters (eds.), `Counting Casualties', special issue of Armed Forces and Society, Spring 2005.

This is extremely important for Turkish employees; see e.g. S.A. Wasti, ‘Cultural barriers in the transferability of Japanese and American human resources practices to developing countries: the Turkish case’, International Journal of Human Resources Management, Vol.9, No.4, 1998, pp.609–31 (esp. 617–19).

T.R. Fherenbach, This Kind of War: A Study in Unpreparedness, Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1963, ch.33.

See S. Kinzer (see n.3 above), p.96; this refers to the banned publication of Mehmet's book, a report of critical accounts of conscripts who were involved in operations in south-east Turkey.

See S. Kinzer (see n.3 above), p.96; this refers to the banned publication of Mehmet's book, a report of critical accounts of conscripts who were involved in operations in south-east Turkey, chs 5, 7.

A. Vogelaar et al., Leiderschap in crisisomstandigheden [Leadership in crisis situations], The Hague: Staatsdrukkerij en Uitgeverij, 1997.

See J. Soeters, ‘The Dutch Military and the Use of Violence’, Netherlands Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.37, No.1, 2001. pp.24–37.

S.F. Paşa, H. Kabasakal and M. Bodur, ‘Society, Organisations and Leadership in Turkey’, Applied Psychology: an International Review, Vol.50, No.4, 2001, pp.559–89 (esp. 573).

D.B. Ralston, Importing the European Army. The Introduction of European Military Techniques and Institutions into the Extra-European World, 1600–1914, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1990, ch.3. For the cultural aspect, see J. Soeters, Value orientations in military academies: a 13-country study, Armed Forces and Society, Vol.24, No.1, 1997, pp.7–32.

See the penultimate sentence in the valedictory letter from the Turkish company commander, Capt. I.Z. Eser, in R. Abels, M. van Pelt and P. Jacobs (eds.), Licht boven Oharovac [Light over Oharovac], Wezep, 1999. Tactical control means the authority to give orders without the power to assess the results of the work. The latter is of course possible in the case of full control.

L. Sion, Changing from Green to Blue Beret: Dutch Peacekeepers in Bosnia and Kosovo, Amsterdam: Free University Press, 2004.

Wasti (n.6 above), esp. 620; see also Paşa, Kabasakal and Bodur (n.12 above); H. Kabasakal and M. Bodur, ‘Arabic Cluster: A Bridge between East and West’, Journal of World Business, Vol.37, No.1, 2002, pp.40–54 (esp. 47).

This lack of pro-active behaviour among Turkish employees has also been observed in empirical studies on the Turkish business sector, a consequence of the paternalistic management style in Turkish organizations. See Z. Aycan et al., ‘Impact of Culture on Human Resource Management Practices: A 10-country Study’, Applied Psychology: An International Review, Vol.49, No.1, 2000, pp.192–221 (esp. 209–11).

Wasti (n.6 above), esp. 620; Kabasakal and Bodur (n.16 above), esp. 47.

E. Outshoorn, ‘Drielandenpunt vol prikkeldraad’ [Barbed wire on the borders], De Volkskrant, 29 March 2003.

A. van Iterson, ‘Rules of Action in Dutch Work Organizations’, Netherlands Journal of Social Sciences, Vol.37, No.1, 2000, pp.176–87.

This was stated by a German officer focusing on German–Dutch military cooperation. See J. Soeters and R. Moelker, ‘German–Dutch Cooperation in the Heat of Kabul’, in G. Kümmel and S. Collmer (eds.), Soldat-Militär-Politik-Gesellschaft: Facetten militärbezogener sozialwissenschaftlicher Forschung, Baden-Baden: Nomos Verlag, 2003, pp.63–75.

J. Soeters and M. Bos-Bakx, ‘Cross-cultural Issues in Peacekeeping Operations’, in A. Adler and Th. Britt (eds.), The Psychology of the Peacekeeper. Lessons from the Field, New York: Greenwood, 2003, pp.283–98. On the US Army, see R.R. Caniglia, ‘US and British Approaches to Force Protection’, Military Review, July–Aug. 2001, pp.73–81. On the paternalistic style of management in Turkish organizations, see Paşa, Kabasakal and Bodur (n.12 above); Kabasakal and Bodur (n.16 above).

B.L. Kirkman and D.L. Shapiro, ‘The impact of cultural values on employee resistance to teams: toward a model of globalized self-managing work team effectiveness’, Academy of Management Review, Vol.22, No.3, 1997, pp.730–57.

In the Netherlands, the uncertainties and even shortcomings of the performance of self-managing teams are beginning to be noticed; for a summary of those shortcommings see A. Sinclair, ‘The Tyranny of a Team Ideology’, Organization Studies, Vol.13, No.4, pp.611–26. On the other hand, besides a paternalistic style of management, working on team integration is considered important in Turkish organizations. Wasti (n.6 above), esp. 622; Paşa et al., (n.12 above), esp. 575].

Kabasakal and Bodur (n.16 above), esp. 53.

Wasti (n.6 above), esp. 615; Paşa, Kabasakal and Bodur (n.12 above), esp. 569, 575; Kabasakal and Bodur (n.16 above), esp. 46.

A description of this feeling among Muslims is given in A. Akbar, Discovering Islam: Making Sense of Muslim History and Society, London: Routledge, 2002. An example of the belittling way Muslim countries are treated by some westerners is B. Lewis, What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response, London: Phoenix, 2002.

M. Bollen et al. (eds.), ‘Civil-military Cooperation: A Marriage of Reason’, special issue of Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies Vol.5, 2002. See also, A. Van Loon, ‘CIMIC in the Early Phases of the KFOR Mission in Kosovo’, Netherlands Annual Review of Military Studies Vol.5, 2002, pp.117–28.

Paşa, Kabasakal and Bodur (n.12 above), esp. 580.

Özbudun and Keyman (n.4 above), esp. 297.

G.R. Jones and J. M. George, ‘The experience and evolution of trust: implications for cooperation and teamwork’, Academy of Management Review, Vol.23, No.3, 1998, pp.531–46.