Cultural differences: transformation and the future of American–Canadian defence relations

Abstract

The concept of an emerging Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) came to light in American military thinking in the late 1980s, and largely dealt with a new generation of military technologies which promised to alter the nature of modern warfare. In order to exploit these new technologies to their fullest, U.S. military planners set in motion the process of transformation. This article posits that transformation is very much the unique product of U.S. cultural influences. U.S. strategic culture is driven by technological optimism, while Canadian strategic culture is very conservative. As such, it is futile for the Canadian strategic community to attempt to copy directly transformation policies from the U.S. Canada must seek to develop its own approach to transformation.

Le concept d'une révolution émergente dans les affaires militaires (RMA) est apparu dans la réflexion militaire américaine à la fin des années 80 et a principalement porté sur une nouvelle génération de technologies militaires qui promettaient de modifier la nature de la guerre moderne. Afin de tirer le meilleur parti de ces nouvelles technologies, les planificateurs militaires américains ont déclenché ce processus de transformation. Cet article avance l'idée que cette transformation est vraiment le produit unique des influences culturelles américaines. La culture stratégique des États-Unis est déterminée par l'optimisme technologique, alors que celle du Canada est très conservatrice. À ce titre, il est vain que la communauté stratégique canadienne copie directement les politiques de transformation des États-Unis. Le Canada doit chercher à développer sa propre approche de la transformation.

Keywords:

• Canada
• United States
• military
• transformation
• RMA

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. James Fergusson for his extremely valuable comments on early drafts.

Notes

1. The term “strategic community” refers to a state's military and political leadership as well its defence-orientated bureaucrats and academics.

2. For example, the Napoleonic military revolution was driven by the socio-political influences of the French Revolution.

3. Owens, a former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, was one of the earliest, strongest and, due to his governmental position, most influential advocates of the RMA, and played a lead role in integrating it into the United States military.

4. For example, when analyzing the outcome of the Vietnam War, many American strategic analysts attempt to shift the focus away from the performance of American weapons systems in the field to seeking political explanations for the eventual American withdrawal.

5. For example, the Luddite movement found little popular support in the United States compared to the United Kingdom.

6. However, it is important to note that the RMA has its roots in the initial reforms introduced by AirLandBattle doctrine.

7. New Public Management refers to the wider trend of the influence of neoliberalism on the public service of Western countries, which originated in the 1980s.

8. Here, they earned a distinction from American President George W. Bush.

9. See Bratton (2002) and Breuer (2006) for an overview of transformation in Germany and France.