Band of Brothers in U.N. Peacekeeping: Social Bonding Among Dutch Peacekeeping Veterans

Abstract

The shared experiences of war are commonly known to forge strong bonds among the participating soldiers. Through focus groups (N = 36) and a quantitative survey (N = 340), this study explores the bonding effect of United Nations peacekeeping among Dutch peacekeeping veterans. The veterans generally experience strong bonds with members of their former military unit, which are expressed in the need to exchange memories, share feelings, and renew contacts with former unit members. Peacekeepers younger than 35 years of age and older than 55 experience stronger bonding and have more actual contact with former unit members. This is true as well for veterans who have been deployed recently (less than 5 years ago) or more than 25 years ago. Social bonding seems especially strong when veterans look back on their mission experiences either very positively or very negatively.

Notes

1 As part of United Nations Protection Force, Dutchbat operated in the isolated safe area of Srebrenica, Bosnia, from November 1993 onward. On July 6, 1995, the Bosnian Serbs attacked the enclave of Srebrenica. On July 11th, the enclave fell into the hands of the Serbs, and the Dutch Battalion along with tens of thousands of refugees was surrounded on and around the compound in Potocari. The Bosnian Serbs separated the male refugees from the woman and children, transported them, and then massacred them. Approximately 7,000 Bosnian Muslims were killed. By government order, the Netherlands Institute for War Documentation conducted a large study on the decision to participate in this mission, the fall of the enclave, the role of the Dutch soldiers, and the reactions of Dutch politicians, the Ministry of Defense, the army, and the media to the tragic events (NIOD, 2002). Following the report, the Dutch government resigned and accepted political responsibility for all that went wrong before, during, and after this military operation, which constituted a “mission impossible” for Dutchbat. In April 2002, a parliamentary inquiry was started into the actions of Dutch politicians, commanders, and Dutchbat–III (Commission Parliamentary Inquiry Srebrenica, 2003).