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The last two decades have witnessed a rapid rise in the use, size and capability of many western Special Operations Forces (SOF). A response to the global jihadist threat, the growing presence, prominence and technology-enabled lethality of SOF in conflict zones has resulted in increased scholarly attention. Some have argued that their rise is indicative of important and ongoing changes in the character of war itself. One of the most influential of these works is Steven Niva's study of the transformation of US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Forces in Iraq. Niva argues that JSOC (more accurately its Task Force 714 Command Headquarters, henceforth TF714) was forced to adopt a networked organizational structure to counter Al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI). For Niva, this transformation provided evidence of a shift towards ‘counter-net’ and ‘chaoplexic’ forms of warfare conceptualized by Bousquet in this journal. This article uses new primary and secondary sources to critique these claims. It argues that although a network approach was an important part of TF714's transformation, it was only one part. Instead, JSOC's transformation is more accurately understood through a post-Fordist industrial framework of the centralization of management control and the simultaneous decentralization of decision-making; the integration of core and periphery forces; outsourcing; and a network approach to knowledge. From this analysis, it argues that post-Fordist, rather than network or chaoplexic theory, best describes even the most networked military organizations in the twenty-first century, and that more broadly, fully networked warfare is unlikely given the frictions associated with the coming ‘binary’ battlefield.

Gallantry medals are invested with deep significance not only by the armed forces but also by civilian society. In the last decade, there has been a debate in sociology about whether the medallic regime has become post-heroic or whether it has professionalized. This article contributes to these debates by focusing on the topic of fraudulent medals. Fake medals are very rare; there has been one proven case in the United Kingdom in the last 20 years. However, precisely because fake medals are the exception, their pathologies illustrate the processes by which medals are actually awarded with particular clarity. This analysis of the fake medal shows that gallantry awards have professionalized; in the UK medals have become more meritocratic, recognizing skill not status. The awarding process is also more objective. Yet, its very professionalism is ironically vulnerable to a specific type of fraud by skilful but cynical citation writers.

Ce travail analyse le corpus de reference des theses francaises concernant la recherche sur la formation des adultes soutenues depuis 2010 publie dans le precedent article (VdR6) de cette rubrique. Celui-ci est compose de deux groupes de theses, le « noyau dur » et le « second cercle ». Le premier regroupe les 175 theses explicitement centrees sur cette thematique et reperables par une simple requete bibliographique ; le second y ajoute 444 autres contenant des sous-parties eclairantes pour ce champ identifiees grâce a la composition de leurs jurys et une analyse automatique des termes employes de leurs resumes. L’analyse de ce double corpus confirme que les theses du noyau sont aux trois quarts soutenues en sciences de l’education tandis que celles du second cercle ne le sont plus qu’aux deux tiers ; sur l’ensemble des deux listes, on constate aussi que l’âge median des doctorants est largement plus eleve que dans les autres disciplines (10 ans d’ecart avec la sociologie). Enfin, les analyses lexicales montrent que ce corpus peut se decouper en quatre classes de thematiques (analyse de l’activite des enseignants, politiques de formation, apprentissages linguistiques des adultes, approches biographiques et identitaires) qui peuvent s’affiner en six (avec apparition d’une sous-classe liee a l’apprenance et aux soignants et d’une autre liee a l’autoconfrontation, l’analyse de l’activite).

© The Author(s) 2020. Rapoport's conceptualization of the last, religious wave of four global waves remains highly influential. But it, and other typologies, have placed too little emphasis on the influence of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the evolution of global jihadist activities. This article makes two new contributions by developing both a new ICT-based typology for understanding jihadist evolutions, and by focusing on successful attacks. Our central argument is that ICTs' impact on global jihadism has facilitated dramatic transformations of its strategy, organization and tactics since the 1990s, and that these can be understood as four overlapping iterations. ‘Jihadism 1.0’ describes the hierarchical, top-down directed and overseas financed and trained terrorist organizations that conducted iconic attacks at the turn of the millennium. Jihadism has since evolved into ‘Jihadism 2.0’ and then ‘Jihadism 3.0’. Jihadism 2.0 recognizes that a number of smaller, coordinated attacks can have a global impact. Jihadism 3.0 is inspired terrorism that has no links to the central terror organization, utilizing individuals and crude tactics. Finally, jihadism is evolving toward ‘Jihadism 4.0’, or cyberterrorism. We argue this typology provides a useful basis for scholars and practitioners to conceptualize the ICT dynamics influencing global jihadism, and these may be applicable to other global terrorists. The conclusion analyses how counter-terrorism services can respond to these evolutions and charts areas for future research. UK Research and Innovation Future Leaders Fellowship grant reference MR/S034412/1 and the GLOBSEC Intelligence Reform Initiative

There is growing evidence that simultaneous to the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), a less obvious, but equally profound, Revolution in Military Logistics (RML) has occurred that shapes and un...

Cet article est le sixieme de la rubrique dediee a la recherche francophone sur la formation des adultes. Il fournit d’abord la liste actualisee au 15 avril 2020 des 174 theses reperees dans la base interuniversitaire Sudoc comme mentionnant explicitement ce champ et soutenues depuis le 1er janvier 2010 (dont 39 posterieures au 1er janvier 2018). Sachant que ce type de requete bibliometrique ne remonte automatiquement qu’environ 50 % des theses jugees interessantes par les chercheurs du domaine, l’article s’interesse aussi a identifier un second cercle en rassemblant cette fois d’autres theses : celles dont une partie significative est consacree a des questions clefs de ce champ, sans pour autant que la these soit 100 % dediee a une recherche en formation des adultes. Ainsi, autour du noyau dur, il decrit et caracterise un second cercle de 444 theses sur la meme periode (dont 82 a partir du 1er janvier 2018) dont la lecture peut egalement avoir un interet pour les chercheurs en formation des adultes. Celles-ci ont ete identifiees par une methode en deux temps : un reservoir a d’abord ete constitue avec toutes les theses dont les jurys comportaient des jures reperes comme « garants formation des adultes » ; ensuite on en a extrait par machine learning celles de ces theses dont les resumes s’approchaient de sept thematiques representatives de la recherche en formation des adultes.

In this article, Patrick Bury and Michael Chertoff argue that the re-emergence of near-peer competition and the increasing complexity and pace of events in the next decade mean that Western service...

Cet article est le cinquieme de la rubrique dediee a la recherche francophone sur la formation des adultes. Il est consacre aux caracteristiques des theses recentes liees a ce champ. Apres avoir complete la liste des 40 theses soutenues en 2014-2015 (voir article n° 1 de la presente rubrique) par 42 autres soutenues en 2016-2017, il s’interesse a leur adossement disciplinaire ainsi qu’a l’âge des doctorants. Ce travail confirme d’abord deux constats anterieurs : d’une part le fait qu’il n’est toujours pas possible de definir un contour precis a ce champ via des requetes bibliometriques en raison du caractere desuet de l’appellation « education des adultes » encore employee dans l’indexation, d’autre part son caractere largement multidisciplinaire. Si l’on considere neanmoins que cette liste de theses fournit une vision d’ensemble du noyau de la thematique, on peut tirer deux autres conclusions. La premiere concerne la specificite des pyramides des âges des doctorants et jury (âges de 18 ans de plus que la mediane de ceux de tous les autres champs de recherche confondus) ; la seconde porte sur les disciplines de rattachement (plus de la moitie en sciences de l’education et l’autre moitie tres dispersees, avec quelques isolats dans lesquels les jurys sont specifiques, comme les aspects langagiers). En revanche, les analyses lexicales temporelles se confirment toujours comme etant excessivement difficiles a conduire, au regard de la grande dispersion des centres d’interet et des vocabulaires, en lien avec l’absence catastrophique de thesaurus.

BackgroundElectronic mental (e-mental) health offers an opportunity to overcome many challenges such as cost, accessibility, and the stigma associated with mental health, and most people with lived experiences of mental problems are in favor of using applications and websites to manage their mental health problems. However, the use of these new technologies remains weak in the area of mental health and psychiatry.ObjectiveThis study aimed to characterize the social representations associated with e-mental health by all actors to implement new technologies in the best possible way in the health system.MethodsA free-association task method was used. The data were subjected to a lexicometric analysis to qualify and quantify words by analyzing their statistical distribution, using the ALCESTE method with the IRaMuTeQ software.ResultsIn order of frequency, the terms most frequently used to describe e-mental health in the whole corpus are: “care” (n=21), “internet” (n=21), “computing” (n=15), “health” (n=14), “information” (n=13), “patient” (n=12), and “tool” (n=12). The corpus of text is divided into 2 themes, with technological and computing terms on one side and medical and public health terms on the other. The largest family is focused on “care,” “advances,” “research,” “life,” “quality,” and “well-being,” which was significantly associated with users. The nursing group used very medical terms such as “treatment,” “diagnosis,” “psychiatry”,” and “patient” to define e-mental health.ConclusionsThis study shows that there is a gap between the representations of users on e-mental health as a tool for improving their quality of life and those of health professionals (except nurses) that are more focused on the technological potential of these digital care tools. Developers, designers, clinicians, and users must be aware of the social representation of e-mental health conditions uses and intention of use. This understanding of everyone’s stakes will make it possible to redirect the development of tools to adapt them as much as possible to the needs and expectations of the actors of the mental health system.

BACKGROUND Electronic mental (e-mental) health offers an opportunity to overcome many challenges such as cost, accessibility, and the stigma associated with mental health, and most people with lived experiences of mental problems are in favor of using applications and websites to manage their mental health problems. However, the use of these new technologies remains weak in the area of mental health and psychiatry. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to characterize the social representations associated with e-mental health by all actors to implement new technologies in the best possible way in the health system. METHODS A free-association task method was used. The data were subjected to a lexicometric analysis to qualify and quantify words by analyzing their statistical distribution, using the ALCESTE method with the IRaMuTeQ software. RESULTS In order of frequency, the terms most frequently used to describe e-mental health in the whole corpus are: “care” (n=21), “internet” (n=21), “computing” (n=15), “health” (n=14), “information” (n=13), “patient” (n=12), and “tool” (n=12). The corpus of text is divided into 2 themes, with technological and computing terms on one side and medical and public health terms on the other. The largest family is focused on “care,” “advances,” “research,” “life,” “quality,” and “well-being,” which was significantly associated with users. The nursing group used very medical terms such as “treatment,” “diagnosis,” “psychiatry”,” and “patient” to define e-mental health. CONCLUSIONS This study shows that there is a gap between the representations of users on e-mental health as a tool for improving their quality of life and those of health professionals (except nurses) that are more focused on the technological potential of these digital care tools. Developers, designers, clinicians, and users must be aware of the social representation of e-mental health conditions uses and intention of use. This understanding of everyone’s stakes will make it possible to redirect the development of tools to adapt them as much as possible to the needs and expectations of the actors of the mental health system.

For too long military cohesion scholars have focused on regular infantry forces. This article examines the impact of the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) policy on cohesion, professionalism, and discipline among British reserve logisticians. In doing so, it makes three significant contributions to the cohesion literature. Firstly, addressing scholars’ almost exclusive focus on regular infantry, it presents the first academic study on cohesion in British reserve logistics forces. Secondly, in detailing how cohesion in these forces is based on interpersonal rather than professional bonds, it argues that the locus of cohesion and discipline in these forces is different to that recently identified in the regular professional infantry. Thirdly, the article argues that while FR20 is gradually changing many of British reserve norms, the organizational realities of reserve service continue to limit the policy's impact. The evidence presented may be theoretically applicable to other reserve and noncombat forces in future cohesion research.

Contrasting the classical explanation of military group cohesion as sustained by interpersonal bonds, recent scholars have highlighted the importance of ritualized communication, training and drills in explaining effective military performance in professional armies. While this has offered a welcome addition to the cohesion literature and a novel micro-sociological method of examining cohesion, its primary evidential base has been combat groups. Indeed, despite their prominent role in directing operations over the past decade, the British Army's officer corps has received relatively little attention from sociologists during this period. No attempt has been made to explain cohesion in the officer corps. Using a similar method to recent cohesion scholars, this paper seeks to address this imbalance by undertaking a micro-sociology of one ritual in particular: ‘Barossa Night’ in the Royal Irish Regiment. Firstly, it draws on the work of Durkheim to examine how cohesion amongst the officer corps is created and sustained through a dense array of practises during formal social rituals. It provides evidence that the use of rituals highlights that social solidarity is central to understanding officer cohesion. Secondly, following Hockey's work on how private soldiers negotiate order, the paper shows how this solidarity in the officer corps is based on a degree of negotiated order and the need to release organizational tensions inherent in a strictly hierarchical rank structure. It highlights how the awarding of gallantry medals can threaten this negotiated order and fuel deviancy. In examining this behaviour, the paper shows that even amongst an officer class traditionally viewed as the elite upholders of organizational discipline, the negotiation of rank and hierarchy can be fluid. How deviant behaviour is later accepted and normalized by senior officers indicates that negotiated order is as important to understanding cohesion in the British Army's officer corps as it is amongst private soldiers.

One gets the sense that many British and US veterans could relate to the title and thesis of Theo Farrell’s masterful analysis of the first 15 years of the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Indeed, Farre...

The British Army Reserve, and in particular its logistics component, is currently undergoing profound organisational transformation as part of the Future Reserves 2020 (FR20) program. Yet, to date there has been no sustained quantitative analysis of perceptions of cohesion, readiness and morale in the Army Reserve. Moreover, there has been little quantitative examination of FR20’s impact to date. This paper addresses these gaps in the literature by undertaking an examination of the above variables using survey data from a representative sample of AR logistics soldiers collected longitudinally. It finds that cohesion is highly important in explaining variance in perceptions of readiness and morale, and that perceptions of cohesion, readiness and morale are relatively high in the force. Nevertheless, the data indicates that FR20 has failed to increase these significantly over time. Similarly, it finds that confidence in FR20 delivering increased military capability is also declining. These findings are important for understanding FR20’s impact to date and future trajectory.

The British Army Reserve (AR), and in particular its logistics component, is undergoing profound changes. The Future Reserves 2020 policy aims to expand the AR and make it more deployable on operations. However, to date, FR20 has struggled to attract the recruits required to man this more deployable reserve force, despite recruitment campaigns offering increased monetary benefits. This study sampled AR logistics soldiers’ reasons for joining, remaining in service, and mobilizing when deployed. Consistent with the previous research, the study found that soldiers who joined for institutional reasons were more associated with longer career intentions and mobilizing for intrinsic reasons. Soldiers who joined for occupational reasons were less satisfied with all elements of reserve service and deployed in order to fulfill their contracts. These trends suggest that recruitment campaigns that stress the pecuniary benefits of reserve service may attract soldiers less committed to reserve service and deployments and who are harder to retain.

Bury Patrick. Quatre générations d'historiens anglo-saxons devant le Second Empire. In: Revue d’histoire moderne et contemporaine, tome 21 N°1, Janvier-mars 1974. L'historiographie du Second Empire. pp. 86-93.