Understanding Civil-Military Interaction

Book excerpt: A novel examination of civil-military interaction in particular between militaries and humanitarian actors, in light of the so-called 'Norwegian model' that espouses a clear divide between political and humanitarian (or military and civilian - the model is in fact unclear) actors, while maintaining a tight coordination between them. The Norwegian government has significantly reduced their own military's capacity in the field of civil-military interaction, raising the question as to whether knowledge and skills in this field are necessary. Using a multi-actor security framework, this book examines whether or not the Norwegian government is correct in its assumptions (about both the model and civil-military knowledge amongst military personnel) and concludes that the Norwegian model is a well-meaning but inefficient and problematic model in reality. Although the case study focuses on Norway, the lessons learned are relevant to all nations engaged in civil-military operations.