Making Warriors in a Global Era
An Ethnographic Study of the Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando
By (author) Tone Danielsen Foreword by Anna Simons
Publication date:
15 August 2018Length of book:
242 pagesPublisher
Lexington BooksDimensions:
228x165mm6x9"
ISBN-13: 9781498561815
To understand wars and armed conflicts, we need to understand the inner logic of military institutions and warrior culture. In Making Warriors in a Global Era, Tone Danielsen employs ethnographic methods to analyze and discuss current debates among both military personnel and academics about the rise of the special operations forces and their effects on how armed conflicts are handled and wars are fought. Based on a decade of research and Danielsen's unprecedented access inside a Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando, Danielsen describes the culture, experiences, and skill sets of a special operations unit and explores the historical and political implications these types of units have on modern warfare and society as a whole.
The real value of Making Warriors is that it is an outstanding ethnography, a professional deep-dive into what the Norwegian Naval Special Operations Commando (Marinejegerkommandoen, MJK) is all about. . . . Danielsen’s work makes a significant contribution to the scholarly literature on continuity and change within the armed forces, specifically SOF, and thus achieves her primary aim. Written in an engaging and accessible style, with the occasional sprinkle of humour, she provides rich descriptions of the MJKculture and how it functions as a learning organization. . . . Overall, Making Warriors is an excellent book that offers insightful micro-and meso-level analyses, and it is replete with thick descriptions of life within MJK. It will be useful to readers with diverse backgrounds and interests, including military scholars and social scientists, anthropology students, and anyone interested in learning about small-nation Special Operations Forces or how to conduct top-notch ethnography. It is accessible to undergraduate readers and could easily be used as an exemplar text in a course on qualitative methods.Danielsennever brags about her accomplishments or flaunts her unprecedented access for the readers. She doesn’t have to.It is implicit as the reader follows along. Making Warriors is better than a tell-all book, it is a richly informative story written by a consummate professional and worth every minute spent reading it.