The Cultural Backpack : Training soldiers to operate in unfamiliar environments : A research to the effects of the current cultural training programmes in the Dutch military and recommendations for the future
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2008-11
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en
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Abstract
Since the start of a significant participation by the Dutch
armed forces in peace operations, the Dutch more or less
assumed that they possess an almost natural sense of cultural
sensitivity. This ‘natural ability’ supposedly manifested itself in
the so called ‘Dutch Approach’. The believed natural ability was
thought to be rooted in a combination of a colonial past and
the current multicultural society in the Netherlands. However,
recent developments in Dutch society and in mission areas
showed the fallacy of the assumption of a ‘natural ability’ in
cultural sensitivity. Recent research has shown that in Dutch
society in general (and therefore also in the military) many
people have developed a more negative attitude to people from
a different culture. Furthermore, today’s missions take place
in areas where a positive attitude no longer suffices to gain
the ‘hearts and minds’ of the local population. Consequently,
soldiers need to have adequate knowledge of local cultures and
customs to successfully communicate with the people in their
areas of operations. The development of this knowledge should
exceed the educational programmes in the current mission
preparation phase.
The existing cultural training programmes designed for Uruzgan,
involve one day of training, consisting of combination of lectures
and role-play with Afghans. Besides this day of training, troops
also visit a mosque where they are provided with general
information about Islamic practices. The main objective of these
training activities is the transfer of knowledge and learning
correct behaviour. This training is called ‘Cultural Awareness
Training’ (CAT programme). It is questionable whether this
particular cultural training programme has the desired effect. Do
the current cultural training programmes generate the required
effects? Therefore the main questions of this thesis are:
•What are the desired effects that the armed forces want to
achieve in their cultural training programmes?
•What are the culture training methods that need to be
used to generate the desired effects in soldiers during their
mission?
•Do the current cultural training programmes of the Dutch
military comply with these training methods?
•Are the current Dutch cultural training programmes
effective in generating the desired effects?
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen