Military Culture 2.0: The Female Cadet’s Approach, Feminine Competencies, and Pan-Critical Feminism - Drawing examples from American and Norwegian Special Forces

Authors

  • Mariah Loukou AdvanceHE

Abstract

Military values of honour, courage and loyalty are synonymous to male soldiers due to the association of the military with the alpha-male narrative. However, the everchanging nature of war urges for a new approach. One that is identified with female cadets and feminine competencies. The article explores examples from the U.S. and Norway to show practically how military training and education can benefit from the female soldiers’ approach. To back this argument, the author, explores feminist institutionalism and body politics. The author then suggests a new theoretical tool, pan-critical feminism, as the means to incorporate female values and competencies to represent the changing cohort of military institutions. The article finally discusses military culture through the lens of organisational culture to show that there is space for testing this idea, even though social perceptions create barriers to its implementation

Author Biography

Mariah Loukou, AdvanceHE

Mariah Loukou is an Associate Fellow with AdvanceHE, holds a Master’s degree in Intelligence and International Security from King’s College London, and is currently completing her PhD in Military & Strategic Studies at City, University of London. Her research interests include female soldiers, gender & feminist studies, and military training. Her article titled ‘How Can the United States move towards Gender-Neutral Special Forces? Lessons from the Norwegian Military’ was published in Expeditions with MCUP in 2020. She is also a higher education professional with extensive experience in governance and policy development roles. Recently, she ran a webinar titled ‘The Golden Rule of Policy Making’ in the Association of Research Managers and Administrators Conference 2021. Finally, Mariah  presented her research at the International Studies Association conference in March 2022.

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Published

2022-07-24

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Articles