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Military identities, conventional capability and the politics of NATO standardisation at the beginning of the Second Cold War, 1970-1980
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 12:27 authored by Matthew Ford, Alexander GouldThis paper uses equipment standardisation as a lens for examining power relationships and the importance of military identity in framing the development of NATO conventional capability. In the face of the Warsaw Pact's overwhelming military capacity the logic of standardisation was compelling. Standardising equipment and making military forces interoperable reduced logistics overlap, increased the tempo of operations and allowed partners to optimise manufacturing capacity. Applied carefully, standardisation would help NATO mount a successful conventional defence of Western Europe, a crucial aspect of the Alliance's flexible response strategy. In this paper we apply Actor Network Theory to standardisation discussions thereby revealing the incoherence and volatility of NATO's collective strategic thinking and the vast networks of countervailing interests on which this is based.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
The International History ReviewISSN
0707-5332Publisher
Taylor & FrancisExternal DOI
Issue
4Volume
41Page range
775-792Department affiliated with
- International Relations Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Sussex Centre for Conflict and Security Research Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2018-03-12First Open Access (FOA) Date
2018-03-12First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2018-03-12Usage metrics
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