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Military identities, conventional capability and the politics of NATO standardisation at the beginning of the Second Cold War, 1970-1980

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 12:27 authored by Matthew Ford, Alexander Gould
This 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 Review

ISSN

0707-5332

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Issue

4

Volume

41

Page range

775-792

Department 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

2018-03-12

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2018-03-12

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2018-03-12

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