Still Homeland Defenders at Heart? Norwegian Military Culture in International Deployments

Abstract

This article analyses a cultural transformation taking place in Norwegian units deployed abroad as the framework for these operations shifted from UN to NATO command in the mid-1990s. In UN operations during and shortly after the Cold War, there was a cultural gap between the military at home and the units deployed abroad, and experiences from overseas operations were perceived as without relevance for national defence. After NATO became the preferred framework for Norwegian deployments, national military culture, which focused primarily on war-fighting skills and discipline, replaced the UN culture's focus on non-combat skills and practical problem-solving. This transformation had an impact on the Norwegian units' interaction with local cultures in the deployment area. But, since the identity of individual service members remained primarily linked to Norway and the Norwegian armed forces, the changes were of a practical rather than an ideological or motivational nature.