Sympathy, the Cement of Interoperability

Abstract

The authors present the findings of ten years of research concerning binational military cooperation in the First German-Netherlands Corps, founded in 1995. The start of this binational corps was accompanied with some worries because the interaction between Germans and Dutch in the populations at large was not considered to run smoothly. The authors focus on a well-known hypothesis from intercultural theory, claiming that frequency of contact is likely to foster feelings of sympathy. The data demonstrate that during the ten years of study the servicemen and -women of both nations have converged in their feelings of sympathy toward one another; in addition, the general hypothesis is confirmed. Servicemen and -women of other NATO member states entering the corps's headquarters since 2003 may help to create a more international atmosphere, in which the integration model of cultural interaction (instead of the assimilation and separation model) stands relatively more chance of success.