The British way in war: the UK approach to multinational operations

Abstract

In 2001, the newly established Joint Doctrine and Concepts Centre1 published the second version of British Defence Doctrine (Joint Warfare Publication 0-01 2001). In stark contrast with the traditional scepticism of the British military to written doctrine, the publication represented a constitutional statement for the British forces in the post-Cold War era. The document identified six essential elements of British defence doctrine; ‘the principles of war, the warfighting ethos, the manoeuvrist approach, the application of mission command, the joint, integrated and multinational nature of operations, the inherent flexibility and pragmatism of British doctrine’ (JWP 0-01 2001: 3-1). It also stressed the importance of multinational operations:the ability to operate with the armed forces of other nations is an essential quality to be deployed on operations [. . .]. A clear understanding of the ways in which other nations’ armed forces operate and the ability to merge units from several nations into one cohesive force, are increasingly important factors in the conduct of military operations.