The Challenge of Strategic Communication in Multinational Military Operations: Approaches by the United States and Germany in the ISAF

Abstract

No previous multinational military operation compared in size and interculturality to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The increased scope brought with it new challenges. This chapter explores how differentiating narratives were employed by member states to legitimise their political actions to their domestic constituencies, through the example of the base narratives of the United States and Germany. The study employs the methodology of frame analysis to understand if and how a country’s base narrative influenced that country’s communicational themes during the ISAF mission. A base narrative inherently determines how a country will legitimise military action, but at the same time is unique to a particular country. This potentially makes it impossible to build a comprehensive communication strategy for all members of a multinational military operation.