Concordance Theory Research Articles

Concordance Theory: A Retrospective on the Creation of New Civil–Military Relations Theory

This piece is part of the 50th Anniversary Armed Forces & Society (AF&S) special issue. I am honored to be a part of this selection of essays. I am grateful to my colleagues at AF&S for their expertise and intellectual insights over the years since my original Concordance theory article—“Civil–Military Relations Reconsidered: A Theory of Concordance”—was published in 1995. Any comments made here that reflect on the current state of the academy and my experience with it over the years are in no way directed at AF&S and the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS-AF&S). Both AF&S and IUS have been extremely supportive of my work and the scholarship of many students, researchers, and academics around the world. I have been proud to be a part of both the journal and the organization that supports the study of civil–military relations. My Concordance theory and its evolution have only benefited because of my affiliation with AF&S and IUS.

CIVIL-MILITARY CONCORDANCE IN PAKISTAN

Civil-military concordance is based on the harmony of interests and values between three important stakeholders, i.e., the political elite, armed forces, and citizens. When these stakeholders develop a harmonious appreciation of their roles and contributions to the nation with a shared understanding of the constitution, a healthy symbiosis of interests and values is engendered, imparting states' desired stability. There are examples of developing countries like Ghana, where weak democratic institutions resulted in frequent military interventions. However, the phenomenon declined after armed forces and civilians fostered a concordance based upon mutual respect, wherein armed forces participated in the defence of the state and nation-building tasks. This paper, therefore, deals with the employment of armed forces on military and non-military tasks, facilitating much-needed concordance in civil-military relations for democratic consolidation and improvement of armed forces’ performance on nation-building and crisis management. It discusses various civil-military concordance models and analyses the best-suited option for Pakistan. Rebecca Schiff’s Concordance Theory, a departure from western models of Huntington, Lasswell, and Finer, contains some elements of Morris Janowitz’s civil-military convergence theory and can be applied to Pakistan’s case. It also highlights the application of four indicators of concordance, i.e., recruitment method, the social composition of officers’ corps, military style, and political decision-making processes, to Pakistan, yielding important conclusions regarding improved civil-military relations.

Projections on the Future of Civil-Military Relations in Argentina and Turkey

In social sciences, there has always been a scholarly attention on civil-military relations in terms of democratic values. Several theoretical approaches try to understand/figure out the best civil-military establishment in a democracy. Concordance theory suggests that citizenry is an indispensable part of civil-military relations in a given society because military may legitimize its actions in the political arena based on the public perception. The main purpose of this study is to figure out that who supports military in Argentina and Turkey, and what can be the reason to do so. Argentina and Turkey have been through similar experiences in their histories but in this study I focus on the differences. There is no intention in this study to confirm, or refute, civil-military relations theories.

Pengaruh Militer Dalam Sistem Politik Myanmar Terhadap Diskriminasi Etnis Rohingya Pada Tahun 2017

This paper aims to discuss the extent to which the influence of the military in the political system in Myanmar related to cases of prosecution of ethnic Rohingya in 2017. Myanmar's government through the military is considered to use violence and discrimination against Rohingya ethnic groups resulting in thousands of casualties and the ethnic Rohingya fled to neighboring countries. This research was conducted to assess the role of the military in the Myanmar government system because under the 2008 Constitution, the military had a seat of 25 percent in the Myanmar parliament and had a number of authorities in the political system. This can be considered as a trigger for the military's aggressiveness towards Rohingya because of military representatives who have existence in the Myanmar parliament. The author uses concordance theory and the concept of new professionalism of internal security and national development in analyzing related phenomena. The results of this study indicate the existence of military influence in the Myanmar government because under the constitution, the military controls three strategic departments, namely Defense, Internal Affairs and Border. The military also holds full control of the armed forces, police and security forces, thus demonstrating the military role in Myanmar's policies regarding prosecution of the ethnic minority Rohingya.

Failure to Understand Military Intervention in Pakistan

In 2014, Armed Forces & Society published Ali’s work, “Contradiction of Concordance Theory: Failure to Understand Military intervention in Pakistan.” Shortly thereafter in 2015, Schiff, the author of concordance theory, defended her theory with “Concordance Theory in Pakistan: Response to Zulfiqar Ali.” To this, Ali reiterated his position with, “Pakistan, Military Coup and Concordance: Four Objections to Schiff.” In response to Ali’s ideas, this article argues that Ali’s accounts not only lack theoretical and methodological rigor but also suffer from empirical fallacies and factual errors. Thus, he has failed to understand military intervention in Pakistan.

Articulation and Concordance: A Dialogue on Civil–Military Relations in Fiji

Articulation and Concordance: A Dialogue on Civil–Military Relations in Fiji

Pakistan, Military Coup, and Concordance

In 2014, Armed Forces & Society published Ali’s work, “Contradiction of Concordance Theory: Failure to Understand Military intervention in Pakistan.” Shortly thereafter in 2015, Schiff, the author of concordance theory, responded with “Concordance Theory in Pakistan: Response to Zulfiqar Ali.” Schiff, in the Disputatio Sine Fine (DSF) section of Armed Forces & Society, defends concordance theory and puts forward four challenges to Ali’s article. Here, this reply explains again why concordance theory not only fails to generate an adequate account of military intervention in Pakistan but also unintentionally imposes a Western style of governance.

Concordance Theory in Pakistan

In Zulfiqar Ali’s article regarding concordance theory in Pakistan, Dr. Ali asserts that concordance theory does not explain domestic military intervention in Pakistan. He also suggests that concordance theory superimposes a Western theoretical model on Pakistan, like Huntington’s theory of objective civilian control. In response to Dr. Ali’s claims, this article reiterates how concordance theory can in fact explain why Pakistan has suffered from domestic military intervention—the alienation of the Bengali community and subsequent lack of agreement among the three concordance partners being one significant factor. Additionally, Huntington’s theory focuses on institutional and dichotomous civil–military relations, grounded in the post–World War II US case study. By contrast, concordance theory views the relationship between military and society from both cultural and institutional perspectives and embraces those indigenous qualities that may encourage or discourage domestic military intervention.

Bangladesh's Participation in UN Peacekeeping Missions and Challenges for Civil–Military Relations: A Case for Concordance Theory

This article argues that the participation of the Bangladeshi armed forces in UN peacekeeping has produced positive benefits for civil–military relations in the country and that this process is best explained by reference to concordance theory, as propagated by Rebecca Schiff. Unlike traditional theories of civil–military relations, concordance theory highlights dialogue, accommodation and shared values or objectives held by the military, the political elites and society. We argue in this paper that peacekeeping has gradually emerged in Bangladesh as an issue where all three partners are converging and prone to hold similar views. This may have a profound impact upon Bangladeshi politics whereby the chances of military intervention in domestic politics will lessen. This paper helps in understanding the implications of Bangladesh's involvement in UN peace missions, an issue on which little work has been conducted until now despite the fact that it has important implications for both the Bangladesh state and its armed forces.

Assessing intraoperative judgment using script concordance testing through the gynecology continuum of practice

Objective: To measure surgical judgment across the Obstetrics and Gynecology (OBGYN) continuum of practice and identify factors that correlate with improved surgical judgment.Methods: A 45-item written examination was developed using script concordance theory, which compares an examinee’s responses to a series of “ill-defined” surgical scenarios to a reference panel of experts. The examination was administered to OBGYN residents, Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery (FPMRS) fellows, practicing OBGYN physicians and FPMRS experts. Surgical judgment was evaluated by comparing scores against the experts. Factors related to surgical experience were measured for association with scores.Results: In total, 147 participants including 11 residents, 37 fellows, 88 practicing physicians and 11 experts completed the 45-item examination. Mean scores for practicing physicians (65.2 ± 7.4) were similar to residents (67.2 ± 7.1), and worse than fellows (72.6 ± 4.2, p < 0.001) and experts (80 ± 5, p < 0.001). Positive correlations between scores and surgical experience included: annual number of vaginal hysterectomies (r = 0.32, p = <0.001), robotic hysterectomies (r = 0.17, p = 0.048), stress incontinence (r = 0.29, p < 0.001) and prolapse procedures (r = 0.37, p < 0.001). Inverse correlation was seen between test scores and years in practice. (r = −0.19, p = 0.02).Conclusion: Intraoperative judgment in practicing OBGYN physicians appears similar to resident physicians. Practicing physicians who perform FPMRS procedures perform poorly on this examination of surgical judgment; lower performance correlates with less surgical experience and the greater amount of time in practice.

Contradiction of Concordance Theory

There are several theoretical frameworks proposed by a wide range of scholars to explicate and understand civil and military relations. Rebecca Schiff's concordance theory is one of the recent models in this theoretical tradition. She argues that the theory of separation of civil and military relations given by Huntington not only fails to give an adequate account of domestic military interventions in Pakistan but also attempts to impose the American model of civil and military relations on it. Given the problems and flaws of the separation model, she proposes the concordance theory in place of the separation model. Schiff claims that the concordance theory provides an appropriate model to explain and to avoid military intervention in Pakistan. She purports to demonstrate that a military coup takes place due to discordance among three partners on four indicators. This article will show through the case study of Pakistan that concordance theory fails on four accounts. First, Pakistan's military coup is not the consequence of discordance but concordance. Second, there are not three partners but two. Third, the notion of four indicators runs the risk of oversimplification. Fourth, concordance theory makes somewhat the same mistake committed by the separation model attempting to superimpose the American civil and military framework upon Pakistan. This article will demonstrate that concordance theory draws the civil and military relations upon two rival approaches: abstract theoretical and multicultural approach. By consequence it goes through the internal contradiction because of which it is fated to fail.

Concordance to links with unknotted components

We show that there are links whose individual components are concordant to the unknot, but which are not concordant to any link with unknotted components. We give examples in the topological category, and examples in the smooth category which are topologically slice. We also give generalizations regarding components of prescribed Alexander polynomials. The main tools are covering link calculus, algebraic invariants of rational knot concordance theory, and the correction term of Heegaard Floer homology.

Concordance Theory, Targeted Partnership, and Counterinsurgency Strategy

This study introduces the new concept of targeted partnership, which encourages robust dialogue between military officers and policy makers to create and implement effective military strategy such as counterinsurgency. Targeted partnership is a distillate form of concordance theory or agreement involving reciprocity between the military, political elites, and society for a limited period of time to accomplish a very specific objective. Targeted partnership may involve the temporary co-mingling of military, political, and societal boundaries even when the broader institutional and cultural relationship between military and society may be one of separation. In other words, separation and integration may exist at the same time for very specific reasons central to a nation’s foreign policy. Targeted partnership is a practical extension of concordance theory that enables the military to have effective interactive dialogue with policy makers to explore critical military strategies, such as counterinsurgency, while considering the cultural and institutional contexts of foreign nations.

Nonspecific mechanisms that enhance well-being in health-promoting behaviors.

We tested whether the nonspecific or placebo enhancement of well-being brought about by a health-promoting behavior was due to expectancy having an unmediated effect on outcome (response expectancy theory) or because expectancy was mediated through the behavioral and affective consequences of positively valued goal satisfaction (motivational concordance theory). Fifty-seven participants completed a breathing exercise (a simplified Buteyko technique) purporting to enhance well-being over a period of 4 days. Participants were randomized to receive either easy or difficult task instructions. Expectancy was measured at baseline and perceived effort (as an indicator of motivation) and adherence were measured at follow-up. Well-being was measured by perceived change in well-being at follow-up and by change in the Positive and Negative Affect Scale between baseline and follow-up. Expectancy (r = .42), adherence (r = .57), and effort (r = .90) correlated with perceived benefit. Multiple regression and mediation analysis showed that effort predicted (p < .01) well-being independently of expectancy for all 3 measures of well-being, and that where expectancy predicted outcome, its effect was mediated by effort. Adherence failed to predict additional variance to outcome compared with effort and expectancy. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that placebo effects in therapeutic contexts are mediated via the affective consequences of performing a motivated ritual.

Father Damian Kreichgauer SVD (1859-1940) and Father Erich Wasmann SJ (1859-1931): geology, earth history and evolution in two German lives between science and faith

The physicist Damian Kreichgauer entered the German Missionary Order Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) in 1892. From 1895 onwards, he taught natural sciences to future missionaries at the Order's seminary St Gabriel (Austria). In 1902, he published a book called Die Äquatorfrage in der Geologie (The Question of the Equator in Geology) with the Order's publishing outlet, in which he advocated the idea of a mobilistic Earth, where the Earth's crust as a whole moved with respect to the fluid core and the Earth's rotational axis. The main evidence for this idea he found in the changing of climate zones during geological epochs. Due to a small database, which was basically restricted to European plate localities, Kreichgauer did not notice discrepancies between polar wander on different continents. Nevertheless, the book was later cited and discussed as one of his precursors by Alfred Wegener in his book on the origin of continents and oceans. Kreichgauer also introduced his ideas to parallel the events of the biblical Genesis with geological epochs. He later expanded this ‘concordance theory’ in a separate book Das Sechstagewerk (The Work of the Six Days). He eventually abandoned scientific work, possibly due to censorship wielded by the Superior of his Order, unlike his contemporary, the Jesuit Erich Wasmann, a respected entomologist, who defended evolutionary ideas despite adverse Church politics and censorship.

The relation between motivational concordance and response expectancy

Response expectancy is a well-established theoretical mechanism by which placebo effects are thought to be generated [1–3]. The theory posits that the key factor involved in the placebo effect is the response expected by the patient as a result of treatment. Response expectancy is thus principally a cognitive theory—what matters most is what a person thinks, not what he or she does. Recently, a competing theory was developed by Hyland et al. [4] called “motivational concordance.” Motivational concordance differs from response expectancy in that it claims that expectancies do not have a direct influence on the placebo effect. Instead, it posits that it is behavior rather than cognition that is most important in driving placebo responses. In addition, motivational concordance theory holds that, if a particular treatment regimen is in accord with the patient's own preferences and motivations, then the patient will be more likely to engage in that treatment, and it is the behavior itself (i.e., the degree of engagement in treatment) that leads to symptom reduction. In the present issue of this journal, Hyland andWhalley [5] present empirical data in support of motivational concordance as an alternative to response expectancy theory. However, instead of pitting the two against one other, it seems to me that the theories should be integrated. According to Hyland and Whalley, the major divergence between the theories is the centrality of behavior in motivational concordance theory and

Combined didactic and scenario-based education improves the ability of intensive care unit staff to recognize delirium at the bedside

BackgroundWhile nurses play a key role in identifying delirium, several authors have noted variability in their ability to recognize delirium. We sought to measure the impact of a simple educational intervention on the ability of intensive care unit (ICU) nurses to clinically identify delirium and to use a standardized delirium scale correctly.MethodsFifty ICU nurses from two different hospitals (university medical and community teaching) evaluated an ICU patient for pain, level of sedation and presence of delirium before and after an educational intervention. The same patient was concomitantly, but independently, evaluated by a validated judge (ρ = 0.98) who acted as the reference standard in all cases. The education consisted of two script concordance case scenarios, a slide presentation regarding scale-based delirium assessment, and two further cases.ResultsNurses' clinical recognition of delirium was poor in the before-education period as only 24% of nurses reported the presence or absence of delirium and only 16% were correct compared with the judge. After education, the number of nurses able to evaluate delirium using any scale (12% vs 82%, P < 0.0005) and use it correctly (8% vs 62%, P < 0.0005) increased significantly. While judge-nurse agreement (Spearman ρ) for the presence of delirium was relatively high for both the before-education period (r = 0.74, P = 0.262) and after-education period (r = 0.71, P < 0.0005), the low number of nurses evaluating delirium before education lead to statistical significance only after education. Education did not alter nurses' self-reported evaluation of delirium (before 76% vs after 100%, P = 0.125).ConclusionA simple composite educational intervention incorporating script concordance theory improves the capacity for ICU nurses to screen for delirium nearly as well as experts. Self-reporting by nurses of completion of delirium screening may not constitute an adequate quality assurance process.

The current status of species recognition and identification in Aspergillus.

The species recognition and identification of aspergilli and their teleomorphs is discussed. A historical overview of the taxonomic concepts starting with the monograph of Raper & Fennell (1965) is given. A list of taxa described since 2000 is provided. Physiological characters, particularly growth rates and the production of extrolites, often show differences that reflect phylogenetic species boundaries and greater emphasis should be placed on extrolite profiles and growth characteristics in species descriptions. Multilocus sequence-based phylogenetic analyses have emerged as the primary tool for inferring phylogenetic species boundaries and relationships within subgenera and sections. A four locus DNA sequence study covering all major lineages in Aspergillus using genealogical concordance theory resulted in a species recognition system that agrees in part with phenotypic studies and reveals the presence of many undescribed species not resolved by phenotype. The use of as much data from as many sources as possible in making taxonomic decisions is advocated. For species identification, DNA barcoding uses a short genetic marker in an organism”s DNA to quickly and easily identify it to a particular species. Partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 sequences, which are used for barcoding animal species, were found to have limited value for species identification among black aspergilli. The various possibilities are discussed and at present partial β-tubulin or calmodulin are the most promising loci for Aspergillus identification. For characterising Aspergillus species one application would be to produce a multilocus phylogeny, with the goal of having a firm understanding of the evolutionary relationships among species across the entire genus. DNA chip technologies are discussed as possibilities for an accurate multilocus barcoding tool for the genus Aspergillus.

Signatures of links in rational homology spheres

A theory of signatures for odd-dimensional links in rational homology spheres is studied via their generalized Seifert surfaces. The jump functions of signatures are shown invariant under appropriately generalized concordance and a special care is given to accommodate one-dimensional links with mutual linking. Furthermore our concordance theory of links in rational homology spheres remains highly nontrivial after factoring out the contribution from links in integral homology spheres.

Civil-military relations: building democracy and regional security in Latin America, Southern Asia, and Central Europe

* Civil-Military Relations, Democracy, and the Regional Neighborhood David R. Mares. Conceptions Of Civil-Military Relations And Democracy * Concordance Theory: The Cases of India and Pakistan Rebecca L. Schiff. * Civil-Military Relations in Indonesia: The Case of ABRIs Dual Function J. Soedjati. * Civil-Military Relations in Venezuela Gisela Gmez Sucre and Mara Dolores Cornett. Civilian-Dominated Relationships * From Confrontation to Cooperation: Democratic Governance and Argentine Foreign Relations David Pion-Berlin. * Civil-Military Relations in the Czech and Slovak Republics Thomas S. Szayna. * The Restructuring of Civil-Military Relations in Poland Since 1989 Mark Kramer. Civil-Military Partnerships * Civil-Military Relations in Chiles Geopolitical Transition Francisco Rojas and Claudio Fuentes. * Changing Patterns of Civil-Military Relations and Thailands Regional Outlook Surachart Bamrungsuk. * The Interplay of Internal War and Democratization in Guatemala Since 1982 Caesar D. Sereseres. * Democratization and International Integration: The Role of the Armed Forces in Brazils Grand Strategy Thomaz Guedes da Costa. * Conclusion: Civil-Military Relations, Democracy, and Regional Relations in Comparative Perspective D. R. Mares.