Thomas Crosbie
Biographic Data
| ID | 252205 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Crosbie |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Crosbie |
| SIGNATURE | CROSBIE T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Royal Danish Defence College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1861-9130 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 48 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 22 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2013 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Panama’s Response to the US’s Trumpian Moment
Preparing Nato Officers for Multi-Domain Operations: A Checklist for Future Competencies
Nato professional military education at 75: Rethinking the competency-development process
The Rise of Trump: Candidate Trump's Use of National Security Advisors, June 2015-November 2016
The power dialogue: Rethinking senior officer political influence
Janowitz and Huntington—Better Together: A Response
Suzanne Nielsen and Hugh Liebert recently published “The Continuing Relevance of Morris Janowitz’s The Professional Soldier for the Education of Officers” in which they argued that officer education is too enamored with Samuel Huntington’s aging theory of civil–military relations from Soldier and the State. Huntington’s ideal of objective control grants senior military advisors autonomy within their professional sphere, and it best ensures that u…
Militarisation and Paramilitary Culture: Post-Heroic Reimaginings of the Warrior
Militarization and the Global Rise of Paramilitary Culture: Post-Heroic Reimaginings of the Warrior
Military Systems of Justice: A Sociological Overview
Sociologists have largely ignored the study of military tribunals and justice systems. We offer a descriptive overview of military systems of justice intended for use by political and military sociologists, focusing on the case of the United States armed services. We contextualize the principal military systems of justice and provide extended discussions of how the American case connects through formal and informal channels to international legal…
The Virtues of Military Politics
Sociologists and political scientists have long fretted over the dangers that a politicized military poses to democracy. In recent times, however, civil-military relations experts in the United States accepted retired or indeed still serving generals and admirals in high-ranking political posts. Despite customary revulsion from scholars, the sudden waivers are an indicator that military participation in momentous national security decisions is in…
The Corporate War Dead: New Perspectives on the Demographics of American and British Contractors
From an obscure sector synonymous with mercenaryism, the private military and security industry has grown to become a significant complementing instrument in military operations. This rise has brought with it a considerable attention. Researchers have examined the role of private military and security companies in international relations as well as the history of these companies, and, above all, the legal implications of their use in the place of…
On the Ambivalence of the Aphorism in Sociological Theory
Sociologists have long been taken by certain pithy expressions from the founders of the discipline. We propose here both a new explanation for the endurance of these statements as well as an analysis of the power, limitations, and possibilities of aphorisms. By drawing from the critical scholarship concerned with aphorisms, we demonstrate that some of the allure of the classical sociological texts derives from their form, and particularly their r…
The Golden Age, Revisited: George C. Marshall’s Press Work, 1939–45
It is often assumed that the Second World War marked a golden age of the US Armed Forces’ control over the mass media. However, few scholars have examined the degree to which press matters occupied the time and attention of the highest levels of military command – if at all. The daily work of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall reveals a rather more complex portrait. If the era was indeed a golden age for the army, it was made so in part throu…
Ethical Lapses and the Military Profession: Three Problems and a Solution
In a recent issue of this journal, we published an article titled 'Fault Lines of the American Military Profession'. Donald S. Travis subsequently wrote a Dipustatio Sine Fine rejoinder that raised a number of criticisms of our piece and suggested several ways forward. For our part, we detect three serious problems in Travis's analysis and offer a single syncretic response. Our solution builds on the insights of Travis's critique while avoiding t…
Fault Lines of the American Military Profession
Over the past decade, the American armed services have witnessed a near-constant stream of so-called ethical lapses. Spanning rank, specialty, and service, these 'lapses' have given rise to a flood of criticism by journalists and piercing calls for reform from politicians. In response, American military leaders have pointed to the paired concepts of profession and professionalism as the solution. In this article, we use classical conceptualizatio…
Private security and military contractors: A troubling oversight
Though private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been addressed extensively in the literature, little research has been done on the contractors themselves, leaving us in the dark as to who these individuals are. In this article, we focus on the critical case of the United States armed services and argue that two broad developments have been converging that both point to the need for new, microlevel sociological research on the people w…
Governance by scandal? Eradicating sexual assault in the US military
This article examines the relationship between scandal and democracy through the case of sexual assault within the US military. Scandal is routinely seen as hostile to democracy. It signals either the corruption of prominent institutions or the decline of ethical journalism. But scandal may have a positive dimension in forcing tainted institutions to correct their course. To explore this thesis, we examine how the US military responded to news re…
The meaning of digital platforms: Open and closed television infrastructure
Barriers to serve: Social policy and the transgendered military
Militaries around the world have recently reassessed their policies concerning transgender personnel. A wave of integration has swept across the English-speaking world, with transgender troops serving openly in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Currently, the United States Department of Defense is embarking on its own reassessment. We offer here overlapping perspectives on the future directions of transgender policie…
Coser, Lewis A. (1913–2003)
The US Army's Domestic Strategy 1945-1965
Post-war drawdowns often include a re-negotiation of terms of civil-military relations. After World War II US Army's command culture was marked by an expansive vision of Army's place in American society. This article sketches history of noting its contribution to failing strategies in Vietnam, and argues for greater attention to link between operational concerns and Army's domestic political strategy. ********** To use--and restrain--its immense …
Scandal and military mediatization
Mediated responses to reports of abuse during the Global War on Terror are puzzling. Few of the many revelations of abuse prompted concerted reactions (e.g. scandals), and those that did were often very similar to reports that were ignored. This article draws from empirical research into responses to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib to develop new concepts that help untangle the mediatization of American wars. Feedback helps to model the variety of p…
Democracy and Scandal: A Research Agenda
In a recent edition of this journal, Scott Brenton (2012) announced a refreshing perspective on the relationship between political scandal and liberal democratic institutions: though scandals are often thought anathema to democratic politics, a cause of public distraction or a sign of institutional degradation, their effect may actually be to reinforce and rejuvenate the polity. We consolidate and then challenge this perspective. We begin by reco…
Fault Lines of the American Military Profession
Over the past decade, the American armed services have witnessed a near-constant stream of so-called ethical lapses. Spanning rank, specialty, and service, these 'lapses' have given rise to a flood of criticism by journalists and piercing calls for reform from politicians. In response, American military leaders have pointed to the paired concepts of profession and professionalism as the solution. In this article, we use classical conceptualizatio…
The Corporate War Dead: New Perspectives on the Demographics of American and British Contractors
From an obscure sector synonymous with mercenaryism, the private military and security industry has grown to become a significant complementing instrument in military operations. This rise has brought with it a considerable attention. Researchers have examined the role of private military and security companies in international relations as well as the history of these companies, and, above all, the legal implications of their use in the place of…
Governance by scandal? Eradicating sexual assault in the US military
This article examines the relationship between scandal and democracy through the case of sexual assault within the US military. Scandal is routinely seen as hostile to democracy. It signals either the corruption of prominent institutions or the decline of ethical journalism. But scandal may have a positive dimension in forcing tainted institutions to correct their course. To explore this thesis, we examine how the US military responded to news re…
Private security and military contractors: A troubling oversight
Though private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been addressed extensively in the literature, little research has been done on the contractors themselves, leaving us in the dark as to who these individuals are. In this article, we focus on the critical case of the United States armed services and argue that two broad developments have been converging that both point to the need for new, microlevel sociological research on the people w…
Democracy and Scandal: A Research Agenda
In a recent edition of this journal, Scott Brenton (2012) announced a refreshing perspective on the relationship between political scandal and liberal democratic institutions: though scandals are often thought anathema to democratic politics, a cause of public distraction or a sign of institutional degradation, their effect may actually be to reinforce and rejuvenate the polity. We consolidate and then challenge this perspective. We begin by reco…
Ethical Lapses and the Military Profession: Three Problems and a Solution
In a recent issue of this journal, we published an article titled 'Fault Lines of the American Military Profession'. Donald S. Travis subsequently wrote a Dipustatio Sine Fine rejoinder that raised a number of criticisms of our piece and suggested several ways forward. For our part, we detect three serious problems in Travis's analysis and offer a single syncretic response. Our solution builds on the insights of Travis's critique while avoiding t…
Scandal and military mediatization
Mediated responses to reports of abuse during the Global War on Terror are puzzling. Few of the many revelations of abuse prompted concerted reactions (e.g. scandals), and those that did were often very similar to reports that were ignored. This article draws from empirical research into responses to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib to develop new concepts that help untangle the mediatization of American wars. Feedback helps to model the variety of p…
The Virtues of Military Politics
Sociologists and political scientists have long fretted over the dangers that a politicized military poses to democracy. In recent times, however, civil-military relations experts in the United States accepted retired or indeed still serving generals and admirals in high-ranking political posts. Despite customary revulsion from scholars, the sudden waivers are an indicator that military participation in momentous national security decisions is in…
The meaning of digital platforms: Open and closed television infrastructure
Barriers to serve: Social policy and the transgendered military
Militaries around the world have recently reassessed their policies concerning transgender personnel. A wave of integration has swept across the English-speaking world, with transgender troops serving openly in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Currently, the United States Department of Defense is embarking on its own reassessment. We offer here overlapping perspectives on the future directions of transgender policie…
The power dialogue: Rethinking senior officer political influence
Janowitz and Huntington—Better Together: A Response
Suzanne Nielsen and Hugh Liebert recently published “The Continuing Relevance of Morris Janowitz’s The Professional Soldier for the Education of Officers” in which they argued that officer education is too enamored with Samuel Huntington’s aging theory of civil–military relations from Soldier and the State. Huntington’s ideal of objective control grants senior military advisors autonomy within their professional sphere, and it best ensures that u…
Democracy and Scandal: A Research Agenda
In a recent edition of this journal, Scott Brenton (2012) announced a refreshing perspective on the relationship between political scandal and liberal democratic institutions: though scandals are often thought anathema to democratic politics, a cause of public distraction or a sign of institutional degradation, their effect may actually be to reinforce and rejuvenate the polity. We consolidate and then challenge this perspective. We begin by reco…
The US Army's Domestic Strategy 1945-1965
Post-war drawdowns often include a re-negotiation of terms of civil-military relations. After World War II US Army's command culture was marked by an expansive vision of Army's place in American society. This article sketches history of noting its contribution to failing strategies in Vietnam, and argues for greater attention to link between operational concerns and Army's domestic political strategy. ********** To use--and restrain--its immense …
Scandal and military mediatization
Mediated responses to reports of abuse during the Global War on Terror are puzzling. Few of the many revelations of abuse prompted concerted reactions (e.g. scandals), and those that did were often very similar to reports that were ignored. This article draws from empirical research into responses to prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib to develop new concepts that help untangle the mediatization of American wars. Feedback helps to model the variety of p…
Coser, Lewis A. (1913–2003)
The meaning of digital platforms: Open and closed television infrastructure
Barriers to serve: Social policy and the transgendered military
Militaries around the world have recently reassessed their policies concerning transgender personnel. A wave of integration has swept across the English-speaking world, with transgender troops serving openly in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Currently, the United States Department of Defense is embarking on its own reassessment. We offer here overlapping perspectives on the future directions of transgender policie…
Private security and military contractors: A troubling oversight
Though private military and security companies (PMSCs) have been addressed extensively in the literature, little research has been done on the contractors themselves, leaving us in the dark as to who these individuals are. In this article, we focus on the critical case of the United States armed services and argue that two broad developments have been converging that both point to the need for new, microlevel sociological research on the people w…
Governance by scandal? Eradicating sexual assault in the US military
This article examines the relationship between scandal and democracy through the case of sexual assault within the US military. Scandal is routinely seen as hostile to democracy. It signals either the corruption of prominent institutions or the decline of ethical journalism. But scandal may have a positive dimension in forcing tainted institutions to correct their course. To explore this thesis, we examine how the US military responded to news re…
The Golden Age, Revisited: George C. Marshall’s Press Work, 1939–45
It is often assumed that the Second World War marked a golden age of the US Armed Forces’ control over the mass media. However, few scholars have examined the degree to which press matters occupied the time and attention of the highest levels of military command – if at all. The daily work of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall reveals a rather more complex portrait. If the era was indeed a golden age for the army, it was made so in part throu…
Ethical Lapses and the Military Profession: Three Problems and a Solution
In a recent issue of this journal, we published an article titled 'Fault Lines of the American Military Profession'. Donald S. Travis subsequently wrote a Dipustatio Sine Fine rejoinder that raised a number of criticisms of our piece and suggested several ways forward. For our part, we detect three serious problems in Travis's analysis and offer a single syncretic response. Our solution builds on the insights of Travis's critique while avoiding t…
Fault Lines of the American Military Profession
Over the past decade, the American armed services have witnessed a near-constant stream of so-called ethical lapses. Spanning rank, specialty, and service, these 'lapses' have given rise to a flood of criticism by journalists and piercing calls for reform from politicians. In response, American military leaders have pointed to the paired concepts of profession and professionalism as the solution. In this article, we use classical conceptualizatio…
On the Ambivalence of the Aphorism in Sociological Theory
Sociologists have long been taken by certain pithy expressions from the founders of the discipline. We propose here both a new explanation for the endurance of these statements as well as an analysis of the power, limitations, and possibilities of aphorisms. By drawing from the critical scholarship concerned with aphorisms, we demonstrate that some of the allure of the classical sociological texts derives from their form, and particularly their r…
The Corporate War Dead: New Perspectives on the Demographics of American and British Contractors
From an obscure sector synonymous with mercenaryism, the private military and security industry has grown to become a significant complementing instrument in military operations. This rise has brought with it a considerable attention. Researchers have examined the role of private military and security companies in international relations as well as the history of these companies, and, above all, the legal implications of their use in the place of…
Militarization and the Global Rise of Paramilitary Culture: Post-Heroic Reimaginings of the Warrior
Military Systems of Justice: A Sociological Overview
Sociologists have largely ignored the study of military tribunals and justice systems. We offer a descriptive overview of military systems of justice intended for use by political and military sociologists, focusing on the case of the United States armed services. We contextualize the principal military systems of justice and provide extended discussions of how the American case connects through formal and informal channels to international legal…
The Virtues of Military Politics
Sociologists and political scientists have long fretted over the dangers that a politicized military poses to democracy. In recent times, however, civil-military relations experts in the United States accepted retired or indeed still serving generals and admirals in high-ranking political posts. Despite customary revulsion from scholars, the sudden waivers are an indicator that military participation in momentous national security decisions is in…
Janowitz and Huntington—Better Together: A Response
Suzanne Nielsen and Hugh Liebert recently published “The Continuing Relevance of Morris Janowitz’s The Professional Soldier for the Education of Officers” in which they argued that officer education is too enamored with Samuel Huntington’s aging theory of civil–military relations from Soldier and the State. Huntington’s ideal of objective control grants senior military advisors autonomy within their professional sphere, and it best ensures that u…
Militarisation and Paramilitary Culture: Post-Heroic Reimaginings of the Warrior
The power dialogue: Rethinking senior officer political influence
Nato professional military education at 75: Rethinking the competency-development process
The Rise of Trump: Candidate Trump's Use of National Security Advisors, June 2015-November 2016
Canada, Denmark/Greenland and Panama’s Response to the US’s Trumpian Moment
Preparing Nato Officers for Multi-Domain Operations: A Checklist for Future Competencies
Political science (18 works) · Law (16 works) · Sociology (16 works) · Military History and Strategy (10 works) · Politics (10 works) · Public relations (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies (5 works) · Public Administration (5 works) · Democracy (4 works)