Military Occupations

Methodological Approaches and the Military–Academy Research Nexus

Bibliographic Data

ID12911751
AuthorsK Neil Jenkings (0000-0003-3513-2823, Newcastle University, corresponding author), Rachel Woodward (0000-0003-1081-9119, Newcastle University), Alison Williams (0000-0002-2494-1468, Newcastle University), Matthew F Rech (0000-0002-9520-4609, Newcastle University), Ann L Murphy (Newcastle University), Daniel Bos (0000-0002-8325-9899, Newcastle University)
Year2011
Volume5
Issue1
Pages37-51
Publication date2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociology Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-9020 • E-ISSN: 1751-9020
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00340.x
OpenAlexW1593239693
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited59

Military occupations are continually evolving in relation to the geopolitical changes of societies, their conflicts and conflict management strategies, and technological developments in military hardware and software. Military occupations studies undertaken by the academy have been key to informing government strategy towards the maintenance of functioning armed forces. Since the 1950s, such studies have prioritised ‘top‐down’ quantitative sociological methodologies. This paper reviews these studies and the role of the dominant Institutional/Occupational model. The paper then considers less influential ‘bottom up’ interpretive methodological studies of military occupations. It is suggested that the reliance on ‘top down’ modelling approaches has led to the paucity of studies describing the range and experiential detail of military occupations. The Military–Academy nexus, and the priorities of the discipline of sociology are suggested as reasons for this emphasis

Engineering ethics · Geopolitics · Government (linguistics · Military science · Military theory · Nexus (standard · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Anthropology: Ethics, History, Culture · Engineering · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Military History and Strategy