National Will to Fight: Why Some States Keep Fighting and Others Don't

McNerney, Michael J.; Connable, Ben; Zimmerman, S. Rebecca; Lander, Natasha; Posard, Marek N.; Castillo, Jasen J.; Madden, Dan; Blum, Ilana; Frank, Aaron; Fernandes, Benjamin J.; Seol, In Hyo; Paul, Christopher; Parasiliti, Andrew

doi:10.7249/rr2477

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…For soldiers with high resolve, exposure to fratricidal coercion may increase alienation from authorities who threaten, or impose, these 19 Lyall (2020, 41-62); Rozenas, Talibova and Zhukov (2023); Henn and Huff (2021). 20 See, for example, Millett and Murray (1988); Posen (1993); Biddle (2004); Talmadge (2015); McNerney et al (2018). 21 Rozenas, Talibova and Zhukov (2023).…”

Section: Fratricidal Coercion and Soldier Compliancementioning

confidence: 99%

Fratricidal Coercion in Modern War

Lyall,

Zhukov

2023

Preprint

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Armies as diverse as the Red Army, Syrian Arab Army, and the Islamic State have turned their weapons against their own soldiers to force them to fight. There is little systematic evidence on how this fratricidal coercion affects battlefield performance. We argue that such practices generate compliance through fear, compelling soldiers with variable levels of resolve to conform to a uniform standard of battlefield behavior. First, coercion keeps some reluctant soldiers on the battlefield. This reduces rates of desertion, disappearances, and premature surrender, but increases deaths and injuries, as these reluctant warriors now find themselves in harm's way. Second, fratricidal coercion lowers the resolve of more committed soldiers, leading to lost battlefield initiative, and fewer acts of bravery. We test our claims using a mixed-method strategy, drawing on (1) monthly panel data on 1,048 Soviet Rifle Divisions in 1941--45, built from millions of declassified personnel files; (2) a paired comparison of two Rifle Divisions at the Battle of Leningrad (1941); and (3) 526 land battles (1939--2011) to assess generalizability. We find that fratricidal coercion reduces battlefield flight but increases casualties and suppresses initiative.

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Section: Fratricidal Coercion and Soldier Compliancementioning

confidence: 99%

Fratricidal Coercion in Modern War

Lyall,

Zhukov

2023

Preprint

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“…The Army's Insurgencies and Countering Insurgencies field manual also places a heavy emphasis on human aspects when discussing the operational environment (FM 3-24, 2014). As additional evidence of the Army's increased focus on human aspects, the Army recently engaged the RAND corporation to conduct a series of research projects focused on better understanding and influencing "will to fight" (see McNerney et al, 2018 andConnable et al, 2018).…”

Section: Doctrine and Policymentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Aspects of Air Force Operations: The Roles of Social, Cultural, and Political Knowledge and Skills in the Full Spectrum of Multidomain Operations

Keller¹,

Thaler²,

Reedy³

et al. 2020

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Awe for strategic effect: Hardly worth the trouble

Žilinčík

2022

Journal of Strategic Studies

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National Will to Fight: Why Some States Keep Fighting and Others Don't

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

Fratricidal Coercion in Modern War

Fratricidal Coercion in Modern War

Human Aspects of Air Force Operations: The Roles of Social, Cultural, and Political Knowledge and Skills in the Full Spectrum of Multidomain Operations

Awe for strategic effect: Hardly worth the trouble

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