Robert Beeres – författare

An on-site testimony of the Dutch military mission in Urugzan, Afghanistan from 2001 to present day.

From autumn 2001 onwards, the Netherlands armed forces have been involved in military operations in Afghanistan. These deployments found their culmination in a four-year period (2006-2010) when the Netherlands acted as lead-nation in the province of Uruzgan. This book provides a wealth of insights into the many problems the Dutch military had to cope with. Focusing on the collaborative aspect, the authors trace the principles and practices of working together with partners in multiple military coalitions, involving the local population and its variety of power brokers, allies in and beyond NATO, and civil and military entrepreneurs.

An on-site testimony of the Dutch military mission in Urugzan, Afghanistan from 2001 to present day.

From autumn 2001 onwards, the Netherlands armed forces have been involved in military operations in Afghanistan. These deployments found their culmination in a four-year period (2006-2010) when the Netherlands acted as lead-nation in the province of Uruzgan. This book provides a wealth of insights into the many problems the Dutch military had to cope with. Focusing on the collaborative aspect, the authors trace the principles and practices of working together with partners in multiple military coalitions, involving the local population and its variety of power brokers, allies in and beyond NATO, and civil and military entrepreneurs.

This book examines change processes and the challenge of ambidexterity in military organizations. It discusses how military organizations can better adapt to the complex, and at times chaotic, environments they operate in by developing organizational ambidexterity. The authors identify various multiple tasks and functions of military organizations that require multi-dimensional and often contradictory operational, technological, cultural, and social skills. In analogy to the often-opposed functions performed by the right and left hand of the body, modern military organizations are no longer one-dimensional fighting machines, but characterized by a duality of tasks, such as fighting and peacekeeping which often make part and parcel of one and the same mission. The military is both a “hot” and a “cold” organization (a crisis management organization and a bureaucracy). As such, the book argues that these dualities are not necessarily opposed but can serve as complementary forces, likethe yin and yang, to better the overall performance of these organizations. As a consequence, ambidextrous organizations excel at complex tasking and are adaptable to new challenges. Divided into four parts: 1) structures and networks; 2) cultural issues; 3) tasks and roles; 4) nations and allies, it appeals to scholars of military studies and organization studies as well as professionals working for governmental or military organizations.