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Decolonizing the British Army : a preliminary response
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King, Anthony (2021) Decolonizing the British Army : a preliminary response. International Affairs, 97 (2). pp. 443-461. doi:10.1093/ia/iiab001
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab001
Abstract
Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on 25 May 2020, anti-racist protests occurred across America and Europe. As a result, public institutions in the UK have begun to re-examine their cultures and practices to ensure not only that they are non-discriminatory, but also that they are actively anti-racist. The Army will not be immune to this process. Indeed, senior commanders including the Chief of the Defence Staff have already embraced the ‘decolonizing’ programme. Since 2000, the Army has incorporated significant numbers of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) soldiers; just over 10 per cent of the Army is now BAME. This article examines the integration of minority soldiers over the last two decades in order to assess the prospects of ‘de-colonization’ in the Army today. Despite the apparent success of the Army's integration policy, this article identifies three obstacles which still obstruct minority integration and are likely to impede de-colonization. Firstly, the majority of the Army's BAME soldiers are not British citizens, but foreign and Commonwealth nationals. Secondly, the young age of the majority of British soldiers generates interactional dynamics in barracks and training which often accidentally excludes foreign minority soldiers. Thirdly, the military ideal of the British Army remains understandably Anglo-Saxon. This article considers the tensions inherent in the Army's multicultural project and lays out suggestions about how they might be overcome to pursue a de-colonizing agenda.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races J Political Science > JV Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration U Military Science > U Military Science (General) |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Decolonization -- Great Britain -- Armed Forces, Great Britain -- Armed Forces -- Race relations, Great Britain -- Armed Forces -- Minorities , Soldiers, Black -- Great Britain, Racism -- Great Britain -- Armed Forces | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | International Affairs | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 0020-5850 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | March 2021 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | 97 | ||||||||
| Number: | 2 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 443-461 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1093/ia/iiab001 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Publisher Statement: | This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in International Affairs following peer review. The version of record Anthony King, Decolonizing the British Army: a preliminary response, International Affairs, Volume 97, Issue 2, March 2021, Pages 443–461, is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab001 | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Description: | Free access |
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