Intercultural competencies in the Bundeswehr: officer training and mission realities

Maren Tomforde

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-36766-4_9

Intercultural competencies in the Bundeswehr: officer training and mission realities

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

Intercultural competencies (ICC) have been acknowledged as soft skills by the Bundeswehr (the German Armed Forces), since the beginning of the twenty-first century when service members encountered intercultural challenges in missions abroad. General cultural education as well as area-specific pre-deployment culture training was introduced to further intercultural competencies among officers and their subordinates. Using studies based on anthropological research, this paper highlights structural ICC challenges within the Bundeswehr, discusses epistemological challenges in the classroom at the German Command and Staff College and contrasts these insights with mission realities. Attitudes and ways of officers dealing with intercultural situations when on deployment are analyzed.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Warriors or peacekeepers?
Subtitle of host publication	Building military cultural competence
Editors	Kjetil Enstad, Paula Holmes-Eber
Place of Publication	Cham. Switzerland
Publisher	Springer, Springer Nature
Chapter	9
Pages	139-159
Number of pages	21
ISBN (Electronic)	9783030367664
ISBN (Print)	9783030367657, 9783030367688
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36766-4_9
Publication status	Published - Apr 2019

Keywords

intercultural communication competence
Germany
Military
Security Studies
Missions

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10.1007/978-3-030-36766-4_9

Cite this

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KW - Security Studies

KW - Missions

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PB - Springer, Springer Nature

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ER -

Intercultural competencies in the Bundeswehr: officer training and mission realities

Abstract

Keywords

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