ARRC JOURNAL
he hugged me, held my hand and with
a big friendly smile and invited me into
his home. Later I understood that, in
their eyes, they perceived me as the
tribal leader of the Danish and because
I had just protected him through ‘enemy
territory’, he offered me his sincere
friendship as was customary in his
culture. Much to my surprise and relief,
negotiations and shared collaborative
projects on protecting/developing key
civil infrastructure in the Garamsha
area suddenly became easier from that
evening forward.
I discovered that
whilst transactional
military measures
of ‘do what I
say or face the
consequences’ may
enable temporary
domination, as soon
as you leave the
vicinity the old status
quo will return and
your efforts will then
be undermined.
Conclusion
These are just a few examples from my
time in Iraq, which highlight the value of
being able to navigate a national culture
and how doing so can unlock local
practices that result in highly sought-
after tactical enablers. As the Hofstedes
Cultural model below shows, values and
rituals are at the core of any person’s
culture, often manifested in their overt
practices and behaviour. Reaching out to
these and placating them can create a
personal connection and gain emotional
buy-in from the person involved. Such
buy-in can shift a person’s outlook or
opinion onto something more positive
and enable you to align it with your
desired outcomes.
70
ALLIED RAPID REACTION CORPS
Figure 2 – Hofstede’s cultural model perceives culture as several everlarger circles, starting with the core
(which is assumptions) and encapsulating around that with each larger circle; values and norms, then
subjective cultural traits.
Such realisations from my time in Iraq
also cemented in my mind the critical
requirement for civilian expertise on
operations (a key tenant of the NATO
Comprehensive Approach), without
which this situation could have turned
out very differently.
But what is also crucial is not just this
cultural knowledge requirement, but
the skill of knowing when to apply it to
achieve outcomes that lead to long
term, sustained improvements. I have
concluded that establishing trust in Iraqi
cultures instigates much longer-term
benefits than that compared to giving out
‘sacks of dollars’ for quick win projects.
Added to this trust is a much more
successful transformational tactic in
gaining influence, than that of falling back
on our more traditional military means
used to cajole the human terrain to fit
in with your mandate. I discovered that
whilst transactional military measures of
‘do what I say or face the consequences’
may enable temporary domination, as
soon as you leave the vicinity the old
status quo will return and your efforts will
then be undermined.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lieutenant Colonel Per Mikkelsen is
a 36-year veteran of the Danish Army
and currently serves as a Civil Military
Interaction planner for the ARRC. In his
previous assignment he served as an
Institute Director at the Royal Danish
Defence College in Copenhagen,
Denmark. Lt. Col. Mikkelsen has
participated in military operations
across stabilisation and humanitarian
activities in Iraq and the Balkans. A
native of Copenhagen, Denmark, Lt. Col.
Mikkelsen holds a Master’s Degree in
Military Studies from the Royal Danish
Defence College.