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Using Strategic Culture To Understand Participation In Expeditionary Operations: Australia, Poland, And The Coalition Against The Islamic State, Fredrik Doeser, Joakim Eidenfalk

Faculty of Law, Humanities and the Arts - Papers (Archive)

This article investigates how strategic culture influenced the decision-making of Australia and Poland regarding the global coalition against the Islamic State. In the coalition, Australia has followed its tradition of active participation in United States-led operations, while Poland has embarked on a more cautious line, thereby breaking with its previous policy of active participation. The article examines how Australian and Polish responses to the coalition were shaped by five cultural elements: dominant threat perception, core task of the armed forces, strategic partners, experiences of participating in coalitions of the willing, and approach to the international legality of expeditionary operations. It …