Legitimiteit, verantwoordelijkheid en de reflexieve militaire organisatie

Legitimacy, responsibility and the reflexive military organisation The different contributions in this special issue discuss various contemporary developments surrounding the military organization and their implications for governance and public administration, such as technological development, geopolitical transition and fundamental changes the nature of military work. Because of its task and command and control structure, the military organization is a unique public organisation. It operates within the boundaries of political authority that define the ambitions, goals as well as possibilities and limitations of its operations. For an organisation that may use force in the performance of its tasks, these limitations define the legitimacy of the military organisation's operational activities. However, given the nature of its main tasks, the military organisation is potentially deployed in particularly dangerous, uncertain, ambiguous and changeable circumstances. This creates a tension whereby the moral responsibility of military professionals consists of reconciling compliance with political authority with local conditions. This requires reflexivity from military professionals at various levels. The central theme of this issue is thus ‘Legitimacy, responsibility and the reflexive military organisation’.