Współpraca cywilno-wojskowa NATO : oczekiwania i konflikt roli

In the context of contemporary peacekeeping operations, NATO states established civil-military cooperation (CIMIC) - a military function aiming at maintaining contact between the NATO armed forces and other civilian and military actors present in an area of military operations. As a result of their tasks, CIMIC soldiers are confronted with various expectations pertaining to their behaviour, principles and values. This pool of normative requirements includes contradictory expectations formulated by civilian and military reference groups, leading to the emergence of a role conflict. Building on the theoretical assumptions of structural symbolic interactionism and the division into a “warrior” and “peacekeeper” role of a soldier, this article presents expectations that comprise the role of a CIMIC soldier and the areas of role conflict experienced by members of CIMIC units. It also offers a reflection on the role of a contemporary soldier. The article is based on interviews with CIMIC soldiers, observations and content analysis of NATO CIMIC documents.