Handbook

“Conventional” military operations, in which the uniformed military forces of one state engage with an equivalent force of another state, have become the exception rather than the norm in contemporary warfare. Instead, military forces now more often find themselves pitted against non-state (or hybrid) opponents who avoid symmetric military engagements, preferring to seek shelter among civilian populations while employing a range of asymmetric guerrilla and terrorist tactics in operations located in the 'grey zone' between war and peace. States are making increasing use of special operations forces and other unconventional capabilities (such as cyber/information warfare operations) to carry out 'grey zone' missions which raise new ethical challenges, and those same special operations forces find themselves fighting alongside and enabling irregular and non-state forces which employ a mode of warfare that is distinctly unconventional. Conventional units  are obliged to negotiate the complexities associated with fighting on urban terrain, managing refugees, cooperating with coalition partners, managing relationships with surrogate forces, gaining the trust of local tribes, contending with host nation group rivalries, resolving cultural tensions and building a stable and lasting peace.

These obligations considerably complicate the existing challenges of conducting operations in a manner consistent with the legal, ethical and social norms for the use of military force. Military leaders must, therefore, be conversant with the relevant moral conventions and ethical principles associated with armed conflict, and must be familiar with the decision-making techniques needed to apply them in a way that will enable success in complex environments.  This course addresses the context in which special operations, complex operations and irregular warfare are conducted. Course material draws on insights from the study of applied ethics, moral philosophy, moral psychology and related disciplines with a focus on enhancing and extending the practice of ethical leadership.