Dutch Strategic Culture - A case study

Strategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and analysts since the concept was first introduced in 1977. However, some actors have received more attention than others. Most notably, smaller countries seem to attract less attention. This thesis will make use of this gap in the literature and focus on the Netherlands. Specifically, it seeks to illustrate in what way the Dutch strategic culture has manifested itself after the Second World War up to the present day. Using Alistair I. Johnston’s conceptual framework, this thesis found that the Netherlands was highly influenced by the war, drastically altering its security policy. It has sought to highly integrate itself in the international community, seeking cooperation in an effort to prevent war. Its policies are formed with this goal in mind and is highly grounded in international law,...Show moreStrategic culture is a concept both promising and controversial. The idea that culture impacts security policy and why an actor favors certain policies over others has appealed to scholars and analysts since the concept was first introduced in 1977. However, some actors have received more attention than others. Most notably, smaller countries seem to attract less attention. This thesis will make use of this gap in the literature and focus on the Netherlands. Specifically, it seeks to illustrate in what way the Dutch strategic culture has manifested itself after the Second World War up to the present day. Using Alistair I. Johnston’s conceptual framework, this thesis found that the Netherlands was highly influenced by the war, drastically altering its security policy. It has sought to highly integrate itself in the international community, seeking cooperation in an effort to prevent war. Its policies are formed with this goal in mind and is highly grounded in international law, seeking the diplomatic over military action. While promising, these results should only form the basis of future, more comprehensive, research. I argue that the concept of strategic culture is too restrictive and fails to paint the complete picture. With this in mind, the concept of security culture is very promising for future research.Show less

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Dutch Strategic Culture - A case study