| Theoretical models developed by Fredrik Barth, Amitai Etzioni, and Allan Millett and Williamson Murray provide the theoretical basis for this analysis of the salience of ethnicity for combat performance in multi-ethnic militaries. A new framework of analysis emerges from examination of the Austro-Hungarian and Tsarist armies in World War I and the Soviet army during its years of participation in the war in Afghanistan. Research is based on primary and secondary sources, mainly in English and Russian, and personal interviews with veterans of the Soviet-Afghan conflict.;The case studies demonstrate the importance of mechanisms of cohesion for maintaining the organizational integrity of a multi-ethnic military. The formation of these fighting organizations was based on the principle of universal military conscription, and hence these armies closely reflected the societies from which they were drawn. The deep socio-political, economic and ethnic cleavages which characterized Austro-Hungarian, Tsarist, and Soviet societies forced military authorities to rely on normative, utilitarian, coercive, and administrative mechanisms to prevent the introduction of potentially disruptive behavior into the military ranks.;Unfortunately, the inability of central authorities to mobilize political, strategic, tactical, and operational resources in time of war caused a significant erosion in each military's organizational mechanisms of cohesion. Thus, the cleavages which undermined the stability of Austro-Hungarian, Tsarist, and Soviet societies eventually led to ineffective combat performance. In each case, however, ethnic differences among the rank and file contributed only as secondary factors to the breakdown of armies on the battlefield.;The significance of this analysis is to be found in its applicability to any military derived from a multi-ethnic society. Moreover, it provides a framework for the analysis of the role which a soldier's ethnic identity might play in that soldier's ability to carry out military duties, particularly in a combat situation. It combines contributions from analyses of small group behavior in combat, organizational maintenance, and ethnic identity and nationality studies. |
