Esmeralda Kleinreesink | Netherlands Defence Academy (original) (raw)

Talks by Esmeralda Kleinreesink

When I returned home from a deployment to Afghanistan I had been transformed. Not in a good way: ... more When I returned home from a deployment to Afghanistan I had been transformed. Not in a good way: I was angry, quickly startled at loud noises and suddenly spending fortunes on speeding tickets. I was told that, even though there was no name for it, what I had was fairly normal and it was supposed to go away within 6-12 months. However, this 'returning-home-blues' did resemble post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental illness many deployed soldiers have been diagnosed with.

In this TEDx talk, I will take the audience to Afghanistan: to feel the constant threat of rocket attacks from the mountains surrounding the camp.

Then, I will take them on a quest to find out how common my negative transformation from war is, by looking at international military Afghanistan memoirs. Are most soldier disillusioned by war, or quite the opposite, do many experience war as a means to personal growth? We will discovered that both growth (30%) and disillusionment (39%) are major themes in military memoirs. And that 50% of the authors, with both positive and negative stories, described returning-home-blues, even though only 10% are diagnosed with PTSD. We will even discover a name for my blues: Post Deployment Disorientation.

Nowadays, loud noises no longer make me duck and I hardly ever get speeding tickets. So I have transformed again. We will conclude that war changes soldiers, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. What these soldiers want (and need) most of all is not pity, but recognition.

Papers by Esmeralda Kleinreesink

This chapter examines whether national differences in military operational styles to conflict res... more This chapter examines whether national differences in military operational styles to conflict resolution that Soeters indicates between Odysseus (non-warrior) and Achilles (warrior) countries can be substantiated. This is done in two ways. First, by literature research, showing that a distinction between warrior and non-warrior or more or less militaristic countries is not unique to Soeters and that there is ample evidence in basic military statistics. Second, by quantitative analysis of all 54 post-9/11 Afghanistan memoirs written by soldiers from Odysseus countries (Germany, Canada, the Netherlands) and Achilles countries (the UK, US). Analysis of these military autobiographies shows that writing about war experiences is a universal experience in both types of countries, as are the plots used to tell these stories: mainly disillusionment and personal growth plots. However, the soldier-authors who write these stories are definitely culturally defined. In the Achilles countries, mainly combat soldiers write (and get published by traditional publishers) and in Odysseus countries mainly combat supporters, with no preference by traditional publishers for either type of soldier. This study proposes that international differences should not be denied, but could be used to consciously create ambidexterous military organisations that are able to both fight wars and end them.

Military sociologists Woodward & Jenkings wrote a book about their research on 40 years o... more Military sociologists Woodward & Jenkings wrote a book about their research on 40 years of British military memoirs (1980-present), from a sociological perspective. I wrote this review both as a fellow military memoir researcher and as a soldier-author myself. "Bringing war to book" is a must-read introduction for every student and researcher who starts studying military memoirs or the military-industrial-media-entertainment network (MIME-NET), as it deals with all the main aspects of military books, from censorship to writing motives and from truth claims to covers. However, the informal writing style makes it a book that will also appeal to the layman (both readers and writers) interested in knowing more about (UK) military non-fiction.

This article tested Victor Turner's contention that writers are often liminal people, on ... more This article tested Victor Turner's contention that writers are often liminal people, on the fringes of their society, institution or group, by researching every military Afghanistan memoir (n=54) published between 2001 and 2010 in five countries (the US, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands). Three possible military fringe groups were tested (inter-group: conscripts, reservists; intra-group: individually-deployed soldiers). Individually-deployed soldiers were shown statistically to be far more prone to writing than unit-deployed soldiers, providing support for the fringe writer hypothesis. They also exhibited more self-help writing motives than others. Outsiders may not only be in a better position to observe the group, but also have a greater need to express themselves, as the group doesn't (sufficiently) offer them that means of expression, precisely because of their outsider status.

Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015

Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2012

In this TEDx talk, I will take the audience to Afghanistan: to feel the constant threat of rocket attacks from the mountains surrounding the camp.

Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015

Amsterdam University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2012

This book examines change processes and the challenge of ambidexterity in military organizations... more This book examines change processes and the challenge of ambidexterity in military organizations. It discusses how military organizations can better adapt to the complex, and at times chaotic, environments they operate in by developing organizational ambidexterity. The authors identify various multiple tasks and functions of military organizations that require multi-dimensional and often contradictory operational, technological, cultural, and social skills. In analogy to the often-opposed functions performed by the right and left hand of the body, modern military organizations are no longer one-dimensional fighting machines, but characterized by a duality of tasks, such as fighting and peacekeeping which often make part and parcel of one and the same mission. The military is both a “hot” and a “cold” organization (a crisis management organization and a bureaucracy). As such, the book argues that these dualities are not necessarily opposed but can serve as complementary forces, like the yin and yang, to better the overall performance of these organizations. As a consequence, ambidextrous organizations excel at complex tasking and are adaptable to new challenges. Divided into four parts: 1) structures and networks; 2) cultural issues; 3) tasks and roles; 4) nations and allies, it appeals to scholars of military studies and organization studies as well as professionals working for governmental or military organizations.

In On Military Memoirs Esmeralda Kleinreesink offers insight into military books: its writers, p... more In On Military Memoirs Esmeralda Kleinreesink offers insight into military books: its writers, publishers, the plots they write and their motives for writing. Every Afghanistan war autobiography published in the US, the UK, Germany, Canada and the Netherlands between 2001 and 2010 is compared quantitatively and qualitatively.

On Military Memoirs shows that soldier-authors are a special breed. That self-published books still cater for different markets than traditionally published ones. That cultural difference are clearly visible between warrior nations and non-warrior nations. That not every contemporary memoir is a disillusionment story. And that writing is serious business for soldiers wanting to change the world.

The book provides an innovative example of how to use interdisciplinary, mixed-method, cross-cultural research to analyse egodocuments.

Although there are quite a few soldiers who write autobiographies about their deployment experien... more Although there are quite a few soldiers who write autobiographies about their deployment experiences, a comprehensive profile does not exist that provides reliable, quantifiable insight into 21st century soldier-authors that exceeds the Anglo-American view, especially when it comes to (self-published) books. This study makes up for these deficiencies by studying all non-fiction, autobiographical books, first published between 2001 and 2010 in Dutch, English or German in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands that (mainly) deal with the deployment experiences of military personnel in Afghanistan and are intended for the public at large.

It provides answers to four questions:
1. Who are the soldiers who write autobiographical books about their deployment in Afghanistan?
2. Who are their publishers?
3. What do they write about?
4. Why do they say they write?

To answer these questions, this study uses statistical analysis in combination with qualitative descriptive coding techniques to provide a cross-cultural analysis of five different Western countries. It is an interdisciplinary study, using and combining theories and methods from five different fields: sociology, history, literature, psychology and anthropology. One of the conclusions from this research is that in the countries studied there is a very strong relationship between the number of soldiers that have been deployed to Afghanistan and the number of books produced. For every 6,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, one extra mission-related autobiographical book is published. Another main conclusion is that the soldier-authors of these books are only partly (when it comes to branch of service and gender) representative of the average soldier. Particularly noticeable is that where the average soldier is deployed with his own unit, the average soldier-author is often (50%) individually deployed. This result was predicted by what is called in this study the ‘fringe writer hypothesis’. In some countries, the majority (Germany) or even all military autobiographies (the UK, Canada) are published by publishers that invest at their own cost and risk in these books (‘traditional publishers’), in other countries (the US, the Netherlands) there is also a large self-publishing market for military books. Most military autobiographies are still published with traditional publishers, which are hardly ever specialized military publishers, but normally general publishers. These traditional publishers are looking for the traditional soldier: a soldiers who has been deployed more than once, preferable with his or her own unit, is a professional, not a reservist, with a junior rank and a kinetic background. This ideal commercial writer, however, neither exactly resembles the average soldier, nor the average soldier-author. Whether a soldier-author’s book will have a positive or a negative plot can be reasonably predicted by looking at two author characteristics. Authors who still work for the Ministry of Defence when their book is first published generally write positive plots, and kinetic soldiers predominantly write negative plots. The research into plots confirmed Harari’s revelatory plot thesis, which predicts that the majority of contemporary military autobiographies either has a disenchantment plot or a growth plot. At the same time it showed that Fussell’s disillusionment thesis (that military autobiographies have predominantly disenchantment plots) is no longer valid in the 21st century Afghanistan autobiographies that are written by professional soldiers, instead of conscripts. The specific choice of plot is country-dependent and related to that country’s strategic narrative on war in general, and on the mission in Afghanistan in particular. In a nowadays pacifist country like Germany, the disenchantment plots prevail, for example, whereas in a militarily ambitious country such as the UK growth and action plots dominate. Almost all soldier-authors researched offer some kind of motivation why they write. Four main reasons can be distinguished: getting recognition, enabling change, helping others or helping themselves. What is striking is that intrapersonal reasons (such as helping others or enabling change) are far more common than personal reasons such as helping yourself. Self-help motives in general are mostly given by individually deployed soldiers. The study ends with some recommendations for further research, that include validating the results found in this study by looking at other countries, non-military autobiographies books and by researching the illustrations found in these books.

The Yin-Yang Military. Ambidextrous Perspectives on Change in Military Organizations, 2021

A comparison of narratives from two distinct groups of Dutch veterans: bikers and soldier-authors.

Egodocuments are texts in which an author writes about his or her own acts, thoughts and feelings... more Egodocuments are texts in which an author writes about his or her own acts, thoughts and feelings, such as diaries, blogs, and memoirs. This chapter looks at how egodocuments can be (and are) used by military researchers. It concludes that it offers great research opportunities for any researcher despite scientific discipline or methodological background. All sorts of elements can be researched from paratext, theme and plot, to the psychology behind word usage, and both qualitative and quantitative methods can be used. Careful scoping and time and patience to collect the documents involved are essential ingredients for the successful military egodocument researcher who is looking for well-accessible, rich sources on the military.

Res Militaris, 2019

Military sociologists Woodward & Jenkings wrote a book about their research on 40 years of Britis... more Military sociologists Woodward & Jenkings wrote a book about their research on 40 years of British military memoirs (1980-present), from a sociological perspective. I wrote this review both as a fellow military memoir researcher and as a soldier-author myself. "Bringing war to book" is a must-read introduction for every student and researcher who starts studying military memoirs or the military-industrial-media-entertainment network (MIME-NET), as it deals with all the main aspects of military books, from censorship to writing motives and from truth claims to covers. However, the informal writing style makes it a book that will also appeal to the layman (both readers and writers) interested in knowing more about (UK) military non-fiction.