<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> Today several nations utilise risk based approaches in military planning. However, the discussion on limitations with the approaches in regard to aspects such as uncertainties, the nature of the threat and risk to civilians is limited.The aim of this work is to identify important challenges when applying risk based approaches to military activity. This article discusses risk based approaches in general and their military applications. Five generic quality requirements on risk analysis are presented from research in risk philosophy. Two military application areas for risk analysis: military intelligence, and risk management in legal assessments are analysed in relation to the presented quality requirements on risk analysis.From the analysis it is clear that risk analysis is an integral part of the decision-making analysis and cannot be separated in time, space or organisationally from the decision-making process in general. Defining the scenario to analyse, including the time span, is a central task in risk analysis and will affect every aspect of the risk estimation. Therefore, the principles for scenario definition must be communicated and continuously updated throughout the organisation. Handling the uncertainties throughout the process is also important, especially if the aim is a resilient military system.</abstract>

Today several nations utilise risk based approaches in military planning. However, the discussion on limitations with the approaches in regard to aspects such as uncertainties, the nature of the threat and risk to civilians is limited.The aim of this work is to identify important challenges when applying risk based approaches to military activity. This article discusses risk based approaches in general and their military applications. Five generic quality requirements on risk analysis are presented from research in risk philosophy. Two military application areas for risk analysis: military intelligence, and risk management in legal assessments are analysed in relation to the presented quality requirements on risk analysis.From the analysis it is clear that risk analysis is an integral part of the decision-making analysis and cannot be separated in time, space or organisationally from the decision-making process in general. Defining the scenario to analyse, including the time span, is a central task in risk analysis and will affect every aspect of the risk estimation. Therefore, the principles for scenario definition must be communicated and continuously updated throughout the organisation. Handling the uncertainties throughout the process is also important, especially if the aim is a resilient military system.

An Examination of the Implementation of Risk Based Approaches in Military Operations

M.Sc. and Licentiate in Shipping and Marine Technology, in Ph.D program, Swedish National Defence College and Chalmers University of Technology,

LL.M. in Law, in Ph.D program, Swedish National Defence College and Uppsala University,

M.Sc. in Pol. Sci., in Ph.D program, Swedish National Defence College and Finnish National Defence University,

Journal of Military Studies

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Today several nations utilise risk based approaches in military planning. However, the discussion on limitations with the approaches in regard to aspects such...

An Examination of the Implementation of Risk Based Approaches in Military Operations

Published Online: Nov 23, 2016

Page range: 38 - 64

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jms-2016-0189

Keywords
Security risk management process, risk analysis, threat assessment, risk awareness, military intelligence, legal assessment

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

An Examination of the Implementation of Risk Based Approaches in Military Operations

Published Online: Nov 23, 2016

Page range: 38 - 64

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/jms-2016-0189

KeywordsSecurity risk management process, risk analysis, threat assessment, risk awareness, military intelligence, legal assessment

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Security risk management process, risk analysis, threat assessment, risk awareness, military intelligence, legal assessment