Abstract
Two types of military compliance-commitment and obedience-are analyzed in this paper. Commitment is described as a more complicated, internal, and multifaceted motivating factor, compared to obedience. The former is also presented as more dependent on the perceived legitimacy of military decisions. To illustrate the importance that the distinction between the two might have for the military professional, a case study is detailed. It involves an Israeli senior combat commander who openly protested against a critical decision made during the recent Lebanon war. His actions ultimately resulted in his release from the military. Several postulates regarding the possible interrelationships between commitment and obedience are proposed for future research.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.