Are the Armed Forces Understood and Supported by the Public?: A View from the United Kingdom

Lindsey Anne Hines; Rachael Gribble; Simon Charles Wessely; Christopher Dandeker; Nicola Townsend Fear

doi:10.1177/0095327X14559975

Are the Armed Forces Understood and Supported by the Public? A View from the United Kingdom

Lindsey Anne Hines, Rachael Gribble, Simon Charles Wessely, Christopher Dandeker, Nicola Townsend Fear

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Abstract

Despite the importance of public opinion in supporting the military and their missions, little is known about how the UK public perceive their Armed Forces. This article reviews and evaluates available research and opinion poll data of public attitudes toward the UK military and situates the evidence within the civil–military gap literature. Current evidence suggests public regard for the UK Armed Forces is high despite low levels of support for the Iraq and Afghanistan missions. Public understanding of the work of the Armed Forces is limited. Nonetheless, the United Kingdom’s long history of military deployments may have given the public an “intuitive understanding” of the basic realities of the military compared with other European states. There are indications of differences in attitudes between the UK Armed Forces and wider British society, but no firm evidence that the civil–military “gap” has become a “gulf” as claimed by some military leaders.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	688-713
Number of pages	26
Journal	Armed Forces and Society
Volume	41
Issue number	4
Early online date	12 Dec 2014
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X14559975
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2015

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Are the Armed Forces Understood and Supported by the Public? A View from the United Kingdom

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