But will they fight and will they die?

Behind the international political planning and rhetoric of future alliance s and force design lie the very practical questions about who will voluntee r for armed forces in the liberal democracies and whether or not they will display the expected traditional virtues. We know so little about the motiv ation of present servicemen and women, let alone of those we expect to join in the future. Military identity, however, has hitherto reflected national identity, which has assisted with Unit cohesion, particularly among those who take the greatest personal risks. The author of this article assumes th at within a generation there is a strong likelihood of mixed-nationality an d multi-identity armed forces down to and within the smallest 'unit' of mil itary power, the ten-man infantry section. There is another danger: these ' specialists' may develop the characteristics of mercenaries or militarists with extreme tendencies. The possibility of escalation from humanitarian in tervention to intense military conflict is always present, even if the miss ion is one that starts off as benign. The credibility of military action an d future effectiveness of force structures currently being planned are by n o means assured. Missions that in theory should succeed may in practice fai l spectacularly.