The Pursuit of the ‘Doing’ in Military Professional Practice

The armed forces distinctive expertise lies in the capacity to lead and organize armed combat, and to decide when, and to what degree, military force should be employed to achieve designated objectives. How can researchers ensure that their methodological choices not only provide a superficial understanding of military professionalism but also capture the complex and dynamic aspects of military practice they aim to study?

For researchers interested in understanding how this concept of "doing" manifests in military actions, several challenges emerge. These challenges include issues of access, legitimacy, and confidentiality, particularly in complex operational contexts where researchers may find themselves distanced from the realities of military practice. This raises the critical question: How can civilian researchers explore military professional practice—and get close to it—without having direct access to the practice itself?

To obtain comprehensive and nuanced insights, it is essential to explore methodologies that facilitate engagement with military practitioners. Over the past decade, the Dialogue Seminar Method (DSM) has been employed to investigate and critically analyze the concept of “military professionalism” within the context of Swedish military practice. This approach is grounded in the epistemology of professional knowledge emphasizing the dynamic and active nature of knowing, rather than a static conception of knowledge. The presentation examines the methodological aspects, strengths, and weaknesses, as well as insights gained from a longitudinal case study on military professionalism within the Swedish Armed Forces.