When soldiers fight in foreign wars, or when diplomats attempt to stabilize fragile countries, they often butt up against cultural beliefs and practices very different from their own. Learning about different cultures and developing skills to interact with others is now one of the areas of instruction for U.S. military and foreign service personnel.
It’s also a major focus of a new academic journal that Norwich University has launched. The first issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Culture, Language and International Security was published this month. The editor, Robert Greene Sands, explained to Vermont Edition why the issue of cultural competency is so important.
