Book Description
In the history of humanity, equality in society based on factors of diversity (i.e. race, color, religion) has often been limited because of discrimination and conflict. In more modern times we have witnessed a decline in societal barriers to diversity, due not only to greater recognition of fundamental human rights, but also to an appreciation of the value that diversity affords civil life. What has become possible for civil society with regard to being more inclusive also affects recruitment into the Armed Forces of the most important countries of Western culture. As an integral part of society, the diversification of Armed Forces contributes to the recognition, development and integration of disparate elements of the greater society. The management of diversity within the Armed Forces is identical to that which occurs within the whole society, whose composition is subject to continuous change. Examples of this socializing in the most important Western Armed Forces: the integration of minorities in the U.S. Army; the "Gurkhas" in the British Armed Forces; the French Armed Forces and Foreign Legion integration; and implications of managing ethnic-cultural diversity for Italian Armed Forces.