Discontent and Collective Action in the Dutch Armed Forces

Not all citizens are in the same position when it comes to voicing their discontent. Take military personnel. In the Netherlands, just like in most other democracies, military personnel enjoy a specific position regarding opportunities for collective action. Formally, they may not strike and when exercising their right to join associations, protest or publicize, they may not jeopardize the functioning of their organization. Informally, they function within an organization marked by hierarchy, discipline and cohesion. Yet, just like many other citizens, military personnel face austerity which brings job and welfare insecurity. This raises the question how military personnel deal with work-related discontent, and in which way, if any, they voice their discontent? We situate this puzzle within Hirschman’s framework of exit, voice, silence, neglect and loyalty and investigate the strategies applied by Dutch military personnel based on the data collected during the first wave of the longitudinal online survey.