Security Studies 14, no. 3 ( July–September 2005): 448–488 Copyright © Taylor & Francis Inc. DOI: 10.1080/09636410500323187 World Culture and Military Power THEO FARRELL World culture shapes the way states generate military power: norms of conventional warfare provide the template for military organi- zation, and norms of humanitarian law define what is morally ac- ceptable in military operations. Sometimes, however, local strategic circumstances can challenge these worldwide technical scripts and moral codes for military action. Accordingly, this article advances an approach—cultural adaptation theory—that accounts for the role of power and politics in the worldwide normative structuring of military action. This theory explains how actors may modify their military practices in response to rising threats, in ways that avoid norm violation. Two case studies explore this theory: Irish military organization in the lead up to the Second World War, and NATO air operations in the Kosovo war. Some tentative conclusions are reached regarding suboptimal organization by weak states and operational restraint by powerful states. Overall, the article ad- vances the case for dialogue between constructivist and rationalist approaches to security studies. Military power is the product of material resources and the processes whereby states translate resources into military capability. Most scholarship Theo Farrell is reader in war in the modern world at King’s College, London. Various versions of this paper were given in spring 2004 in Montreal at the annual con- vention of the International Studies Association and at a workshop on military effectiveness at Northwestern University, and in fall 2004 to departmental seminars at Cambridge University, the University of Exeter, and King’s College London. I am grateful to the participants at all these forums for their comments. For helpful suggestions I should like to thank, in particular, David Armstrong, Debbi Avant, Tarak Barkawi, Nora Bensahel, Steve Biddle, Risa Brooks, Mike Desch, Eug Gholz, Emily Goldman, Chris Hill, Tim Hoyt, H´ el` ene Lambert, Bice Maiguashca, Colin McInnes, Amrita Narlikar, Dan Reiter, Mike Smith, Al Stam, Liz Stanley-Mitchell, and Terry Terriff. Special thanks go to Tim Dunne and Daryl Press for their extensive feedback. I am grateful to Tom Postmes, Alex Haslam, and Thomas Morton for introducing me to relevant literatures in social psychology. The two anonymous reviewers for Security Studies pushed me to make significant improvements to the paper, and Sue Peterson provided superb editorial guidance. 448