MILITARY PSYCHOLOGY AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

It is perhaps for the first time ever that a book on military psychology and leadership development has been written by eminent military psychologists from as many as sixteen countries. Many of these practising military psychologists have themselves donned the uniform, serving their own military as well as UN and NATO in diverse operational environments such as Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Haiti, Kosovo, Slovenia, Somalia and closer home in Kargil and the Siachen Glacier in India.
The book offers us a good understanding of various concepts in the field of military psychology and leadership development, be it in context of hardiness as a construct in the human resource cycle or use of coping resources as well as development and management of extreme forms of unwanted stress. The book provides a great deal of inputs related to resilience as an emerging field of study. Other interesting themes cover concepts of altruism, emotional intelligence, disaster management, leadership development and motivation, human factor engineering in operations, psychology of warfare and diplomatic psychology. A very interesting, yet overlooked topic covering role of military families in the Armed Forces is also discussed in the book which brings to light the contribution and sacrifices being made by this neglected population – the military spouse.
The book is designed not only for psychology students and practitioners, but also for leaders – both men and women to cater to all leaders of men and women – seeking knowledge in the field of military psychology and leadership development.