Description
Both the UK and Ireland have undergone a recruitment and retention crisis over recent years. This paper seeks to explain why these countries, with, deliberately, similar military structures, some shared threats and common systemic problems have responded to the problem differently. This paper seeks to look beyond the simple answer that these two nations have acted differently because the UK is active internationally and Ireland, in remaining neutral, does not care about defense in the same way.
In order to achieve this aim, this paper seeks to compare the two nations' response to their common problem through a variety of lenses included media perceptions, foreign and defense policy but also broader questions about domestic politics.
