A Soldier’s Matrix: A Group Analytic View of Societies in War

Abstract

In this article 1 I will discuss the question of violence in (large) groups and the relationship between the mass and the individual selves. This will be done through the concept of the 'soldier's matrix' 2 . I refer to a matrix dominating a whole society, which participates in organized aggression and suffers its emotional consequences. Everybody in the matrix becomes a soldier, and the identity or the 'Habitus' (Elias, 1989) of the society is influenced by soldiership. This applies not only to Iraq and Afghanistan, and to the dark days in Germany, but also to two, three or more decades after the Second World War, and for most other societies in war. The advantage as well as the disadvantage of using the term soldier's matrix in Germany is the fact that for the new generation, the attitude towards the army has undergone a great change. For many people, soldiers represent almost a taboo or a kind of sickness. Finally I would like to contribute to the understanding of pathological relationships, with particular reference to relation disorders, which are connected to violence.

Israel/Palestine: Roadblocks to negotiation

“…Israeli group analyst, Robi Friedman () suggested that societies experiencing existential threat may develop a “soldier matrix” which influences not only soldiers, but all members of a society affected by conflict. When a soldier's matrix appears, group members are influenced by schizoid‐paranoid processes, and “murderous violence is not only legitimised, it also arouses collective unconscious strong defences against feelings of guilt, shame or empathy for the enemy's suffering” (p. 243).…”

“…Although the soldier's matrix determines the thinking of every member of a society, it is not monolithic and does not preclude disagreement: Friedman () believed that an “anti‐soldier matrix” can also develop. In Israel this appears in human rights organisations (such as B’Tselem, Peace Now, Human Rights Watch, Rabbis for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence), the left‐wing press (Haaretz), as well as academics, judges, and literary figures.…”

Конфліктне Мислення І Конфліктна Взаемодія: Соціально-Психологічні Особливості Взаємодії Військових І Цивільного Населення

“…Як приклад можна згадати класичну роботу D. Grossman "On killing" (1995), у якій описано зміни, біологічні, психічні та психосоціальні, що відбуваються внаслідок участі людини в активних бойових діях, коли вона вбиває супротивника, ворога. Ще одним класичним прикладом може бути дослідження Robi Friedman (2015). Для називання змін у світогляді вояка психоаналітик пропонує термін "матриця солдата".…”

The Tower of Babel: Massification, Individuality and Empathy in Large Societies and in Small groups

“…When a group becomes massified, confidence is derived from belonging to a mass bigger than each person. Their salvation is so soothing that group members stop thinking for themselves, and give up their individuality (Hopper and Weinberg, 2011), in a 'selfless relational disorder', which is typical in societies where there is a strong 'soldiers' matrix' (Friedman, 2015).…”