Crime, culture or war? Justifying military responses to violence against civilians

Abstract

Interpreting violence against civilians is necessary for eliciting appropriate protection responses, yet the structuration processes through which military personnel make sense of observed violence are underexplored. This article draws on the experiences of Norwegian military officers, applying Boltanski and Thévenot's theory of justification to investigate how officers discern violence targeting unarmed individuals and justify their reactions. Although they frequently categorize violence into ‘war’, ‘crime’ and ‘culture’, employing civic, industrial and humanitarian logic structures, officers grapple with the realities that transcend such neat classifications. Rooted in the sociology of justification and violence, this article provides insights into how actors navigate plural violence in conflict and their struggles in making justifiable decisions that ultimately prepare the ground for action to take place.