Exploring Representations of the Soldier as Victim: From Northern Ireland to Iraq

McGarry, Ross; Ferguson, Neil

doi:10.1057/9781137292254_7

Cited by 25 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Based on this suggestion, it would seem that there is a psychological disconnect between how society feels about the Armed Forces as a group, and how individual service personnel are treated by individual members of society. Cooper and Hurcombe () offer support for this suggestion, stating that “the image of the soldier develops over time in tandem with the identity of a nation, with soldiers often portrayed as the epitome of national values, normative masculinity and heroism” (McGarry & Ferguson, , p. 124). However, with national identity changes being documented (Owen, ) it is perhaps unsurprising that the relationship between society and Armed Forces members and leavers represents a complex web of identity, social distance, and acceptance issues.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Transition Experiences of British Military Veterans

Binks

Cambridge

2017

Political Psychology

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The aim of the current research was to investigate the transition experiences of British military veterans upon exiting the military and rejoining civilian society, asking the specific research question: What effect does the transition from military to civilian life have on the individual's identity? Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed and seven semistructured interviews were carried out with ex-military personnel. Analysis of the data revealed three superordinate themes: (1) Several Selves: Identity; (2) Soldier and Society: Separation, and (3) Transition Time: Personal Perspective. Current findings suggest that transition from the military back to civilian life is often problematic, with identity complications, feelings of loss, and disconnection both from the military and from society in general. Individuals with a more salient military identity had more difficult transition experiences. Findings are discussed with reference to theories of identity formation, maintenance, and salience and recommendations for future research are made.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Transition Experiences of British Military Veterans

Binks

Cambridge

2017

Political Psychology

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“…British Armed Forces' veterans who returned from these missions may therefore indeed be contextualized within of the realms of victimological definitions in a theoretical sense. This resonates with McGarry and Ferguson's (2012) qualitative interview study outlining that UK Armed Forces veterans who returned from the mission in Iraq commonly use the framework of "deserving" or "undeserving" victims to conceptualize themselves and their actions in Iraq. Here, "deserving victims" responds to the idea that "some people are victims through no fault of their own" (Walklate, 2007, p. 496).…”

mentioning

confidence: 77%

How do Sociodemographic Characteristics Influence UK Civilian Opinions of UK Armed Forces Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans? A Mixed-Method Approach

Phillips

Connelly

Burgess

2022

Armed Forces & Society

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Evidence suggests that UK veterans are seen as victims with concern for their perceived mental health needs. This study examined sociodemographic factors that contribute to victimizing conceptualizations of British Army Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. UK participants ( N = 234) provided three word associations to “British Army Iraq Veteran” and “British Army Afghanistan Veteran” and answered sociodemographic questions. A multiple linear regression outlines that low national pride, mission opposition and higher levels of education predict elevated victimizing word associations. Narrative accounts from UK interviews ( N = 21) suggest that participants who perceived the recent conflicts as illegitimate conceptualize veterans as passive, naïve actors who had to submit to the agency of the anthropomorphic described government. This allowed holding overtly appreciative though belittling attitudes toward veterans, while opposing the missions. To dissociate veterans from victimizing perceptions, better knowledge about service and justifications for deployments need to be provided. Study limitations, including over sampling of young adult females, are discussed.

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“…In this sense, the present findings were not fully aligned with previous research that indicated veterans were conceptualized as victims solely from their perceived war 402 Armed Forces & Society 48(2) exposure (cf. McGarry, 2012;McGarry & Ferguson, 2012;Walklate, 2007). Given the link with old age, it could be that participants also associate "veteran" with conflicts such as World War 2 and the Korean War where soldiers were predominately conscripts and where there was considerable societal pressure to serve in the armed forces.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Victimization of British Veterans: Comparing British Beliefs About Veterans With Beliefs About Soldiers

Phillips

Connelly

Burgess

2020

Armed Forces & Society

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Evidence suggests that most of the UK public appreciate currently serving UK Armed Forces personnel but are less positive in their beliefs about veterans. This research examined the social representations held by civilian participants of UK veterans and serving soldiers to understand why veterans may be seen more negatively. An open-ended word association task was completed by 234 UK participants where they were asked to provide three initial responses to the words “veteran” and “soldier” and to evaluate their responses in accordance to prototypicality. The 1,404 resultant associations were grouped into 14 thematic clusters. Using the hierarchical evocation method, the results suggest “heroizing associations” to be a defining core element for “soldier” and “veteran” but “victimizing associations” to be an element only for “veteran.” Principal component analyses suggest victimizing associations are related to war and deindividuated associations; “heroizing associations” are related to characterizations of the veteran’s personality. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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Exploring Representations of the Soldier as Victim: From Northern Ireland to Iraq

Cited by 25 publications

References 14 publications

The Transition Experiences of British Military Veterans

The Transition Experiences of British Military Veterans

How do Sociodemographic Characteristics Influence UK Civilian Opinions of UK Armed Forces Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans? A Mixed-Method Approach

Exploring the Victimization of British Veterans: Comparing British Beliefs About Veterans With Beliefs About Soldiers

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