The Soldier as Victim: Peering through the Looking Glass

McGarry, Ross; Walklate, Sandra

doi:10.1093/bjc/azr057

Cited by 36 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 38 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…It is surprising, then, that although existing theory and research findings link exposure to violent contexts with violent behavior, the implications of coming of age in contexts of war and genocide have been given limited criminological attention. 1 See, e.g., the work of Hagan, Rymond-Richmond, and colleagues (Hagan & Rymond-Richmond, 2008;Hagan, Rymond-Richmond, & Parker, 2005), which has provided much of the foundation for building a theory of genocide within a criminological framework (see also Brehm, Uggen, & Gasanabo, 2016;Rafter, 2016;Savelsberg, 2015), as well as the work of others, which has resulted in broadening significantly the study of war's implications for crime and victimization, focusing on themes such as war profiteering (Ruggiero, 2008), sexual violence (Mullins, 2009), and the parallels between combat veterans and prisoners returning home (McGarry & Walklate, 2011;Walklate & McGarry, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roads diverged: An examination of violent and nonviolent pathways in the aftermath of the Bosnian war*

DiPietro

2018

Criminology

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Despite renewed interest among criminologists in war and genocide, still understudied are the implications of mass violence for human development and behavior over the life course. By drawing on detailed life history data gathered from 55 male Bosnian refugees and nationals, in this work, I examine the shared beginnings of men who experienced the Bosnian war and genocide (1992–1995) in their youth, as well as examine their divergent pathways over time and across two distinct postwar contexts. My findings reveal that violent pathways are shaped by the confluence of social–psychological mechanisms (e.g., the normalization of violence) and exogenous risk factors (e.g., family disruption and loss of male role models). Compared with nonviolent men, who emphasize themes of catharsis and resilience, and the emulation of prosocial models of masculinity, violent men's narratives are distinguished by themes of persecution and exile, the emulation of violent role models, and contextual barriers to attaining valued masculine identities. Beyond the experience of war, these findings have implications for understanding how early experiences of chronic violence and community disruption shape turning points and cultural frames over the life course, and they indicate that studies of violent pathways should grant greater primacy to the social–historical context and the meaning individuals ascribe to their experiences.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roads diverged: An examination of violent and nonviolent pathways in the aftermath of the Bosnian war*

DiPietro

2018

Criminology

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“…Such empathy may be informed by notions of military heroism, bravery and sacrifice (Becker and Eagly 2004;Franco, Blau and Zimbardo 2011;McGarry and Walklate 2011), bolstered (in the UK) by high-profile events such as Remembrance Day, and by charitable organisations which support a sense of collective indebtedness to, and respect for, the armed forces, even while public opinion differs over the political agendas which lead to their active deployment (Foyle 2004;Rutherford 2004;Voeten and Brewer 2006).…”

Section: Veterans-in-custody (Vic)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Soldiering On? The Prison‐Military Complex and Ex‐Military Personnel as Prison Officers: Transition, Rehabilitation and Prison Reform

Moran

Turner

Arnold

2019

Howard J Crime Justice

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Arguing that criminology has thus far inadequately theorised militarism as it relates to the prison system, this agenda‐setting article introduces the ‘prison‐military complex’ as a means to initiate examination of militarism in relation to institutions and practices of incarceration. In so doing, it identifies a key knowledge gap vis‐à‐vis the role of ex‐military personnel employed as prison staff; and poses key questions about the ways in which military staff and military methods are being directly targeted as a means to reform a prison service reeling from unprecedented levels of violence, self‐harm, riots, and escapes. Encouraging criminologists to think beyond stereotypical ideas about the military, the article revolves around a multiscalar articulation of the prison‐military complex, discussed here as it relates to reform of the prison system as a whole; the rehabilitation of offenders; and individuals’ ex‐military transitions to civilian life.

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“…Emerging alongside this has been the willingness of the British national imagination to 'see' a 'victim' in the traditionally heroic masculine figure of the British soldier [24,60,61]. Extensively covered repatriation ceremonies at Royal Wootton Basset have enabled the 'imagined community' to 'see' soldiers killed in the 'War on Terror' as both 'hero' and 'victim' [65].…”

Section: Misrecognising the Victim Of State Violencementioning

confidence: 99%

Misrecognising the victim of state violence: denial, ‘deep’ imperialism and defending ‘our boys’

Hearty

2019

Crime Law Soc Change

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This article critically examines public responses to attempts at holding former British soldiers accountable for historic human rights violations committed during conflicts fought overseas. Using the case of British Army veterans who served in the North of Ireland and Iraq as an empirical basis, it posits that such responses are defined by a moral myopia that distinguishes between state violence 'here ' and 'there' and 'now' and 'then'. This moral myopia, it is submitted, is a form of identity politics forged through a marriage between deep imperialism and the strategies of denial used by the state. This essentially misrecognises the victim of state violence and ultimately leads to public sympathy favouring those who stand accused of human rights abuse over and above those actually subjected to it. Ultimately, the article concludes, this means that public opinion is channelled in a way that calls for such violations not to be punished rather than for them to be punished. treatment of those who had served in Iraq. Far from needing convinced by the letter, May had herself espoused a similar sentiment at the 2016 Conservative Party conference when she proclaimed that 'we will never againin any future conflictlet those activist, left-wing human rights lawyers harangue and harass the bravest of the bravethe men and women of Britain's Armed Forces' [86].The emerging discourse evidences a 'shoot the messenger' strategy of questioning the timing and motivation ([16]: 534), rather than the actual accuracy, of allegations of wrongdoing by 'the bravest of the brave'. Deflecting blame like this has been a discursive strategy of denial consistently used by states complicit in human rights violations [15][16][17], hence there is little peculiarly British about it. However, in framing British soldiers as 'the bravest of the brave', denial is now articulated in terms of Britain's 'warrior nation' past [24,70]. The discourse exposes what Johan Galtung [33, 34] labels a culture of 'deep imperialism' still common in Western states. The injection of 'deep imperialism' into discourses of denial has allowed identity politics to frame how the British 'imagined community' [4,10] views its military. The British 'imagined community' have been conditioned through such a discourse to view the British Army as a transhistorical force for good [18], reflecting how official discourse shapes narrative identities subscribed to by the public [83]. Granted, one may question to what degree a hegemonic discourse successfully embeds itself into the public mind. However, with most people in the UK relying on media, cultural and popular portrayals of, rather than personal interaction with or connection to, 'our boys', their understanding is shaped by what these portrayals want to show and what they want to hide [101]. Unsurprisingly, then, a significant body of research drawing on public views of 'our boys' has shown that they are sufficiently influenced by official discourse [18,24,42]. When confronted with allegations of wrongdoing by 'the bravest of...

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The Soldier as Victim: Peering through the Looking Glass

Cited by 36 publications

References 38 publications

Roads diverged: An examination of violent and nonviolent pathways in the aftermath of the Bosnian war*

Roads diverged: An examination of violent and nonviolent pathways in the aftermath of the Bosnian war*

Soldiering On? The Prison‐Military Complex and Ex‐Military Personnel as Prison Officers: Transition, Rehabilitation and Prison Reform

Misrecognising the victim of state violence: denial, ‘deep’ imperialism and defending ‘our boys’

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