War Commemorations 5 Nations Pre-print 2020

Abstract

We remember the past in order not to repeat it - but does remembrance of war in fact shape support for military or diplomatic approaches to international conflict? In 7 samples from 5 countries (collected online, total N = 2493), we examined support for military and diplomatic approaches to conflict during war commemorations (e.g., Veterans Day). During war commemorations in the U.S. support for diplomacy increased, while support for military approaches did not change. We found similar results in the U.K. and Australia on Remembrance Day, but not in Germany, or France, nor in Australia on Anzac Day. Further, support for diplomacy was predicted by concern about loss of ingroup lives during war, independently of concern about harm to outgroup civilians. These studies expand our understanding of how collective memories of war may be leveraged to promote diplomatic approaches to contemporary geopolitical conflict.

The Morality of War: A Review and Research Agenda

“…Its overarching aim is perhaps unusually “real world” for a philosophical theory: “the point of just war theory is to regulate warfare, to limit its occasions, and to regulate its conduct and legitimate scope” (Margalit & Walzer, 2009, p. 2). Aspirations of (assisting with) limiting violence are shared by many academic psychologists (Christie & Montiel, 2013), and a great deal of psychological research focuses on support for or opposition to military interventions (e.g., in Iraq in 2003 or Iran in 2019; Liberman & Skitka, 2017; McCleary, Nalls, & Williams, 2009; Watkins, Allard, Li, & Leidner, 2020). However, when it comes to third-party moral judgments specifically about the interpersonal conduct of war, just-war theorists, politicians, and legal scholars dominate the debate (Carter, 2003; Coady, 2011; Margalit & Walzer, 2009; Obama, 2009; Savoy, 2004).…”