Heroism and the changing character of war : toward post-heroic warfare? / edited by Sibylle Scheipers.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Scheipers, Sibylle, editor.

Palgrave (Firm)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

War and society.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 376 pages.)

Place of Publication:

Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hamphisre : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

System Details:

text file

Summary:

Post-heroism is often perceived as one of the main aspects of change in the character of war. Large parts of the contemporary strategic discourse rest on the assumption that war today is no longer fuelled by heroic motivations, and does not produce any popular public heroes, particularly in western democracies. Willingness to kill or die for the cause of one's sociopolitical community appears to be either a phenomenon of a historical stage that western states have long left behind, or an indicator of nationalistic or religious fanaticism. This is what has been described as the 'post-heroic condition' of western societies. According to this view, demographic and cultural changes in the West have severely decreased the tolerance for casualties in war. This edited volume provides a critical examination of this idea. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I Heroism and Self-Sacrifice What For?

1 Heroism and the Nation during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and the Age of Military Reform in Europe / Thomas Hippler Hippler, Thomas 21

2 'On the Altar of the Nation': Narratives of Heroic Sacrifice in the American Civil War / Adam I. P. Smith Smith, Adam I. P. 33

3 'Heroic' Warfare and the Problem of Mass Armies: France 1871-1914 / Hew Strachan Strachan, Hew 47

4 Heroism and Self-Sacrifice for the Nation? Wars of National Liberation / Rob Johnson Johnson, Rob 64

5 War against Evil: The Second World War / Peter Schrijvers Schrijvers, Peter 76

6 Mass Armies and the Cold War: Institutional Post-Heroism? / Ingo Trauschweizer Trauschweizer, Ingo 93

7 Heroism and Self-Sacrifice: The Vietnam War as a Case in Point / Bernd Greiner Greiner, Bernd 108

8 The Dilemma of Cosmopolitan Soldiering / Cheyney Ryan Ryan, Cheyney 120

Part II Casualty Aversion

9 Provocations on Policymakers, Casualty Aversion and Post-Heroic Warfare / Peter D. Feaver Feaver, Peter D., Charles Miller Miller, Charles 145

10 'Casualty Aversion': Media, Society and Public Opinion / Susan L. Carruthers Carruthers, Susan L. 162

11 Questioning the Post-Heroic Warfare Logic: Private Contractors, Casualty Sensitivity and Public Support for War in the United States / Deborah Avant Avant, Deborah 188

12 Redefining Stand-off Warfare: Modern Efforts and Implications / Antulio J. Echevarria II Echevarria, Antulio J. II 203

Part III Combat Motivation

13 Cohesion: Heroic and Post-Heroic Combat / Anthony King King, Anthony 221

14 Inspirational, Aspirational and Operational Heroes: Recruitment, Terror and Heroic Conflict from the Perspective of Armed Groups / Andrea J. Dew Dew, Andrea J. 237

15 Suicide Bombers: Victims, Heroes or Martyrs? / Rashmi Singh Singh, Rashmi 251

16 The War Within: Moral Injury and Guilt / Nancy Sherman Sherman, Nancy 268

17 The Democratic Warrior and the Emergence of World-Order Conflicts / Andreas Herberg-Rothe Herberg-Rothe, Andreas 286

Part IV From Heroes to Victims?

18 Citizenship, Masculinity and Mental Health in the First World War / Peter Barham Barham, Peter 305

19 Why Soldiers Don't Fight / Simon Wessely Wessely, Simon 324

20 Remembering the Heroes of Australia's Wars: From Heroic to Post-Heroic Memory / Joan Beaumont Beaumont, Joan 334

21 Public Ritual and Remembrance: Beyond the Nation-State? / John Hutchinson Hutchinson, John 349.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Electronic reproduction. Basingstoke, England Available via World Wide Web.

ISBN:

1137362537

9781137362537

Publisher Number:

99959321610

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.