Full Description
Post-heroism is often perceived as one of the main aspects of change in the character of war, a phenomenon prevalent in 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.
Contents
Introduction: Toward Post-Heroic Warfare?; Sibylle Scheipers 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 2. 'On the Altar of the Nation': Narratives of Heroic Sacrifice in the American Civil War; Adam Smith 3. 'Heroic' Warfare and the Problem of Mass Armies, France 1871-1914; Hew Strachan 4. Heroism and Self-Sacrifice for the Nation? Wars of National Liberation; Rob Johnson 5. War against Evil: The Second World War; Peter Schrijvers 6. Mass Armies and the Cold War: Institutional Post-Heroism?; Ingo Trauschweizer 7. Heroism and Self-Sacrifice: The Vietnam War as a Case in Point; Bernd Greiner 8. The Dilemma of Cosmopolitan Soldiering; Cheyney Ryan PART II: CASUALTY AVERSION 9. Provocations on Policymakers, Casualty Aversion, and Post-Heroic Warfare; Peter D. Feaver and Charles Miller 10. 'Casualty Aversion': Media, Society, and Public Opinion; Susan Carruthers 11. Questioning the Post-Heroic Warfare Logic: Private Contractors, Casualty Sensitivity and Public Support for War in the United States; Deborah Avant 12. Redefining Standoff Warfare: Modern Efforts and Implications; Antulio J. Echevarria II PART III: COMBAT MOTIVATION 13. Cohesion: Heroic and Post-Heroic Combat; Anthony King 14. Inspirational, Aspirational, and Operational Heroes: Recruitment, Terror, and Heroic Conflict from the Perspective of Armed Groups; Andrea Dew 15. Suicide Bombers: Victims, Heroes or Martyrs?; Rashmi Singh 16. The War Within: Moral Injury and Guilt; Nancy Sherman 17. The Democratic Warrior and the Emergence of World Order Conflicts; Andreas Herberg-Rothe PART IV: FROM HEROES TO VICTIMS? 18. Citizenship, Masculinity and Mental Health in the First World War; Peter Barham 19. Why Soldiers Don't Fight; Simon Wessely 20. Remembering the Heroes of Australia's Wars: From Heroic to Post-Heroic Memory; Joan Beaumont 21. Public Ritual and Remembrance: Beyondthe Nation State?; John Hutchinson
