1st Edition

Civilians and Modern War Armed Conflict and the Ideology of Violence

    368 Pages
    by Routledge

    368 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book explores the issue of civilian devastation in modern warfare, focusing on the complex processes that effectively establish civilians’ identity in times of war.

    Underpinning the physicality of war’s tumult are structural forces that create landscapes of civilian vulnerability. Such forces operate in four sectors of modern warfare: nationalistic ideology, state-sponsored militaries, global media, and international institutions. Each sector promotes its own constructions of civilian identity in relation to militant combatants: constructions that prove lethal to the civilian noncombatant who lacks political power and decision-making capacity with regards to their own survival.

    Civilians and Modern War provides a critical overview of the plight of civilians in war, examining the political and normative underpinnings of the decisions, actions, policies, and practices of major sectors of war. The contributors seek to undermine the ‘tunnelling effect’ of the militaristic framework regarding the experiences of noncombatants.

    This book will be of much interest to students of war and conflict studies, ethics, conflict resolution, and IR/Security Studies.

    1. The Place and Plight of Civilians in Modern War Daniel Rothbart, Karina Korostelina, and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui  Part I: Targeting Civilians  2. The Role of Civilians in American War Ideology Richard Rubenstein  3. Devastating Civilians at Home: The Plight of Crimean Tatars and Californians of Asian Decent during World War II Karina Korostelina  4. Military Culture and Civilian Victimization: The Case of American Strategic Bombing in World War II Alexander Downes  5. Double Victims: The Recruitment and Treatment of Child Soldiers in Chechnya Karina Korostelina and Juliia Kononenko  Part II: Preserving Civilian Immunity  6. The Politics of Civilian Identity Daniel Rothbart  7. Israeli Soldiers’ Perceptions of Palestinian Civilians during the 2009 Gaza War Neta Oren  8. Civilian Vulnerability in Asymmetric Conflict: Lessons from the Second Lebanon and Gaza Wars Michael Gross  9. Civilians Overshadowed by Soldiers: Faceless Victims of the Public Media Narrative Mohammed D. Cherkaoui  10. Civilians, Pundits, and the Mediatized Ideology Mohammed D. Cherkaoui  Part III: Redressing Anti-Civilian Practices  11. Trans-regional Military Dimensions of Civilian Protection: A Two-part Problem with a Two-part Solution Donald C. F. Daniel and Tromila Wheat  12. Civilians Under the Law: Inequality, Intersectionality, and Irony Susan Hirsch  13. The Price of Justice Michael Miklaucic  14. Preventing Genocide: The Quest for System Response Andrea Bartoli and Testushi Ogata  15. Making Amends Sarah Holewinski  16. Conclusion: the Road Ahead Daniel Rothbart, Karina Korostelina, and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui

    Biography

    Daniel Rothbart is Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. He has published extensively in the fields of identity-based conflicts and the ethics of war, and currently co-chairs the Sudan Task Group.

    Karina V. Korostelina is Associate Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. She has published extensively on identity-based conflicts, civilian devastation, interfaith dialogue, and history and conflict.

    Mohammed D. Cherkaoui is adjunct professor at George Mason University and recently published The Palestinian Media at the Crossroads: Challenges and Expectations.