Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Violence within the Military

  • Chapter
International Handbook of Violence Research

Abstract

The actual or threatened use of violence is one of the essential characteristics of the military. More precisely, the military is a “social organization for the achievement of political aims through the threatened and actual use of armed force” (Wachtler, 1988:268). The armed forces, in the words of Carl von Clausewitz, are an instrument of the modern state. They are recruited, paid and deployed in the interests of the security of an individual state, the term “security” here referring primarily to the external security of one state against threats from other states. Traditionally, the functions of the armed forces are defined in two different ways. While the deterrent and defensive capability can be regarded as a defensive role, the ability to launch an attack on another state, in order to assert national interests and claims of political domination, can be seen as an offensive role. This aspect, however, has gradually lost its legitimacy over the course of the twentieth century, as witness the prohibition of violence enshrined in international law.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 549.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Adorno, Theodor W., Else Frenkel-Brunswik, Daniel J. Levinson, & R. Nevitt Sanford. (1950). The Authoritarian Personality. New York: Harper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alainmat, Henry. (1976). L’épreuve. Le ‘bagne’ de la Légion. Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Artzt, Heinz. (1987). Mörder in Uniform. Reinbek: Rowohlt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bredow, Wilfried von, & Gerhard Kümmel. (1999). Das Militär und die Herausforderung globaler Sicherheit. Der Spagat zwischen traditionalen und nicht-traditionalen Rollen. SOWI-Arbeitspapier Nr. 119. Strausberg: SOWI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browning, Christopher R. (1997). Ganz normale Männer. Das Reserve-Polizeibataillon 101 und die Endlösung in Polen. Reinbek: Rowohlt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, Clifton D. (1974). Socialization for Khaki-Collar Crime: Military Training as Criminalization Process. In Clifton D. Bryant (Ed.), Deviant Behavior. Occupational and Organizational Bases. Chicago: Rand McNally, pp. 239–251.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant, Clifton D. (1979). Khaki-Collar Crime. Deviant Behavior in the Military Context New York: Free Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Chemtob, Claude M., Raymond W. Novaco, Roger S. Hamada, & Douglas M. Gross. (1997). CognitiveBehavioral Treatment for Severe Anger in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(1), 184–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cronin, Christopher. (1995). Adolescent Reports of Parental Spousal Violence in Military and Civilian Families. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 10(1), 117–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dau, Klaus. (1985). Die Verantwortung des Offiziers im Umgang mit dem Recht. In Evangelisches Kirchenamt für die Bundeswehr (Eds.), De officio. Zu den ethischen Herausforderung des Offizierberufs (pp. 296–299). Hannover: Lutherisches Verlagshaus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daws, Gavan. (1994). Prisoners of the Japanese. POWs of World War II in the Pacific. New York: Morrow.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jongh, John, & Lynn Bassett-Scarfe. (1987). Child Abuse in Military Families. Defence Force Journal, 67, 23–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Jongh, John, Lynn Bassett-Scarfe, & Joan Malpas. (1988). The Protection of Children in Military Families: Implications of the Hamilton Report. Defence Force Journal, 73, 11–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deering, Catherine G., Susan G Glover, David Ready, H. Clay Eddleman, & Renato D. Alarcon. (1996). Unique Patterns of Commorbidity in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder from Different Sources of Trauma. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 37(5), 336–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeYoung, Marie E. (2000). This Woman’s Army. The Dynamics of Sex and Violence in the Military. Central Point: Hellgate.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doorn, Jacques van, & William J. Hendrix. (1975). Use of Violence in Counter Insurgency: The Indonesian Scene 1945–49. In Doorn, Jacques van, The Soldier and Social Change. Comparative Studies in the History and Sociology of the Military (pp. 133–177). Beverly Hills, London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dower, John W. (1986). War without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War. New York: Pantheon Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dubanovski, Richard A., & S. R. McIntosh. (1984). Child Abuse and Neglect in Military and Civilian Families. Child Abuse and Neglect, 8(1), 55–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engdahl, Brian, Thomas N. Dikel, Raina Eberly, & Arthur Jr. Blank. (1997). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Community Group of Former Prisoners of War: A Normative Response to Severe Trauma. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(11), 1576–1581.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eysenck, Hans Jürgen. (1970). The Structure of Human Personality. 3rd ed. New York: Methuen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Firestone, Juanita M., & Richard J. Harris. (1994). Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military: Individualized and Environmental Contexts. Armed Forces and Snciety, 21 (1) 25–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, Erving. (1962). Asylums: Essays on the Social Situation of Mental Patients and Other Inmates. Chicago: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haas, Harald, & Franz Kernic. (1998). Zur Soziologie von UN-Peacekeeping-Einsätzen. Baden-Baden: Nomos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haney, Craig, Curtis Banks, & Philip Zimbardo. (1983). Interpersonal Dynamics in a Simulated Prison. International Journal of Criminology and Penology, 1, 69–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • High, Gil. (1997). Combating Sexual Harassment. Soldiers, 52(2), 4–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hotaling, Gerald T., David Finkelhor, John T. Kirkpatrick, & Kenneth M. Straus. (1988). Family Abuse and Its Consequences. New Directions in Research. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Internationale Gesellschaft für Menschenrechte/IGFM, Deutsche Sektion e. V. (1991). Schule des Hasses und der Gewalt. Die Sowjetische Armee tötet Tausende ihrer Soldaten mitten im Frieden. Informationssammlung der IGFM. Frankfurt: IGFM.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jäger, Herbert. (1982). Verbrechen unter totalitärer Herrschaft. Frankfurt: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kernic, Franz. (1996). Friedensengel ohne Heiligenschein. Soziologische Anmerkungen über die Schattenseiten und sozio-politischen Problemfelder von UN-Einsätzen. In Georg-Maria Meyer (Ed.), Friedensengel im Kampfanzug (pp. 207–239). Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • King, Daniel W., Lynda A. King, David W. Foy, Terence M. Keane, & John A. Fairbank. (1999). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a National Sample of Female and Male Vietnam Veterans: Risk Factors, War-Zone Stressors, and Resilience-Recovery Variables. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108(1), 164–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, Lynda A., Daniel W. King, John A. Fairbank, Terence M. Keane, & Gary A. Adams. (1998). ResilienceRecovery Factors in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among Female and Male Vietnam Veterans: Hardiness, Postwar Social Support, and Additional Stressful Life Events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 420–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klinge-Wipfelder, Stephanie. (1984). Die Kriminalität Wehrpflichtiger in der Bundeswehr. Erscheinungsformen und Ursachen. Koblenz: Bernard & Graefe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krausnick, Helmut. (1985). Hitlers Einsatzgruppen. Die Truppe des Weltanschauungskrieges 1938–1942. Frankfurt: Fischer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kulka, Richard A., John A. Fairbank, B. Kathleen Jordan, Dani Weiss, & Alan Cranston. (1990). Trauma and the Vietnam War Generation. New York: Brunner Mazel.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kümmel, Gerhard (Ed.) (2000). Military Sociology: The Richness of a Discipline. Baden-Baden: Nomos.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lippert, Ekkehard. (1989). Gewalt im Sozialisationsfeld der Bundeswehr. In Wilhelm Heitmeyer, Kurt Möller & Heinz Sünker (Eds.), Jugend-Staat-Gewalt. Politische Sozialisation von Jugendlichen, Jugendpolitik und politische Bildung (pp. 137–147). Weinheim, Munich: Juventa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litz, Brett T., Susan M. Orsillo, & Matthew J. Friedman. (1997a). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Associated with Peacekeeping Duty in Somalia for U.S. Military Personnel. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(2), 178–184.

    Google Scholar 

  • Litz, Brett T., Lynda A. King, Daniel W. King, Susan M. Orsillo, & Matthew J. Friedman. (1997b). Warriors as Peacekeepers: Features of the Somalia Experience and PTSD. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(6), 1001–1010.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Margalit, Chaim, Talia Ezion, & Stanley Rabinowitz. (1993). Israel Defence Forces Experiences with Treatment of POWs and Families: An Innovative Multifaceted Treatment Model. Military Medicine, 158(6), 376–378

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, Del. (1976). Battered Wives. New York: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCarroll, James E., John H. Newby, Laurie E. Thayer, Robert J. Ursano, Ann E. Norwood, & Carol S. Fullerton. (1999). Trends in Child Maltreatment in the U.S. Army, 1975–1997. Child Abuse and Neglect, 23(9), 855–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merrill, Lex L., Carol E. Newell, Cynthia J. Thomsen, Steven R. Gold, Joel S. Milner, Mary P. Koss, & Sandra G. Rosswork. (1999). Childhood Abuse and Sexual Revictimization in a Female Navy Recruit Sample. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 12(2), 211–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milgram, Stanley. (1985). Das Milgram-Experiment. Zur Gehorsamsbereitschaft gegenüberAutorität. Reinbek: Rowohlt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mollerstrom, Willard W., Michael A. Patchner, & Joel S. Milner. (1992). Family Violence in the Air Force: A Look at Offenders and the Role of the Family Advocacy Program. Military Medicine, 157(7), 371–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mollerstrom, Willard W., Michael A. Patchner, & Joel S. Milner. (1995). Child Maltreatment: The United States Air Force’s Response. Child Abuse and Neglect, 19(3), 325–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monahan, John, & Henry J. Steadman. (Eds.) (1994). Violence and Mental Disorder. Developments in Risk Assessment. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Omaar, Rakiya, & Alex de Waal. (1993). Somalia. Human Rights Abuses by the United Nations Forces. London: Africa Rights.

    Google Scholar 

  • Osiel, Mark J. (1999). Obeying Orders. Atrocity, Military Discipline and the Law of War. New Brunswick/ London: Transaction.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polaschek, Devon L. L., Tony Ward, & Stephen M. Hudson. (1997). Rape and Rapists: Theory and Treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 17(2), 117–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raiha, Nancy K., & David J. Soma. (1997). Victims of Child Abuse and Neglect in the U.S. Army. Child Abuse and Neglect, 21(8), 759–768.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen, Leora N., & Lee Martin. (1996). Impact of Childnood Abuse History on Psycnoiogicai Symptoms among Male and Female Soldiers in the U.S. Army. Child Abuse and Neglect, 20(12), 1149–1160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schnurr, Paula P., & Matthew J. Friedman. (1999). The National Center for PTSD: The Past 10 Years. PTSD Research Ouarterlv, 10(4), 1–2.

    Google Scholar 

  • Segev, Tom. (1992). Die Soldaten des Bösen. Zur Geschichte der KZ-Kommandanten. Reinbek: Rowohlt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seifert, Ruth. (1993). Krieg und Vergewaltigung. SOWI-Arbeitspapier Nr. 76. Munich: SOWI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seifert, Ruth. (1996). Militär-Kultur-Identität. Individualisierung, Geschlechterverhältnisse und die soziale Konstruktion des Soldaten. Bremen: Edition Temmen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shay, Jonathan. (1998). Achill in Vietnam. Kampftrauma und Persönlichkeitsverlust. Hamburg: Hamburger Edition.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegl, Elfie. (2000). Ein Soldat, das ist Dreck unter den Stiefeln. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14, März 2000, 13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, Katherine M., Nancy Kressin, Susan Frayne, Tara J. Tripp, Cheryl S. Hankin, Donald R. Miller, & Lisa M. Sullivan. (2000). The Prevalence of Military Sexual Assault among Female Veterans’ Administration Outpatients. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 15(3), 291–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Southwick, Steven M., C. Andrew III Morgan, & Dennis S. Charney. (1997). Consistency of Memory for Combat-Related Traumatic Events in Veterans of Operation Desert Storm. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(2), 173–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steiner, John M. (1980). The SS Yesterday and Today: A Sociopsychological View. In Joel E. Dimsdale (Ed.), Survivors, Victims and Perpetrators. Essays on the Nazi-Holocaust (pp. 431–445). Washington: Hemisphere.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglmayer, Alexandra (Ed.) (1993). Massenvergewaltigung. Krieg gegen die Frauen. Freiburg i Br: Kore

    Google Scholar 

  • Straus, Murray A., & Richard J. Gelles. (Eds.) (1990). Physical Violence in American Families. Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8 145 F am ilies New Bruns k: T wic ransact’ on. Sutker, Patricia B., Daniel K. Winstead, Z. Harry Galina, & Albert N. Allain. (1991). Cognitive Deficits and Psychopathology among Former Prisoners of War and Combat Veterans of the Korean Conflict. American Journal of Psychintr, 14R(1) 67–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Taft, Casey T., Amy S. Stern, Lynda A. King, & Daniel W. King. (1999). Modeling Physical Health and Functional Health Status: The Role of Combat Exposure, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Personal Resource Attributes. Journal of Traumatic Stress. 12(1). 3–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theweleit, Klaus. (1986). Männerphanta sien, 2 Bde. Basel, Frankfurt: Stroemfeld/Roter Stern. [English: Male Fantasies 1987/89, 2 vols. Minnesota: Minnesota University Press]

    Google Scholar 

  • Truscott, Susan, & Tracey Wait. (1996). Military Family Violence and Violence against Women: Causes and Incidence. ORD Report 9602. Ottawa: Department of National Defence, Operational Research Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogt, Wolfgang R. (1993). Berufsbilder des Offiziers im Widerstreit. In Paul Klein, Jürgen Kuhlmann & Horst Rohde (Eds.), Soldat—Ein Berufsbild im Wandel. Bd. 2: Offiziere (pp. 107–122). Bonn/Dortmund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wachtler, Günther. (1988). Stichwort: Militär. In Ekkehard Lippert & Günther Wachtler (Eds.), Frieden. Ein Handwörterbuch (pp. 266–277). Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Walkin, Malhalm M. (Ed.) (1979). War, Morality and the Military Profession. Boulder: Westview.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wasileski, Maryann, Martha E. Callaghan-Chaffee, & R. Blake Chaffee. (1982). Spousal Violence in Military Homes: An Initial Survey. Military Medicine, 147, September, 761–765.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winslow, Donna. (1997). The Canadian Airborne in Somalia: A Socio-Cultural Inquiry. Ottawa: Ministry of Public Works and Government Services.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winslow, Donna. (1998). The Role of Culture in the Breakdown of Discipline During Peace Operations. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology. Special Issue: Organizational Crisis 35(3) 345–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe, Jessica, Erica J. Sharkansky, Jennifer P. Read, Ree Dawson, James A. Martin, & Paige-Crosby Ouimette. (1998). Sexual Harassment and Assault as Predictors of PTSD Symptomatology among U.S. Female Persian Gulf War Military Personnel. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 13(1), 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfner, Glenn D., & Richard J. Gelles. (1993). A Profile of Violence toward Children: A National Study. Child Abuse and Neglect, 17(2), 197–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zatzick, Douglas F., Charles R. Marmar, Daniel S. Weiss, Warren S. Browner, Thomas J. Metzler, Jacqueline M. Golding, Anita Stewart, William E. Schlenger, & Kenneth B. Wells. (1997). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Functioning and Quality of Life Outcomes in a Nationally Representative Sample of Male Vietnam Veterans. American Journal of Psychiatry, 154(12), 1690–1695.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Gerhard Kümmel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Paul Klein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Wilhelm Heitmeyer John Hagan

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2003 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Kümmel, G., Klein, P. (2003). Violence within the Military. In: Heitmeyer, W., Hagan, J. (eds) International Handbook of Violence Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48039-3_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-306-48039-3_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-3980-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-306-48039-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation