Civilians and Modern War : Armed Conflict and the Ideology of Violence

446 Pages·2012·3.51 MB·English

by  Daniel Rothbart

Civilians and Modern War
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.
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.
War, Conflict and Ethics
Series Editors: Michael L. Gross
University of Haifa
and
Daniel Rothbart
George Mason University

This new book series focuses on the morality of decisions by military and
political leaders to engage in violence and the normative underpinnings of
military strategy and tactics in the prosecution of the war.
Civilians and Modern War Armed conflict and the ideology of violence Edited
by Daniel Rothbart, Karina V. Korostelina and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui Ethics,
Norms and the Narratives of War Creating and encountering the enemy other
Pamela Creed
Civilians and Modern War
Armed conflict and the ideology of
violence
Edited by Daniel Rothbart,
Karina V. Korostelina, and
Mohammed D. Cherkaoui
First published 2012
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa Business © 2012 Selection and editorial material, Daniel Rothbart,
Karina V. Korostelina and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui; individual chapters, the contributors The right of Daniel Rothbart, Karina V.
Korostelina and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui to be identified as editors of this work, and of the chapter authors for their individual
contributions, has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of
Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Civilians and modern war: armed conflict and the ideology of violence/edited by Daniel
Rothbart, Karina V. Korostelina and Mohammed D. Cherkaoui.
 p. cm.
 Includes bibliographical references and index.
 1. Civilians in war. 2. Combatants and noncombatants
(International law) 3. Civilian war casualties. 4. War victims. 5.
Military history, Modern–20th century. 6. Military history,
Modern–21st century. 7. War–Moral and ethical aspects. I.
Rothbart, Daniel. II. Korostelina, K. V. (Karina Valentinovna) III.
Cherkaoui, Mohammed D., 1960–IV. Title: Armed conflict and
the ideology of violence.
 U21.2.C514 2012
 305.9′0695–dc23
2011041245
ISBN: 978-0-415-69393-6 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-203-12256-3 (ebk)
Contents
List of Figures and Tables
List of contributors
Acknowledgements
1 The place and plight of civilians in modern war
DANIEL ROTHBART, KARINA V. KOROSTELINA AND MOHAMMED D.
CHERKAOUI
PART I
Targeting civilians
2 The role of civilians in American war ideology
RICHARD E. RUBENSTEIN
Devastating civilians at home: The plight of Crimean Tatars and
3
Californians of Asian descent during World War II
KARINA V. KOROSTELINA
Military culture and civilian victimization: The Allied bombing of
4
Germany in World War II
ALEXANDER B. DOWNES
Double victims: The recruitment and treatment of child soldiers in
5
Chechnya
KARINA V. KOROSTELINA AND JULIIA KONONENKO
PART II
Preserving civilian immunity
6 The politics of civilian identity
DANIEL ROTHBART
Israeli soldiers’ perceptions of Palestinian civilians during the 2009 Gaza
7
War
NETA OREN
Civilian vulnerability in asymmetric conflict: Lessons from the Second
8
Lebanon and Gaza Wars
MICHAEL L. GROSS
9 In the shadow of soldiers: Faceless victims in public media narrative
MOHAMMED D. CHERKAOUI
10Civilians, pundits, and the mediatized ideology
MOHAMMED D. CHERKAOUI
PART III
Redressing anti-civilian practices
Trans-regional military dimensions of civilian protection: A two-part
11
problem with a two-part solution
DONALD C.F. DANIEL AND TROMILA WHEAT
Civilians under the law: Inequality, universalisms, and intersectionality
12
as intervention
SUSAN F. HIRSCH
13The price of justice
MICHAEL MIKLAUCIC
14Preventing genocide: Towards systematic engagement by states
ANDREA BARTOLI AND TETSUSHI OGATA
15
15Making amends: A new expectation for civilian losses in armed conflict
SARAH HOLEWINSKI
16Conclusion: The road ahead
DANIEL ROTHBART, KARINA V. KOROSTELINA AND MOHAMMED D.
CHERKAOUI
Name index
Subject index