Over the last few years, a number of military conflicts have erupted or re-emerged all over the world. Older types of wars between national states have largely been replaced by civil wars, terrorist or guerrilla wars, and military and "humanist" interventions by third-state actors. What has remained a constant, though, is that all participants in the conflicts evoke an ideal of the good soldier that is intended to legitimise participation in the conflict and to secure the allegiance of the fighters.

The conference seeks to establish the historical roots and developments of the normative ideal of the good soldier and discuss the norm in its variety of meanings and ambiguities. The aim is to identify what attributes identify a "good" soldier at specific points in history and to explain how these attributes were interlinked with military, political as well as wider societal needs. Who was involved in the production of the norm of the "good" soldier? How was the norm promoted and implemented, and which purposes did it serve? Is the ideal of a "good soldier", which is after all a moral category, not a contradiction in itself, given that the use of violence is not only part of the soldier's job, but his raison d'etre? The conference will take up these questions and debate the historical construction of normative ideals of "the good soldier" and their usage both as a guiding principle for soldierly behaviour as well as promotional tool. At the same time it will analyse the question of how these norms were embraced or rejected by individual soldiers in different national armies, and how they themselves viewed their role in the military and war.

The conference aims to bring together young and well-established scholars that adopt historical, sociological, military-strategic, cultural, gender, philosophical or theological perspectives to allow fruitful, transdisciplinary discussion. The focus of the conference lies on norm settings in national armies, both European and Non-European, from the 19th until the 21st century. Armed forces of international organisations, such as UNO, as well as paramilitary units or irregular troops are therefore excluded.

The organisers invite papers that analyse one of the following issues:

-   norm-setting and popularisation of soldierly ideals over the last two centuries

-   modification of military or societal views of "the good soldier" as result of social developments or changes within national militaries (such as the opening of military service to women or soldiers with migration background, the admission of female soldiers into direct combat roles, use of armed forces in disaster relief, rescue operations or border patrol, implementation of new military technology and changes of military)

-   the question of how these soldierly ideals influence the behaviour of individuals as well as groups, strengthen the power of the political elites, or structure the relationship between civilians and the military

-   forms of individual or group-specific resistance to these norm-settings, violations of norms of military conduct (e.g. insubordination, desertion, but also perpetration of war crimes) and the complex processes of negotiating competing soldierly ideals

Thematic clusters:

1)   Norm-setting "from above"

Institutional, political, societal, religious norms and notions of a "good soldier": how are these images discursively constructed, which interests inform these constructions, and how do new ideals compete with established norms? Who sets these norms (military, church, political elites, media, sub-cultures), and how are they enforced? What national, regional, or class-specific differences and similarities exist between soldierly ideals?

2)   Transformations

When and how do ideals of the "good soldier” change? What are the conditions and triggers for these transformations? How effective or enduring are these changes? How has the opening of military service for women changed common perceptions and ideals of the soldier? How do experiences of war, defeat or victory modify the soldierly ideal within a specific nation?

3)   Soldierly self-perceptions and identities

How do soldiers view themselves? Which norms and discourses shape their self-descriptions? How do individuals negotiate between competing soldierly ideals? Do the self-perceptions of deviant or insubordinate soldiers differ from the dominant norm of the good soldier? Which views and influences have shaped their individual view of a soldierly ideal? Under which circumstances do soldierly norms lose influence?

4)   Social practice

How do individuals internalise norms and ideals of soldierly conduct? Which role do military training, education, media, societal discourses, etc. play? How do specific individual or collective experiences influence the identification with these ideals or their rejection (e.g. enlistment; experience of combat or injury; witnessing of war crimes; but also: social status as a soldier; military rank; status as liberator or occupant)?

The conference will be held at the Air Force Academy in Trondheim.

Conference language is English. Accommodation in Trondheim (3 nights) and meals will be provided and travel costs (up to a certain limit, based on economy fares) will be reimbursed.

Please submit your abstract containing a title and brief description of your topic (up to 300 words) together with a short CV and list of recent publications (max. 1 page) to maria.fritsche@ntnu.no.

Participants will be notified by 10 May 2015.

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Contact:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Fritsche

Dept. of Historical Studies

Norwegian University of Science and Technology

7491 Trondheim

Norway

+47 735 96632

maria.fritsche@ntnu.no