Why We Fight: New Approaches to the Human Dimension of Warfare

by H. Christian Breede (Editor), Allan English (Editor), Robert C. Engen (Editor)

Overview

For decades, the Canadian Armed Forces has used the work of foreign scholars and writers in its professional military education to try to understand the human dimension of warfare: why and how people are motivated to fight, and how they behave once they do fight. Yet the specific Canadian context, experience, and perspective are often lost in favour of appeals to universal truths. The first major Canadian study of combat motivation in almost forty years, Why We Fight redresses this imbalance by presenting some of the best new work on the subject. Bringing together top military practitioners and scholars to discuss some of the most controversial issues of modern warfare, Why We Fight examines the face of battle as experienced by Canadians. It explores sexual violence in war, professionalism, organizations, leadership, shared intent, motivation in extremis, and the toxicity of the "warrior" culture. Its chapters offer key insights on combat motivation theories, the modern operating environment, and the collective and individual identities of the men and women who fight for Canada. Many worry that technology is leading us towards a post-human age, particularly in war. Why We Fight affirms the centrality of the human being in warfare in Canada's past, present, and future.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780228003878
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	12/17/2020
Series:	Human Dimensions In Foreign Policy, Military Studies, And Security Studies Series , #12
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Robert C. Engen is senior lecturer in war studies at Deakin University and co-editor of Why We Fight: New Approaches to the Human Dimension of Warfare. H. Christian Breede is associate professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada, a serving infantry officer, co-editor of Going to War? Trends in Military Interventions, author of The Idea of Failed States, and editor of Culture and the Soldier. Allan English is adjunct professor, history, Queen's University, has taught warfare theory and history at the Canadian Forces College, Toronto, and is the author of Understanding Military Culture: A Canadian Perspective.

Table of Contents

Figures and Tables xi

Introduction The Human Dimensions of War Robert C. Engen 3

1 Traditional Paradigms of Combat Motivation in the Canadian Military: Teaching Combat Motivation, 1985-2010 Allan English 13

2 The Marshall Paradigm: American and Canadian Perspectives Roger Spiller Robert C. Engen Allan English 25

3 Different Language, Common Intent: Mutual Understanding between Poles and Canadians, 1944 Robert Williams 38

4 Sexual Violence as Motivation Claire Cookson-Hills 51

5 Strangers in Arms: Swift Trust and Combat Motivation Robert C. Engen 82

6 Combat Motivation in the Contemporary Canadian Army Ian Hope 96

7 "Do You Even Pro, Bro?": Persistent Testing of Warrior Identity and the Failure of Cohesion H. Christian Breede Karen D. Davis 116

8 Beliefs: What Motivates Insurgents Robert Martyn 139

9 Women in Dark Networks: A Case Study on Daesh-Supportive Tumblr Blogs Victoria Tait Joshua Clark Lena Saleh 158

Conclusion "We're going to Afghanistan so that we get a decent deal on softwood lumber": The CIDP Combat Motivation Workshop Concluding Roundtable Sonia Dussault Robert C. Engen 189

Contributors 199

Index 205

Editorial Reviews

"Why We Fight offers a rich, wide-ranging discussion of combat motivation, in both historical and contemporary contexts, demonstrating how historical and current studies can shed light on contemporary challenges and debates within the Canadian Forces." Geoffrey Hayes, University of Waterloo

From the Publisher