Mastering Soldiers : Conflict, Emotions, and the Enemy in an Israeli Military Unit

Abstract

Studies of military that deal with actual experience of troops in field still rare in social sciences. In fact, this ethnographic study of an elite unit in Israeli Defense Force is only one of its kind. As an officer of this unit and a professional anthropologist, author was ideally positioned for his role as participant observer. During eight years he spent with his unit he focused primarily on such notions as conflict, the enemy, and soldiering because they are, he argues, key points of reference for what we are and what we trying to do and form basis for interpreting environment within which armies operate. Relying on latest anthropological approaches to cognitive models and social constructions of emotion and masculinity, author offers an in-depth analysis of dynamics that drive men's attitudes and behavior, and a rare and fascinating insight into reality of military life.

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