This exploration of the issues of legitimacy and commitment in the military focuses on the contemporary military situation and critically analyzes current fault lines and future trends in this area. The editors contend that post-World War II wars are different from the two wars preceding them; that the non-traditional wars in Algeria, Vietnam, Pakistan, Lebanon, the Falkland Islands and Grenada, among others, can be characterized by issues of national concensus and home support , political debates, moral argumentations and counter-argumentations, demonstrations and alienation, and conscientious objectors. In such wars, weapons systems, training and tactics become secondary to issues of legitimacy and commitment. Military organizations, too, are different in that they are now prepared not only for wars but also for peace and peace-keeping missions that consist of police-type or constabulary tasks. Also, the volunteer army has largely replaced the army composed mainly of conscripts, and these better-educated soldiers are different in that they will examine carefully the sources of military legitimation before furnishing the unconditional commitment that is the backbone of the military fighting spirit. The volume’s 11 chapters were contributed by an international group of leading behavioural scientists who write from the perspectives of a wide scope of disciplines, including psychology, sociology, history, philosophy, anthropology and military studies. The work is divided into three main parts that focus on some of the theoretical puzzles inherent in the combination of military ethics and moral values, assess sources of legitimacy and commitment, and detail the manifestation and measurement of commitment and legitimacy in a variety of nations and organizations. The subjects of conscientious objection, educational benefits, the Army Reserve and the Vietnamese, US, Soviet and Israeli armies are a few of the topics scrutinized.
