The title of the thesis is:
On Soldiering. An Inquiriy into Soldier’s Identity Negotiations
Topic for the trial lecture:
Discuss the discursive constructions of “a soldier”, in the popular culture that surrounds young men and women today, and discuss what consequences these discourses may have for the youth’s doing of gender and the soldier role when they enter into the military institution.
Time for trial lecture: 12:15 – 13:15
Time for public defence: 14:15 – 17:30
Place: Bodø, Auditorium A2 Stein Rokkan
Chair of defence: Vice-dean Cecilie Høj Anvik
Adjudication committee:
- Associate professor Rene Moelker, Netherlands Defence Academy
- Senior researcher Nina Rones, Norwegian Defence Research Establishment
- Professor Johans Tveit Sandvin, Nord University
Supervisors:
- Main supervisor: Forsker I Trond Bliksvær, Nordlandsforskning
- Co-supervisor: Professor Jan Kåre Breivik, Nord universitet
You may request a pdf of the thesis by sending an email to: anneli.m.watterud@nord.no.
Summery of the thesis:
This thesis delves into the concept of being a soldier, with a specific focus on the Norwegian military institution. It explores the various interpretations of the soldier role and how Norwegian soldiers navigate their identities within the institutional context.
The first article introduces a typology of seven ideal soldier types – warrior, nation defender, law-enforcer, humanitarian, state-builder, ideological, and contractor soldier. These ideal types are derived from Weberian principles, serving as pure and logical constructs to understand the actions of hypothetical soldiers. I propose that these ideal types offer valuable theoretical concepts for navigating empirical realities and comprehending how the soldier’s role is perceived and enacted by soldiers and others.
The second and third articles employ qualitative methods and symbolic interactionism to explore soldiers’ moral careers and women’s identity negotiations and performance in the Norwegian Army. My findings from the second article reveal that the interviewed soldiers are willing to compromise their moral values to meet institutional obligations. The third article explores the process by which women within the military institution internalize and accommodate condescending attitudes and behavior, thereby impeding their ability to engage in whistleblowing activities.
Overall, the thesis provides insights into identity negotiations within the military institution and some of their broader implications. It emphasizes the need to address these processes seriously if we aim to align the military institution with ethical and moral standards prevalent in society. Unethical and illegal behavior is not solely an individual responsibility but a collective one, especially in the Norwegian military, given its conscription of young individuals.
