Military Heroism in a Post-Heroic Era

This volume explores issues involving heroism and how it has both continued and changed as a military ideal, a motivational factor and a public symbol. It focuses on the question of whether, in the recent past, new kinds of ideals of heroism (and by association, valor, sacrifice or bravery) have been added to older forms? This question inquires whether new criteria have emerged to acknowledge and highlight exceptional military behavior. Evidence of the continued importance of heroism is presented and seven (non-exclusive) theses about its contemporary manifestations are presented and linked to scholarship and the book’s chapters: Post-heroism and casualty aversion; professionalization; changing organizational locus; post-patriotic heroism; a shift to rescue and recovery; individualization; and democratization. Next the politics or heroism as a resource is explored and the conclusion argues for cumulative model in which newer forms are added to older forms of heroism.

This contribution starts from the idea that military heroism is a manifestation of what is called the “social construction of reality”. This implies there is change and variation—in time and place—regarding to what and who a military hero is. A military hero there may not be a hero here, a hero then may no longer be a hero now, and vice-versa. Also, it is important to recognize the heroes in civilian life who seem to become increasingly important. Next, two types of military heroes are distinguished: Achilles versus Odysseus. Achilles connects to the ‘absolutist’ way of doing things military, i.e. the military is seen as the core of regulating tensions in (inter)national affairs, whereas for Odysseus and the ‘pragmatist’ way of dealing with tensions military action is only one of the options. ‘Pragmatism’, i.e. the Odysseus way, seems on the rise given the emergence of important operational notions to be used on the battlefield such as “tactical patience” and “courageous constraint”. However, there are enough signs that indicate that the ‘absolutist’ way of thinking is still seen as the right manner to solve issues, both in the Western and the Eastern hemisphere.

The 2022 Russia–Ukraine War raises fundamental questions about soldiers’ “will to fight” and the applicability of the post-heroic soldier concept. The article delves deep into the role of the “moral component” in this conflict and offers initial insights into its significance in modern armies. Our examination seeks to understand the dynamics of motivation, military education, belief systems, and strategic narratives. In this context, we conduct a preliminary analysis of Ukrainian forces’ morale, emphasizing its use in framing the war as a “people’s war” for mobilization. In addition, we broadly explore reports on the “moral crisis” within the Russian Armed Forces, examining the nuanced boundaries between morale, morality, and propaganda.

In interviews with Danish combat soldiers, deployed to Afghanistan, I learned that the term “hero” can also be used in a negative sense, to describe a person who in pursuit of fame and glory, puts the lives and wellbeing of others at stake. In this article, I argue that real heroes—in the eyes of soldiers and everybody else—are defined by two characteristics: The first is that heroes are intrinsically motivated. Heroes do what they do because it is the right thing to do. The second is that heroes put something at stake. An act is only heroic when there is an actual chance of failure. These two conditions are both necessary, but none of them are sufficient. It is often challenging to provide real-life examples fitting both conditions. When we argue that a given act should be seen as heroic, we inevitably enter the grey zone of interpretation.

Although the underlying reasons for veteran-hero and veteran-victim relationships have been theoretically and empirically examined, research has often ignored historical, cultural and demographic perspectives in investigating this relationship. The present chapter addresses this gap in knowledge by exploring cultural narratives and values, their relationship with legitimizing military deployments and their effect on the veteran hero-victim relationship through an examination of empirical evidence on public understandings of veterans. First, the veteran-hero relationship is examined by investigating how culturally accepted narratives of history serve as a framework for social and political arrangements. Veterans, who defend social and political arrangements, contribute to cultural identity maintenance processes by upholding the symbolic properties of a society. However, recent demographic and cultural changes, cultural narratives, values, and views on social and political arrangements have become more diverse. In the absence of shared narratives and perspectives on political arrangements, military deployments are publicly scrutinized as lacking compelling reasons. Veterans then become conceptualised as somewhat heroic, but Naïve, victims of warfare and political rhetoric with consequent problematic implications for reintegration into civilian society. In conclusion, the veteran hero-victim relationship may mirror struggles to identify socially-unifying, compelling reasons for military action in post-nationalist societies.

The following chapter examines post-heroic society’s perception of military heroes. Using the Israeli case, this chapter argues that despite the shift to a more individualistic society in the post-heroic era, the need for military heroes persists. It suggests that civilian society, at least in Western democracies, is not yet ready to forgo its expectations from military heroes and transition into a post-heroic mindset. It still needs heroes to exist in order to infuse meaning into extreme situations, serving as a crucial coping mechanism for civilians. The paper will first discuss the idea that heroism enables meaning; still a much-needed component in society. It will then explore this idea through an extreme case study: Israeli medical personnel treating military patients during times of HIC versus routine occurrences. Moving from the extreme case of HIC, the paper will then discuss Israeli civilian perceptions of military heroes and military heroism during routine events. The case of Israel in both extreme and routine situations will demonstrate how the possibility of military heroes enables civilians to give meaning to their own actions and cope better with a difficult reality. The chapter will conclude with broader examples from outside of Israel and with thoughts for future research on this topic.

Estonia’s contemporary defense policy is based on inclusive heroism—a comprehensive approach where every citizen is expected to contribute to the state defence in case of conflict. Based on the Estonian case study, we formulate the three key aspects that frame the construction of heroism: geopolitical ramifications, sociocultural structures, and temporal aspects. Geopolitical ramification has two main dimensions: geographical location and historical and political implications. Together, they form the context and define the function of heroes—how much past-, present- or future-oriented the social construction of heroism is. The mechanisms of the social construction of heroism are: (1) the formation of national and nation creation narratives related to past victories—winning and losing wars; and (2) the contemporary use and transformation of these narratives shaping the defence culture, the general public’s understanding of defence and security needs and their responsibilities, and modes of social recognition. Temporal aspects comprise three time dimensions: post-factum glorification, legitimizing present military acts and individuals, and laying the groundwork for future heroic deeds.

This chapter is using an institutional theory approach to explore how heroism and its mobilizing function operated during the Canadian participation to the now defunct United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali in 2018–2019 (MINUSMA). The case was selected as it was the first substantive mission where the Canadian military was put in harm’s way since it disengagement of the Afghan mission in 2011. The academic literature on Canadian peacekeeping is analyzed to uncover central institutional logics both at the normative and cognitive levels, which were then used to survey the press coverage of the Canadian mission in Mali, leading to, during and afterward (2015 to 2022). The main findings are that post-heroic heroes were indeed culturally and socially produced, but it did not lead to any mobilizing functions of the hero as an archetype in the Canadian society. In fact, it had no impact on the Canadian government’s ongoing disinterest in military affairs, sustained in part by other wider unconscious societal forces. It concludes that Canada is an example of maladaptation to the post-heroic condition, which extends this notion beyond the original concept.

With the growth of democracy promoting respect for human rights, military heroism has been declining in South Korea. Neither the commanders nor the citizens are willing to put their soldiers at risk of death. This study assumes that conformity to the Soldier’s Creed is a good indicator of the extent to which service members embrace military heroism because the Creed includes military values constituting military heroism. Based on this, survey data on 530 South Korean active service members were analyzed to identify promoters of military heroism. Major findings go as follows. First, the Army is moving away from the Modern military model in which heroic combat leaders are admired, indicating that the attitude towards military heroism will never be the same as it used to be. Second, military heroism is not changing into a different form. Traditional military values such as masculinity, institutional bonding, and military professionalism are positively associated with conformity to the Creed. In other words, individuals who align with traditional military values will adhere more closely to the heroic mindset. Finally, collective memories and experiences of female service members and army civilians impede military heroism from being cultivated into them, as relatively lower conformity scores for them showed.

Perceptions of heroism in war are both unsettled and constant. Following international trends, Norwegian war memories and commemorations, which started out as national patriotic in 1945, gradually incorporated new agendas, a wider set of actors, and more self-critical perceptions throughout the cold war. The sacrifices made by previously marginalized groups such as sailors from the merchant fleet, partisans, and communist resistance groups, were gradually recognized, and they obtained a more prominent place in the national perception of heroism in war. Military perceptions of heroism, as expressed in the reinstituted war decoration regime in 2010, seem largely unaffected by these developments. A majority of decorations won for operations in recent wars in Afghanistan and Syria, awarded traditional military virtues such as leadership, operational success and gaining the respect of major allies. Self-sacrifice was not a criterion for being decorated. Instead, the largest groups of recipients were highly trained special operations forces, who were decorated for their professionalism. The new decoration regime, intended at forging new ties between Norwegian society and an increasingly more exclusive and seclusive military, therefore indicates that civilian and military perceptions of heroism in war are no longer identical. Rather, they seem to be on diverging paths.

Through the decades of rejection of the military and militarism since the end of WWII, postwar politics has long discouraged the Japanese public from celebrating traditional classical war-fighting heroism, unlike other militaries of the West. Overt esteem for the JSDF has similarly been discouraged under this environment uniquely antipathetic to any combat. Instead, military heroism in postwar Japan has been characterized by the non-militarised activities of the JSDF, the depoliticized narratives of its military history, and romanticized historical narratives. These traits align with the post-heroic heroism newly emerging in other Western militaries. Still, post-heroic heroism is not new to Japan but has been present since the start of the postwar period. The first section explains public attitudes towards historical war heroes from 1945 through the 2000s. Given the absence of a war-fighting military and a political environment in which combat heroism was taboo, there could be no actual JSDF heroism. Instead, romantic narratives of the tragic loss of war heroes were developed and consumed by the Japanese public. The second section explains a decisive turning point in this trend in the aftermath of the East Japan Great Earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011.

In Germany, the concept of the (military) hero has been heavily burdened in particular by the crimes of the Hitler regime and subsequently tabooed for many decades. The paper discusses in which ways a new perception of heroism is in the making in the context of the German armed forces, also in the aftermath of Russia’s violent invasion of Ukraine. It argues that a concept of the “democratic military hero” has gradually emerged, emphasizing soldiers’ commitments to democratic principles and the defense of liberty and equality for all. Despite the historical burden and taboo associated with heroism in Germany due to the crimes of the Hitler regime, the societal need for heroes to provide orientation and support in uncertain times did not cease to exist. The German case shows, by analyzing the Bundeswehr mission in Afghanistan, that the nature of heroic images as well as the contested status of heroism within a society can change over time. The concept of heroism has always been contested in one way or another throughout German history and is subject to develop in any context, depending on society’s norms as well as the security framework. Heroic images provide us with information on values and needs of societies and as such are diverse and can take on contradictory, yet meaningful and motivational forms for all members of society.

The 2017 Marawi war between Philippine government troops and ISIL-linked terrorists depicted a new configuration of military heroism that admits humanitarian and civilian protection elements. Examining army-produced publications and interview data of field commanders, the institutional discourse depicts plural versions of heroism that recognize and place value on humanitarian tasks independent of combat goals. The discourse emphasizes the role of female civil-military operatives at evacuation center and checkpoints, and units engaged in civilian rescue operations. The Philippine military reaped tremendous institutional gains from this heroism recalibration, enabling higher public approval and private sector support. The discourse also portrays enduring strains in the military’s legitimacy seeking enterprise vis-a-vis the Muslim minority population, which remain critical of the government’s commitment for rehabilitation.

Contemporary conflicts appear to change perceptions regarding the nature of war and the human role in military operations. Theories of post-heroic or risk-transfer warfare suggest lowered legitimacy of violence and tolerance for casualties in Western societies. Meanwhile, a key military adaptation is increasing reliance on technology, taking a prime role in “post-heroic” wars and positioning technologists as their new heroes. The chapter explores the rise of the military technologist as a new "demigod" hero in this changing landscape of conflicts. Grounded in interviews with award-winning IDF technologists, it characterizes their distinguishing traits like mission dedication, expertise, translation capacity of operational needs into technological solutions, and rapid prototyping. It also discusses their military track and promotion coupled with the role of commanders and leaders in their development. The chapter’s discussion relates these contemporary technologist-hero characteristics to traditional military heroism ideals, finding core common ground around themes of responsibility, leadership influence, and role modeling, as well as adaptations owing to the technology context. However, it points to the tension on whether post-heroic models threaten the archetypes underpinning the “traditional”, valorized, warrior ethos.

This chapter examines the reasons behind the widespread utilization of military contractors. To address this question, the paper develops the contentious of previous scholarly work to argue that the extended use of military contractors is an adaptive measure undertaken by key decision-makers such as politicians and senior bureaucrats, and that it is centered on assuring continued support for themselves and higher-ranking commanders, thus in turn assuring the continued legitimacy and institutional autonomy of the armed forces. In other words, to guarantee continued political, financial, and social support for themselves, politicians and the armed forces use military contractors to help innovate and adjust to changing global and national circumstances and the challenges of emerging forms of warfare to maintain their institutional autonomy.

As part of Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, select Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel deployed on a domestic operation called Operation LASER (Op LASER) to support civilian staff at long-term care facilities (LTCF) in Ontario and Quebec. OP LASER personnel faced several unique challenges and stressors, including working with an ill and vulnerable elderly population, risk of catching the virus, concern for the health and well-being of loved ones while away, and being exposed to morally distressing events, all of which can be associated with decreases in psychological well-being. Despite the unprecedented circumstances, OP LASER personnel exemplified heroism in the course of these humanitarian efforts. These CAF members faced unique challenges and personal sacrifices, demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity in the course of contributing to the protection of the broader Canadian society in the context of the global pandemic. This deployment embodies the notion of polymorphic heroism in today’s post-heroic era with heroism extending beyond the traditional military battlefield.