ForcesWatch » military in society

Warrior Nation podcast: War and Memory – Empire

October 2021

OCTOBER 1, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 5

In the fifth instalment of our series on war and memory we speak with Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff on the different ways Empire is remembered in Britain and the disconnect between how the British state wants the public to view the country's colonial past and the way it is seen by different communities.

What lies behind Parliament’s military cosplay scheme?

The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme raises serious questions about the relationship between politicians, the military and defence companies.

Insights from the arms fair

DSEI shows the military, government and death merchants are as entangled as ever.

War and Memory: Pathologising Critique

August 2021

AUGUST 5, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 3

In the third installment of our series on war and memory we speak with American academic and Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembcke on how resistance to the conflict in South East Asia was framed during the 1960s and 70s.

Checking in with the neocons

The recent visit to the US by the Secretary of State for Defence provided the opportunity for a speech to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, laying out the UK's new strategy for defence and foreign policy.

Embedding the Covenant

Over the last decade, local authorities and thousands of private and public organisations across the UK have pledged to promote the military through events such as Armed Forces Day. We explore how the Armed Forces Covenant enables this and how plans to further embed it in law are more widely problematic.

Pinkwashing War: Pride and Militarism

With June's Pride events underway we look at their sponsorship by the armed forces and defence industry and how activists have challenged this.

Warrior Nation podcast – War & memory: Statues

June 2021

In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, and the Conservative Government's attempt to impose a maximum sentence of 10-years for vandalising statues, we speak with academics Natasha Danilova and Adam Elliot-Cooper on the national histories constructed through memorials and statues, and the spaces of reconstruction opened up by their removal.

The Integrated Review: enmeshing and strengthening the military

The government’s new defence and foreign policy review prioritises military thinking and interests at the expense of other international approaches and vital human security goals. Here we look at some of the Review's key elements and the implications of this new vision.

A tough year but business as usual

‘Tough year’ doesn't quite capture the extent to which our lives have been shaped by crises in 2020. Militarism, however, has not been locked down. Here is some of what we have been keeping an eye on this year as we look towards 2021.