Violence in Extreme Conditions

Eric-Hans Kramer is a Professor of Management and Organization Studies at the Netherlands Defense Academy. Before that, he was an Associate Professor of Human Factors and Systems Safety at the same organization. He is currently working on several research projects concerning organizational issues in the military. Tine Molendijk is an interdisciplinary-minded cultural anthropologist specialized in the areas of violence, military culture and mental health, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and moral injury. Her PhD research focused on the role of political practices and public perceptions in moral injury in Bosnia and Afghanistan veterans. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Military Sciences at the Netherlands Defense Academy (NLDA) and a Research Fellow affiliated with Radboud University, the Netherlands. Her publications include the award-winning book Moral Injury and Soldiers in Conflict: Political Practices and Public Perceptions (Routledge, 2021).

• 1. Introduction.- Multi – and interdisciplinary reflections on violence and military ethics.- 2. Language and violence.- 3. Military trauma and the conflicted human condition: Moral injury as a window into violence, human nature and military ethics.- 4. Exploring the relevance of the systems psychodynamic approach to military organizations.- Recent cases and developments.- 5. Instrumental morality under a gaze: Israeli soldiers reasoning on doing “good”.- 6. Soldiers as street level bureaucrats?  Military Discretionary Autonomy and Moral Professionalism in a Police Perspective.- 7. The Future of the Comprehensive Approach as a Strategy for Intervention.- Some answers to current challenges.- 8. Contemporary just war thinking and military education.- 9. Educating for restraint.- 10. The e-word (emotions) in military moral education: Making use of the dual-process model of moral psychology.- 11. The Dutch approachto ethics: Integrity management in the military.- Epilogue.- 12. ‘Moresfare’ and the resilience paradox: Ethics as the terra incognita of hybrid warfare and its challenges.- 13. Concluding reflections.

“Violence in Extreme Conditions is a multifaceted book that challenges the conventional understandings of military violence and encourages us to engage with the complexities of ethical decision-making in military contexts. … The book will undoubtedly appeal to scholars of military ethics and professionals working within military organizations, offering valuable insights and perspectives for navigating the challenging terrain of violence under extreme conditions.” (Janne L. Punski-Hoogervorst, Medicine, Conflict and Survival, Vol. 40 (2), 2024)