The Afghanistan War through the Pages of Armed Forces and Society: An Editors Perspective
Date
2022-10
Authors
Shields, Patricia M.
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Abstract
This presentation examines the influence of the Afghanistan war on the nature of the articles published in Armed Forces & Society. My tenure as editor of Armed Forces & Society overlaps completely with the war years. Using the lenses of the postmodern or post-Cold War military, I reflect on how the articles of this journal were influenced by the war. The postmodern military relies more heavily on volunteers, is more likely to engage in unconventional missions, and more likely to use multinational forces. I found an increase in articles devoted to contractors and reserve. The articles also investigated the unique management challenges of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The multiple deployments and brutal nature of the war led to a large increase in health/mental health articles and also contributed to changes in the scope of the military family and veterans’ literature. the public opinion and civil-military relations literature was also influenced.
Description
Keywords
military, Afghanistan, war, International Security Assistance Force, armed forces, society
Citation
Shields, P. (2022). The Afghanistan War through the pages of Armed Forces & Society: An editors perspective. The Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Ottawa, Canada.