Military, Militarism, and the Militarization of Domestic Violence

• NCJ Number: 201931
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 9 Issue: 9 Dated: September 2003 Pages: 1118-1152
• Author(s): Madelaine Adelman
• Date Published: September 2003
• Length: 35 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article discusses the militarization of domestic violence in Israel.

Abstract

Militarism is a complex of relations among the army, politics, and society. This may range from a military regime to the institutionalized expression of military traits and values throughout society that leads to militaristic political decisionmaking. In Israel, the boundaries between the military and society are highly permeable and ambiguous. Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in Israel. Conservative estimates suggest that 1 out of every 10 married women is battered by her husband. Feminists have equated militarism and its gender hierarchies and inequalities with men’s violence against women. Central to the understanding of militarism and domestic violence is the concept of militarized masculinity. Four themes are addressed in analyzing the relationship of militarism to domestic violence in Israeli society. The first of them is how militarism has been used to explain the phenomenon of domestic violence. The second is how the militarization of society creates hierarchies of victims and victimization. The third theme is how militarism has entered the lexicon of Israelis or influenced how they organize against domestic violence. The final theme is how militarism constitutes a context for victims’ experiences of domestic violence. The shift from studies of domestic violence in or associated with the military to the militarization of domestic violence may help to answer questions about rates, effectiveness, and military culture. It may also create new questions and new ways of investigating the meaning, manifestation, and management of domestic violence in militarized societies. Ethnographic or other forms of qualitative research may lead to a greater understanding of how cultural distinctions, such as militarism, may configure the way a society experiences domestic violence. 2 notes, 113 references