Mary Dudziak: The absence of the people in war means that the people do not tire of the costs of war. The people’s remoteness and isolation from war undermines their traditional role as a restraint.
A Growing Civilian-Military Gap, and its Consequences
November 28, 2011 By
Mary L. Dudziak: As Americans become more isolated from the costs of war, military engagement no longer seems to require the support of the American people. Their disengagement does not limit the reach of American military action, but enables its expansion.
Did 9/11 Really Change Everything?
September 10, 2011 By
Mary L. Dudziak: Even if 9/11 changed the way Americans thought about the world, it could not determine the actions we would take in its aftermath. It did not deprive American leaders of choices.
Is Wartime a Time to End Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?
February 8, 2010 By
Mary L. Dudziak: The no-change-during-wartime argument is an example of conventional thinking about war and American society. “Wartime” is imagined to be a temporary condition. It is a special kind of time. Wartime, by definition, is preceded and followed by “peacetime.” American history is thought to consist of the movement from peacetime to wartime and back again. In this conceptualization, wartimes always comes to an end.
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