"A Test of Character": The Positive Psychology of War

Johannes Lang

"A Test of Character": The Positive Psychology of War

Research output: Contribution to Book, Anthology, Report › Book Chapter › Research › peer-review

Abstract

Over the past decade, as themes of victimhood, resilience, and masculinity have become re-politicized in the West, a new psychological approach to war has emerged. This is a “positive” psychology of war that foregrounds the strength rather than the vulnerability of human beings, and that accentuates the ennobling rather than the traumatic effects of violence. The following chapter explores how this new military psychology grew out of a conservative critique of victimhood that challenges liberal perceptions of war as something inherently traumatic and seeks to rediscover the transformative potential in suffering and sacrifice.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Geopolitical Amnesia : The Rise of the Right and the Crisis of Liberal Memory
Editors	Vibeke Schou Tjalve
Number of pages	18
Place of Publication	Montreal
Publisher	McGill-Queen's University Press
Publication date	21 May 2020
Pages	48-65
Chapter	3
ISBN (Print)	9780228001805
Publication status	Published - 21 May 2020

Keywords

War
Trauma
Resilience
Liberal memory
Positive psychology
US military

Access to Document

https://www.mqup.ca/geopolitical-amnesia-products-9780228001805.php

2 Finished

WoR: World of the Right
Tjalve, V. S. (PI), Crone, M. (CoI), Tassinari, F. (CoI), Williams, M. C. (PI), Drolet, J. F. (PI), Hinds, M. F. (CoI) & Holm, M. (CoI)
01/08/2017 → 01/06/2023
Project: Research
The New Psychology of War: Trauma, Subjectivity, and the Militarization of Positive Psychology
Lang, J. (PI), Schott, R. M. (CoI) & Keis, M. K. B. (CoI)
01/01/2017 → 31/12/2022
Project: Research

1 Anthology
1 Book Chapter

The moral challenges of moral injury
Lang, J. & Schott, R. M., 11 Aug 2023, Moral Injury and the Humanities. Cohen, A. & McClymond, K. (eds.). New York: Routledge, p. 17-34 (Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory).
Research output: Contribution to Book, Anthology, Report › Book Chapter › Research › peer-review
Geopolitical amnesia: The Rise of the Right and the Crisis of Liberal Memory
Tjalve, V. S. (Editor), May 2020, Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. 176 p.
Research output: Book, Anthology, Thesis, Report › Anthology › Research › peer-review

1 Presentation/Speaker at conference, seminar, workshop etc.

En ændret forståelse af krigens og traumets psykologi
Lang, J. (Speaker)
10 Sept 2021
Activity: Talk or Presentation › Presentation/Speaker at conference, seminar, workshop etc.

Cite this

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"A Test of Character": The Positive Psychology of War

Abstract

Keywords

Access to Document

Projects

WoR: World of the Right

The New Psychology of War: Trauma, Subjectivity, and the Militarization of Positive Psychology

Research output

The moral challenges of moral injury

Geopolitical amnesia: The Rise of the Right and the Crisis of Liberal Memory

Activities

En ændret forståelse af krigens og traumets psykologi

Cite this