ABSTRACT

The history of war has preoccupied itself with the decisions of elite men to declare war, with mythic generals who command with charismatic virility, and with non-elite war heroes who have done ‘the noblest of deeds’, given or risked their lives for their country. The encroachment of military institutions into politics and society are normalized and revered. However, the greatest human casualties of modern war are non-combatant civilians, not soldiers. Among civilian casualties, women and girls are deliberately targeted and disproportionately harmed by war and its aftermath. Likewise, modern war and militarism have a staggering impact on nature and our lived environment – by the kinds of weapons used, the hazardous waste their manufacture and testing generate, the ‘shock and awe’ intensity of industrial warfare, and the massive exploitation of natural resources and fossil fuels to support militarism. In two sequential narratives, this chapter conjoins these most devastating human and environmental impacts of war and militarism to argue that war is never ‘just’ for its victims and that militarism as response to conflict is a setback for human health and development and environmental sustainability.