ABSTRACT

This chapter considers the paradox of children's simultaneous exclusion from, and inclusion in, security politics from the angle of everyday militarism, since it is through militaristic politics and cultures that the geopolitical comes to touch most intimately on children's lives. It starts with the recognition that childhood, war and (in)security are emotive terms that draw much of their meaning from the relations between them. The chapter argues that an important step towards addressing the contradictions is to 'start at home' by tracing the presence of war in western children's lives and considering when, how and why it can be contested. Comparisons between countries with different cultural histories of war, in this case Britain and Germany, can also be an effective way of challenging the normalization of militarism, as the transgressions that are sensed in one context may provoke reflection on what is or is not deemed acceptable in another.