Constructing the soldier as victim: “military victimhood” and militarism in Britain during periods of remembrance, 1918–2018

Purpose The purpose of this study is to critically analyse discursive constructions of military victimhood in a commemorative context, ascertaining the relationship between such constructions and the mediation of militarism in Britain since 1918. Design/methodology/approach This study is a critical discourse analysis of a sample of 352 texts taken from three mainstream British newspapers published between 1918 and 2018, with the aim of establishing how discourse in this context sees a particular construction of the soldier as victim. Adopting a victimological lens centred on Christie’s (1986) ideal victim construct, this article chronicles how dominant British narratives portray military victimhood through adherence to normative assumptions concerning gender norms when discussing three groups of military victims: the war dead, the bereaved and the war living. Findings Discursive constructions of military victimhood in the text sample largely adhere to normative understandings of victimhood, with the status of “victim” being afforded to non-masculine individuals, with the soldier’s “hypermasculinity” reinforced, particularly through depictions of the war dead and the bereaved. Constructions of these two groups mediate militarism, highlighting the compatibility of normative victimological and militaristic perspectives through a specific deployment of discursive “referential” strategies. Constructions of the war living prove more transient, regarded as both “non” and “deserving” victims at different locations in the text sample, demonstrating the victim label is fluid in relation to contextual socio-political pressures. Originality/value This study is a critical exploration of military victimhood as a potential perpetuator of a militaristic ideology, with emphasis placed on the originality of the synthesis of literature concerning both militarism and victimology – a valuable platform upon which further critique of militaristic practices can be carried out.