ForcesWatch » military in society

Pioneering a dystopian future

Many of the world's largest arms companies are involved in providing education and careers activities for young visitors at the UK's largest airshows. The same companies that are supplying weapons and military jets to Saudi Arabia for their war in Yemen.

Warrior Nation podcast: Unpacking Armed Forces Day

June 2022

Warrior Nation podcast: War and Memory – Culture

December 2021

December 9, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 6

In the final episode of Series 3, Joe speaks with Essex University historian Lucy Noakes and Chicago-based artist Michael Rakowitz on the creation of cultural memories around war and conflict. They cover a wide array of topics, including the Churchillian turn of British World War II narratives and how the words monument and demonstrate are linked by their roots in Latin. Their discussion beautifully encapsulates a number of topics covered across the series and explores more radical ways of remembering - or remembering better.

Beyond Emissions: the military and climate change

The military has a role to play in reducing emissions and environmental degradation but we should beware securitising, and militarising, the response to the climate crisis.

Warrior Nation podcast: War and Memory – Empire

October 2021

OCTOBER 1, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 5

In the fifth instalment of our series on war and memory we speak with Harvard historian Maya Jasanoff on the different ways Empire is remembered in Britain and the disconnect between how the British state wants the public to view the country's colonial past and the way it is seen by different communities.

What lies behind Parliament’s military cosplay scheme?

A picture of MPs sitting in the Houses of Parliement where they are currently debating legislation on The Troubles.

The Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme raises serious questions about the relationship between politicians, the military and defence companies.

Insights from the arms fair

DSEI shows the military, government and death merchants are as entangled as ever.

War and Memory: Pathologising Critique

August 2021

AUGUST 5, 2021 SEASON 3 EPISODE 3

In the third installment of our series on war and memory we speak with American academic and Vietnam veteran Jerry Lembcke on how resistance to the conflict in South East Asia was framed during the 1960s and 70s.

Checking in with the neocons

The recent visit to the US by the Secretary of State for Defence provided the opportunity for a speech to the neoconservative American Enterprise Institute, laying out the UK's new strategy for defence and foreign policy.

Embedding the Covenant

Over the last decade, local authorities and thousands of private and public organisations across the UK have pledged to promote the military through events such as Armed Forces Day. We explore how the Armed Forces Covenant enables this and how plans to further embed it in law are more widely problematic.