Military social harm: An agenda for research

Abstract

This article presents a critical framework for understanding the harms produced by military institutions. Assessments of military harms are undertaken across the sociological study of the military, ranging from public-facing military issues to more inwardly directed research conducted by entities with vested state interests. Building upon and advancing the available scholarship, we introduce the concept of ‘military social harm’, drawing on criminological perspectives that situate harm in a broader range of social and political contexts. This term serves as a tool to explore the pervasive and varied impacts of military activities on society, illustrated through an examination of British military compensation as reparation. This example reveals how compensation regimes weaken a holistic approach to reparation, by undermining elements such as a right to truth or efforts to prevent recurrence. We propose an interdisciplinary research agenda for studying military social harm, aiming to challenge and extend existing scrutiny of military institutions and their accountability mechanisms, thereby engendering a fuller understanding of the direct and indirect costs of retaining and deploying military power.