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Self-Censorship in Military Institutions

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Self-Censorship in Contexts of Conflict

Part of the book series: Peace Psychology Book Series ((PPBS))

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Abstract

Military institutions fulfill unique societal roles as symbols of national pride, as well as tools of collective violence against one’s enemies. The use of collective violence is expected to be circumscribed by legal and moral restrictions that would guarantee justified and legitimated use of force. However, numerous military operations in modern history have included incidents of misconduct and transgression against civilian populations. Military personnel who participated in or witnessed such incidents experience a moral dilemma, pitting their civilian and moral values against their legal obligation to secrecy and to the military institution. Overwhelmingly, these soldiers maintain their silence and refrain from reporting these incidences outside the military institution.

The current chapter seeks to examine the factors and motivations that encourage such phenomena of self-censorship, as well as to elaborate on its consequences for society and its military institutions. The chapter is predicated on a meta-analysis of more than 50 studies investigating individual cases of transgression and self-censorship in military institutions throughout the world.

The analysis has identified three broad types of motivations—individual, institutional, and societal—that drive the tendency toward self-censorship in military personnel. Furthermore, it has found that contextual societal and political factors exert a significant chilling effect that circumscribes the willingness of would-be whistleblowers to reveal military transgressions. These contextual factors augment and enhance the effects of motivational factors for self-censorship.

The prevalence of self-censorship has been shown to have severe consequences for the maintenance of discipline and the efficacy of command within military institutions. However, such phenomena also have severe consequences for society as a whole. By restricting civilian control over the military, instilling a sense of impunity among military personnel, and encouraging the use of violence in civilian and political life, self-censorship has severe effects on the quality of democratic regimes.

Finally, the chapter also examined motivations and alleviating conditions that encourage some military personnel to blow the whistle on illegal behavior. The analysis found that feelings of shame and guilt, need for closure, and strong commitment to moral values motivate individual soldiers to break their silence. These motivations are encouraged and supported by three alleviating factors, such as strong supporting social networks, the passage of time, and detachment from the military institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Tamir Magal

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  1. Tamir Magal
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Correspondence to Tamir Magal .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Daniel Bar-Tal

  2. International Summer Program in Conflict Resolution, Bar Ilan University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Rafi Nets-Zehngut

  3. Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Keren Sharvit

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Magal, T. (2017). Self-Censorship in Military Institutions. In: Bar-Tal, D., Nets-Zehngut, R., Sharvit, K. (eds) Self-Censorship in Contexts of Conflict. Peace Psychology Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63378-7_7

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