The Warrior Ethos

by Christopher Coker

This is the first scholarly book to look at the role of the 'warrior' in modern war, arguing that warriors' actions, and indeed thoughts, are increasingly patrolled and that the modern battlefield is an unforgiving environment in which to discharge their vocation. As war becomes ever more instrumentalized, so its existential dimension is fast being hollowed out. Technology is threatening the agency of the warrior and this volume paints a picture of early twenty-first century warfare, helping to explain why so many aspiring warriors are becoming disenchanted with their profession. Written by a leading thinker on warfare, this book sets out to explain what makes an American Marine a ‘warrior’ and why suicide bombers, or Al Qaeda fighters, do not qualify for this title. This distinction is one of the central features of the current War on Terror – and one that justifies much more extensive discussion than it has so far received. The Warrior Ethos will be of great interest to all students of military history, strategy, military sociology and war studies.

184 pages, Paperback

First published April 20, 2007

About the author

Christopher Coker was a British political scientist and political philosopher who wrote extensively on war.

Reviews

[The Merry Loner · Rating 1 out of 5]

Successfully making the case for what the author defines as a "warrior ethos" by referring to literary examples, his arguments are at times shallow and lack thoroughness and detail. His knowledge of greek mythology is sketchy when he's not talking about Achilles and the battlefield – eg. Helen is Clytemnestra's sister, not cousin, Hecabe is Priam's wife, not daughter.

Referring to Lieutenant Calley – who unbeknownst to the author has a first name as well –, the commanding officer during the Massacre of My Lai on March 16, 1968 during the Second Indochine War, he remarks: "Calley's offence was to bring his unit into disrepute. […] He failed the warrior ethos because of very low self-esteem". William Laws Calley Jr. (whose name one can find easily – it just takes a few seconds to google it if one has no other sources at hand …) may have suffered from very self-esteem, he may have followed/misinterpreted questionable orders in the weeks following the Tet offensive, he may simply be a piece of s*** – I will never know. But I can do without having to read dubious assumptions about the character of someone at the heart of a well researched and documented war crime. Researching the case might have been too much for the author …

At times this reads like a field manual for a boy scouts group written by someone who has never been part of it and regrets this deeply. Though the authors makes it clear that he has never been a member of the US military (neither have I, I'm not even American), his writing suggests otherwise – something that can be irritating at times. I read this for my own research and found it to be underwhelming. While it might be entertaining to some, I don't recommend it (especially not in the academic setting).

[TimorLame · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, thorough, in-depth analysis of the concept of the Warrior, particularly in Western civilization (and its adversarial cultures) - from antiquity to modernity. The writing is lucid, engaging and on topic, all throughout the book.