Military Uniform and Lethal Targeting in International Law on Armed Conflict (original) (raw)

Military spectacle drives the management, discipline, and morale of soldiers. This section examines military uniform to consider how, on one hand, it functions as a visual representation of military values and, on the other, is integral to the technology of warfare. In a civilian context, uniform clothing makes the status of the wearer explicit, but does leave room for ambiguity. In military contexts, however, it is highly codified, having a range of very specific functions. The visual appearance of army clothing encodes hierarchy and military status; it is a primary site of ritualized training and the discipline of recruits. Most of all, military uniform distinguishes combatants from civilians in war zones. This section considers what military uniform actually does for troop morale, how it trains soldiers to think in particular ways and why it is used to determine legal questions in armed conflict. These chapters draw attention to the ways in which uniform promotes regulated behavior, both to hide vulnerability in combat, but also to "make" soldiers from ordinary civilians. Clothing, body, and performance come together in military dress. One of the questions this research raises is what relationship women have to uniform in the masculinized setting of the army as explored in Stephen Herron's essay about gender and uniform in the Ulster Defence Regiment. Military service is a key cultural symbol of manhood, evident in the rules and regulations pertaining to women soldiers, which can be designed to keep them away from front line action. Women are often thought to be disruptive to the army, an assumption that legitimizes sexist jokes, harassment, and career restriction. Clothing has a special place in these debates; it is critical to presenting a particular image of the military unit, to those in and out of uniform. Here, the