Atrocity, deviance, and submarine warfare norms and practices during the World Wars

Nachman Ben-Yehuda*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

7 Scopus citations

Abstract

In the early 20th century, the diesel-electric submarine made possible a new type of unrestricted naval warfare. Such brutal practices as targeting passenger, cargo, and hospital ships not only violated previous international agreements; they were targeted explicitly at civilians. A deviant form of warfare quickly became the norm. In Atrocity, Deviance, and Submarine Warfare, Nachman Ben-Yehuda recounts the evolution of submarine warfare, explains the nature of its deviance, documents its atrocities, and places these developments in the context of changing national identities and definitions of the ethical, at both social and individual levels. Introducing the concept of cultural cores, he traces the changes in cultural myths, collective memory, and the understanding of unconventionality and deviance prior to the outbreak of World War I. Significant changes in cultural cores, Ben-Yehuda concludes, permitted the rise of wartime atrocities at sea.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationAtrocity, Deviance, and Submarine Warfare
Subtitle of host publicationNorms and Practices Dxsuring the World Wars
PublisherUniversity of Michigan Press
Pages1-340
Number of pages340
ISBN (Electronic)9780472029327
ISBN (Print)9780472118892
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2013

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© by the University of Michigan 2013. All rights reserved.

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