Abstract
This article reexamines and develops the analytical metaphor of “Reserve Soldiers as Transmigrants” in three directions. First, we advance the notion of transmigration by linking it to the explicit and implicit “contracts” or agreements struck between the military and individuals and groups within and outside of it. Second, we show that the “management” model of reserve forces is not just an administrative matter but that “negotiating” with reservists involves wider issues that include managing identity, commitment, and the meaning attached to military service. Third, we examine the institutional and political meaning of the reserves at the macro sociological level. The juxtaposition and interplay of two models—transmigration and multiple contracts—allows us to introduce structural elements into the movement of soldiers between the military and civilian society, and add a dynamic dimension to the contents of the implicit contracts that organize reservists’ relations with the state and military.
| Original language | American English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 616-634 |
| Number of pages | 19 |
| Journal | Armed Forces and Society |
| Volume | 47 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The authors would like to thank participants at the Military Reserves in the “New Wars”: Between Transmigration and Military Compacts’ Workshop at University of Exeter, Exeter, UK, for discussions about a draft of this article and to three anonymous reviewers that commented on earlier texts. The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2020.
Keywords
- civil-military relations
- military culture
- military organization
- reserve component
- sociology