Description
The book "The New Conscientious Objection: From Sacred to Secular Resistance" discusses the history and current state of conscientious objection to military service. It notes that while this practice has been around for a long time, it has recently become a significant factor in armed forces and society. The book also examines how state policies have developed in response to conscientious objection and how it has evolved from being primarily a religious issue to a more secular and widespread one. The author argues that conscientious objection is now not only practiced by civilians, but also by service members, as seen in the 1991 War in the Persian Gulf. The book is considered a comprehensive and comparative study of this topic and is seen as an essential reference for understanding civil-military relations and peace movements in advanced industrial countries.
Although conscientious objection is a long-standing phenomenon, it has only recently become a major factor affecting armed forces and society. The only comprehensive, comparative scholarly study of conscientious objection to military service, this book examines the history of the practice in the Western world and state policies that have grown up in response to it. It shows how the contemporary refusal to bear arms is likely to be secular and widespread rather than religious and marginal, now including service people (as seen in the 1991 War in the Persian Gulf) as well as conscription resisters. No account of civil-military relations or peace movements in advanced industrial countries is complete without reference to conscientious objection, and this book will be the standard text on the subject.
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