Wars in Review: Subaltern Methodologies in Conflict Studies
| Author | Rishika Yadav |
| Published date | 01 January 2021 |
| Date | 01 January 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/03058298211036506 |
| Subject Matter | Review Article |
https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298211036506
Millennium: Journal of
International Studies
2021, Vol. 49(2) 417 –427
© The Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/03058298211036506
journals.sagepub.com/home/mil
Wars in Review: Subaltern
Methodologies in Conflict
Studies
Rishika Yadav
London School of Economics, UK
Abstract
This essay reviews four disparate studies on war narratives: ‘Right to Mourn’ by Suhi Choi (2019),
‘Fly Until You Die’ by Chia Youyee Vang (2019), ‘Soldiers in Revolt’ by Maggie Dwyer (2018),
‘Breaking the Binaries in Security Studies’ by Ayelet Harel-Shalev and Shir Daphna-Tekoah (2019).
The studies take a ‘view-from-below’ approach and build new theoretical frameworks that not
only expose ‘the price of war’, but also investigate how ‘subaltern subjects’ subjects view
their place and participation in the conflict and resist over-arching homogenous interpretations.
The studies respectively focus on post-war remembrance in South Korea, oral histories of
Hmong pilots, mutinying in West African states, and the experiences of female combatants in
the Israeli Defence Forces. Although dissimilar in terms of geographic spaces, actors and even
methodology, the authors all commonly challenge established binaries within conflict studies
that assume a separation of the ‘military’ and the ‘civilian’, the prevalence of power-hierarchies
within armed forces, and the supposed passiveness of powerless actors in conflict. This essay
reviews these books as not individual publications that contribute to the literature of their own
disciplines, but as interactive theoretical frameworks that not only dispute prevailing theories of
war but also present new understandings on how these narratives interrelate.
Keywords
conflict studies, military histories, modern warfare
Un regard critique sur les guerres : Méthodologies subalternes
dans l’étude des conflits
Résumé
Cet essai offre une revue de quatre études sur les récits de guerre : Right to Mourn de Suhi Choi
(2019), Fly Until You Die de Chia Youyee Vang (2019), Soldiers in Revolt de Maggie Dwyer et
Breaking the Binaries in Security Studies d’Ayelet Harel-Shalev et Shir Daphna-Tekoah (2019). Ces
Corresponding author:
Rishika Yadav, PhD Candidate, Department of International History, London School of Economics, London,
WC2A 2AE, UK.
Email: r.yadav3@lse.ac.uk
1036506MIL0010.1177/03058298211036506Millennium – Journal of International StudiesYadav
research-article2021
Review Article
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