From subject to project: crisis and the transformation of subjectivity in the armed forces

ABSTRACT

Historically, the army has been one of the main fabrics of modern subjectivity. The work of Michel Foucault, specifically, explored how the armed forces have been a central site in the production of such subjectivities via modes of discipline and biopower. Building on Byung-Chul Han’s examination of neoliberalism, we argue that the new subject of the army is no longer solely a disciplinary/biopolitical subject but increasingly a psychopolitical project. These projects are constituted through, and as an expression of, what Han defines as the achievement society. In the achievement society neoliberalism redefines subjectivity through an affirmation of limitless possibilities and freedoms articulated through market logics. Neoliberal projects, thus, do not acknowledge limit conditions, but only boundlessness to actualize the self. This article reveals how the logics of the achievement society have gained entrance into exceptional military spaces, thereby transforming military subjects into achievement projects.

KEYWORDS:

• Military subjectivity
• neoliberalism
• Byung-Chul Han
• freedom
• critical security studies
• militarization

Disclosure statement

The authors are listed in alphabetical order and contributed equally to this work. The views expressed in this work are entirely our own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the British Army or the UK's Ministry of Defence.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Malte Riemann

Malte Riemann, PhD is a senior lecturer in the Department of Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Reading. His research interests lie at the intersection of Historical International Relations, International Political Sociology, Critical Security Studies, and Public Health. His work has been published in various peer-reviewed journals, including Journal for Global Security Studies, Small Wars & Insurgencies, Defence Studies, Critical Public Health, RUSI Journal, and Peace Review, and he recently published a monograph in German on the transformation of war titled Der Krieg im 20. und 21. Jahrhundert (Kohlhammer Verlag, 2020).

Norma Rossi

Norma Rossi, PhD is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Defence and International Affairs at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Reading, and a Teaching Fellow at the University of Leicester. Her research focuses on the co-production of authority and subjectivity at the intersection between legal, political, and social dimensions with a specific focus on war and security. She has published in various peer-reviewed journals including Global Crime, Journal of Intervention and State Building, Defence Studies, Journal of Civil Wars, E-IR, and Peace Review.