Abstract
We remember the past in order not to repeat it, but does remembrance of war in fact shape support for military or diplomatic approaches to international conflict? In seven samples from five countries (collected online, total N = 2,493), we examined support for military and diplomatic approaches to conflict during war commemorations (e.g., Veterans Day). During war commemorations in the United States, support for diplomacy increased, whereas support for military approaches did not change. We found similar results in the United Kingdom and Australia on Remembrance Day, but not in Germany, or France, nor in Australia on Anzac Day. Furthermore, support for diplomacy was predicted by concern about loss of ingroup military lives during war, independently of concern about harm to outgroup civilians. These studies expand our understanding of how collective memories of war may be leveraged to promote diplomatic approaches to contemporary geopolitical conflict.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 315-327 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |
| Volume | 48 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 03 May 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2022 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This project was partially funded by a Small Research Grant from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP, No. 19-1-0079), and by a Topol Fellowship for Peace and Nonviolence held by the first author, March-April 2019. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of SPSP.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.
Keywords
- diplomacy
- ingroup bias
- intergroup conflict
- militarism
- war commemoration
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Psychology
