Book Analysis Essay on Tribe by Sebastian Junger

Introduction

In his book Tribe, Sebastian Junger, gives an elaborate explanation of the challenges that veterans face after returning from war. He critically looks at the post traumatic stress disorder as its one of the main problems that the soldiers face. During war, combat and rape are used as weapons. They say combat is a purposeful violent conflict that creates dominance, undermines, or moves the enemy away from a place where it is not needed. Combat is usually between two military groups fighting for nations. Sexual violence is a feature in armed conflicts used as a strategy but can be avoided. Wartime rape is used as a psychological weapon to humiliate, demoralize, and destroy the enemy. Both men and women are victims or perpetrators. The use of rape as a weapon by the terrorist and among ethnic tribes has been on the rise. Rape as weapon was witnessed in the 20th century in Rwanda and Yugoslavia, where rape was used as a tool of ethnic cleansing and a means of genocide. When two tribes conflict, for instance, in Rwanda, combat, and rape are employed as a weapon by both parties in an attempt to establish their dominance (Ruby, 2009). During the war, there is always the issues of reciprocity. However, distinct groups employ different instruments depending on their strengths. These two types of weapons have got a psychological impact on the conflicting parties. This study will evaluate the psychological impact of combat versus the psychological effect of rape being used as a weapon (Buss, 2009).

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After conflict, scholars, governments, and NGOs always focus on evaluating the effect of war on the involved parties. However, use different means of warfare has got different impacts on civilians. This study will focus on the psychological effects of the use of combat and rape. The study hypothesizes that there is no difference in psychological impact when rape is used as a weapon and when combat is employed. In evaluating this hypothesis, questions such as what men and women suffer when combat is used, are people willing to talk about their experience? The same questions will be addressed in cases where rape is used as a weapon.

In achieving the objectives of this study, I will read on scholarly articles about the impacts of ethnic crises in Rwanda and Yugoslavia as the two countries have experienced combat and rape as a weapon. I anticipate that there will be different psychological impacts of the use of rape and combat during conflict. The results of the study will be useful to the humanitarian groups that offer psychological support to the conflict victims.

References

Buss, D. E. (2009). Rethinking 'rape as a weapon of war'. Feminist legal studies, 17(2), 145-163.

Junger, S. (2016). Tribe: On homecoming and belonging. Twelve.

Ruby Reid-Cunningham, A. (2008). Rape as a Weapon of Genocide. Genocide studies and prevention, 3(3), 279-296.