When Eagles return to their Nest: Gendered Representations of War and the Social Reintegration of German Veterans

Abstract

This thesis elaborates on how gendered representations of war influence the social reintegration of young female and male German veterans after they returned from their missions in Afghanistan. The thesis investigates how, the four female and four male German veterans that were interviewed on behalf of this thesis, experienced war and their transition from being soldiers to being veterans. Gender and gendered representations of war are seen as very influential in shaping the veterans´ perception of war and are significant for determining how veterans cope with not only individual but also collective consequences of their deployment to Afghanistan. The project involves semi-structured interviews with four female and four male German veterans who participated in war missions in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2011. The whole project is of qualitative origin and should not be regarded as representative and generalizable but is rather as an attempt to explore the veterans´ lived experiences on the grounds of their oral accounts. Few attempts have been made so far investigating the influences that gendered representations of war have on the social reintegration of female and male German veterans. The comparative and feminist character of this project should be seen as opening up new spaces for understanding and investigating which role gender plays during and after war and within the contemporary German society. Recognizing the importance of gender in modern warfare and in the social reintegration of returning soldiers will contribute to and enhance existing scholarship and new research in this sphere.