How does religion shape the modern battlefield? In 2017, political scientist Ron E. Hassner published his book Religion on the battlefield in which he explores this question. He argued that religion acts as an important factor in modern warfare, both enabling and constraining military operations. In this presentation, I explore the battlefield of the Indonesian war of independence, and especially the experiences of Dutch soldiers, along four lines proposed by Hassner in his book. What is the role of (1) sacred time, (2) sacred space, (3) sacred leaders and (4) sacred rituals during the war?
Period
27 Feb 2019
Event title
RSPH seminar New Horizons in Military History Research