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Michael Ignatieff, The Warrior's Honor: Ethnic War and the Modern Conscience (Henry Holt & Co., 1998; Owl Books, 1998) Part reportage, part historical narrative, part political philosophy, Ignatieff's work attempts to offer an explanation to the seemingly incomprehensible ethnic cruelty of the 1990s. He also wrestles with what the West should do about it. In examining the violence in Bosnia, Ignatieff applies Freud's work on narcissism. For Ignatieff, it is the "narcissism of minor difference" which causes ethnic brutality to arise in the wake of failed states. Where different ethnic groups once coexisted relatively peacefully, the decline of the state creates universal insecurity and forces people into groups. Since the different groups have little to distinguish them, yet they must legitimize their struggle, emergent leaders rely on minor differences to glorify their group and demonize the other. Thus the consolidation of political power becomes an exercise in selective memories and revisionist histories. The newly created differences are vital to group identity and meaningless at the same time. Violence is the most forceful way of making people feel a sense of group belonging. Once such violence erupts, Ignatieff says, a new kind of conflict takes place here ancient warrior codes _ which once dictated unwritten rules that minimized bloodshed and cruelty _ have been swept away by modernity. In making these arguments, Ignatieff proves that so-called "age-old ethnic hatreds" in fact arise more from the challenges of modernity than they do from any real historical foundation. Ethnic identities are not frozen in time, nor is ethnic conflict inevitable. Identities are malleable, and their assertion relies on specific circumstances. This analysis should caution journlaists who often readily accept the false historical tales that demagogues use to justify ethnic conflicts. For example, journalists should cease to characterize the Arab-Israeli conflict as the sequel to millenia of religious strife; following Ignatieff, they should instead offer the more accurate _ if complex _ portrayal of its modern political and military roots. Also of prime interest to journalists, Ignatieff critiques television's role in delivering the suffering of the world to viewers in the rich world. Because of the format of news programs, television has allowed the West to succumb to what Ignatieff calls the "seductiveness of moral disgust." As viewers face a nightly barrage of horrible images, each victim becomes nameless and blameless, historical context is removed, and pity melds with indifference. In response, Ignatieff calls for a change in journalistic practices and a more general ˇ®revolution of moral values" to reconnect the West with a suffering world it increasingly ignores. The Warrior's Honor immediately gained critical acclaim as one of the most thoughtful works about recent conflicts, while also arguing forcefully for some highly controversial point. Subsequent books examining similar themes, such as Chris Hedges's War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning and David Rieff's A Bed For the Night, have recognized Ignatieff's concepts, and in Rieff's case, gone to considerable lengths to counter them. MORE: Article by Hunter College political science Professor Sumit Ganguly, extolling the virtues of Ignatieff's book: New York Times book review Business Week book review Brandeis University's page of Ignatieff-related links, including interviews and reviews Amazon |
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