The Figure of the Soldier: Discourses of Indisputability and Heroism in a New Danish Commemorative Practice

Abstract

This article explores discourses on the Danish soldier in a new memory practice, a national Flag-Flying Day for Denmark's deployed Personnel (FFDDP), launched in 2009. Analysis of the official speeches on the FFDDP in 2013 shows that the figure of the soldier is placed in discourses linking humanitarianism, heroism, and ethics. What makes the Danish case particularly interesting is that the commemorative practice is so recent and that the discourses presented in this practice seem to already be mimicking international discourses of humanitarianism. This is shown through salient parallels between the discourses in this memory practice and trends in international law and the political discourses and commemorative practices in Britain, Denmark's closest ally in Afghanistan. Alongside this, the soldier is articulated as a veteran, both vulnerable and strong, returning to a unified nation. The article assesses that the hegemonic discourses are used to block oppositional voices against the figure of the soldier, and effectively war, in this particular commemorative context. The hegemonic discourses may reflect a political need to create a commemorative space of indisputability, where the figure of the soldier can attain heroic status regardless of the complexity of the wars of choice.