Military Landscape Research Articles

Hillforts – built by collective action or coercive leadership? Socio-economic and military organization in eastern Norway AD 1–600

In this article, we will examine the socio-economic and military landscape of the Early Iron Age (AD 1–600) in the historical county of Vingulmark, which consisted of the area from Eiker in the west to Bohuslän in the east. Our starting point is hillforts, which are usually interpreted as places of refuge for people in rural areas in times of unrest. In Norway, around 450 hillforts are known, mainly dated to the period AD 200–550. Vingulmark contains 109 of them, thus almost a quarter of the known hillforts. We discuss why there are so many hillforts in Vingulsmark, and the relation between hillforts and central farms / places in Vingulmark. Are the hillforts the result of community solutions in farming communities or was the construction of the hillforts controlled by elites from one or more centres, under threats of coercion? We will assess the hillforts in relation to socio-economic relations, settlement expansion, central farms and central places in a landscape perspective with the application of anarchist theories and collective action theory. Keywords: hillforts, conflict, socio-economic and military organization, communities, leadership

Belarus’ Sovereignty in Question: Assessing its de facto Sovereign Status in the Shadow of Russia

The paper explores state sovereignty by developing a systematic framework for categorising states based on their sovereignty status. At the heart of our analysis lies the distinction between sovereign states and satellite states – a distinction that has significant implications for global security, stability, and the balance of power. While sovereign states exercise full autonomy and control over their affairs, satellite states often find themselves in a subordinate position, heavily influenced or even dominated by external powers. A theoretical framework deconstructs the concept of sovereignty into four crucial elements: authority, legitimacy, independence, and territoriality, which provide a structured assessment of the level of sovereignty in a state and serve as the basis for our analysis. To illustrate the application of our framework, we adopt a case study approach focused on Belarus. As a nation situated at the crossroads of Eastern Europe with a history marked by geopolitical contestation and strategic manoeuvring, Belarus provides a compelling context for examining sovereignty dynamics. Through a systematic analysis of Belarus’ political, economic, and military landscape, we seek to assess its sovereignty status within the framework of our analysis. While the topic of Belarus’ sovereignty and integration within Russia has been extensively explored over the years, the innovative contribution of this paper lies in purposefully designed methodology for sovereignty assessment and the use of the latest empirical data while practically applying the model for the case of Belarus.

Shadows of identity: the experience of Jewish soldiers in the Ukrainian military

ABSTRACT This article delves into the study of Jewish identity within the Ukrainian army, providing a detailed exploration of the experiences of soldiers with Jewish backgrounds fighting at the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Considering the historical complexities and contemporary challenges faced by the Jewish community in Ukraine, the study investigates how military service transforms the national and ethnic self-identification of Jewish soldiers. Through interviews and comprehensive contextual analysis, we illuminate their personal narratives, ways of expressing identity, common features, inclusivity, and the adaptation of diverse cultural backgrounds within the Ukrainian army.‏ Our study contends that within the military landscape of the ongoing war, the perception of Jewish identity in Ukraine undergoes a significant shift, becoming more prominent and tangible. This transformation imbues the lives of Jewish soldiers with a profound sense of pride and uniqueness.

The effect of Ashtanga-Vinyasa Yoga method on air force pilots' operational performance.

In today's military landscape, optimizing performance and bolstering physical health and mental resilience are critical objectives. Introducing a 12-week Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga Supta Method (AVYSM) to the training protocol of military trained Airforce pilots, we aim to assesses the feasibility and impact of the method. Borg Scale assesses the intensity level of physical activity during the intervention. Flight simulator data gauges operational performance responses. Postural control responses are measured using a force platform, stress responses are monitored via heart monitor, and handgrip dynamometry will measure strength. Respiratory capacity is assessed using a spirometer, body composition is evaluated using impedance balance, and aviation-related questionnaires are administered before and after the intervention period. In a randomized controlled trial, the totality of pilots from the "Masters in Military Aeronautics: aviator pilot specialist" course at the Portuguese Air Force Academy (PAA) were randomly assigned to the yoga intervention or the waiting list control groups, with participants providing written informed consent. The control group followed protocolized course classes for 12 weeks, while the intervention group integrated two weekly one-hour yoga sessions into their course. The PAA has approved the implementation of this intervention protocol at Airbase 11 in Beja, highlighting its significance for the organization's policy makers. We hypothesize that this method will enhance operational performance and, subsequently, elevate flight safety. This research's potential extends beyond the PAA, as it can be adapted for use in Airforce departments of other nations and various military contexts. Évora University research ethics committee-approval number 21050. Study registered on ClinicalTrials.gov under identifier NCT05821270, registered on April 19, 2023.

Ordinary Warfare and Militarized Landscapes

Ordinary Warfare and Militarized Landscapes

Landscapes of Galicia as Viewed through the Camera: Visualization of Belligerent Spaces of the First World War

This article analyses practices of capturing the experience of the First World War on the Eastern Front and the construction of militarized life worlds by combatants of the Russian Army and photojournalists. The author aims to determine the significance of the belligerent landscapes of Galicia in the formation of participants’ specific behavioural strategies and practices in the first industrial war. Methodologically, the author relies on the synthesis of approaches of spatial research and visual anthropology, conceptual provisions of landscape studies, and cultural geography. To analyse the photographic situation on the Eastern Front of the First World War, the peculiarities of the further existence of visual images in group and collective communication, identify techniques for constructing the image of the Galician environment in 1914–1915, the author refers to photographic sources of the Russian State Archive of Film and Photographic Documents. A key thesis of the study is the assumption that through the practice of photographing militarized landscapes, mental maps of alien space were constructed, and the imaginary appropriation of the territory annexed by the law of war took place. As a result, the author concludes that the landscapes of Galicia in photographs are a phenomenological construct, and not a direct reflection of reality or objective evidence. The photographic situation itself acts as an interpretation because photographers follow the imperatives of their own (prewar) life experience, the ideas formed by the prevailing discourses, consider the technical limitations of the era and shocking experiences in the spaces of death. The author also reveals the therapeutic function of war visualization and the role of the camera as a protective barrier for the photographer. The analysis determines the dynamic relationship of strategies for capturing military experience with the course of hostilities, as well as the need to study photographic albums dedicated to the life of individual units of the Russian Army or representing a series of images in a particular locality of Galicia as a whole and consistent photographic travelogue. The modern interpretation of military photographs makes it possible to reveal a layer of environmental consequences of the First World War in Eastern Europe which is latent for the photographer.

ЭКОЛОГИЧЕСКОЕ ИЗМЕРЕНИЕ ДЕМИЛИТАРИЗАЦИИ РУССКОГО ФРОНТА ПЕРВОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

The article presents the main approaches to understanding the environmental consequences of the demilitarization of the Russian front during the First World War. The aim of the study is to reconstruct the key aspects of the demilitarization of the military landscapes of the front during the demobilization of the Russian army from October 1917 to March 1918, and to identify the long-term consequences of the impact of this process on the environment. The geographical scope of the study is mainly limited to the South-Western Front, which until October 1917 was the longest in the European theatre of operations and the demobilization of which has hardly been studied. The study is based on archival material from the Russian State Archive of Military History, the Russian State Military Archive and the State Archive of the Russian Federation, as well as published sources. The paper contains the analysis of the threats posed to the front and the frontline territory by the collapse of the Russian army, unauthorized chaotic demobilization and loss of control over military property, the practices of remilitarization of the front space, as well as the long-term consequences of the unfinished demobilization of the army and the demilitarization of the front. The author concludes that during the demobilization and subsequent remilitarization of the former Russian front, the basic environmental practices, no longer controlled by responsible civilian institutions such as zemstvos, became even more predatory. The loss of control over military property by the military command in October-November 1917 was accompanied by the loss of control over order in the districts of the frontline provinces by the local civilian authorities. If during the war years demilitarization (cleaning trenches and their surroundings from the effects of suffocating gases, sanitation, land reclamation, collecting weapons from battlefields) was practiced as a means of preserving the combat effectiveness of the army, then chaotic demobilization overshadowed these environmental issues with trivial problems of transporting and preserving military property. In the environmental field, these effects become particularly clear when we examine the economic processes of the inter-war period.

Reintegrating Cold War landscapes? The former Trieste Barracks in Casarsa della Delizia

This paper engages with a specific feature of former military landscapes, the Cold War barracks, located in a specific territory, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in north-eastern Italy, at the former border between the Western and Eastern blocs. Based on several academic activities, such as an international workshop and didactical experiences, this work focuses on the Trieste Barracks in Casarsa della Delizia (in the province of Pordenone) as a laboratory for new landscape solutions to reintegrate a derelict military site into civil society. The main outputs of the research are: 1) updating the international scientific literature and the relative research gaps in the discourse of Cold War post-military landscapes; and 2) an innovative landscape-oriented approach to a former military landscape founded on locally based long-term solutions in terms of resilience and sustainable development. Our research aims to demonstrate that Cold War landscapes have primarily been neglected in the academic field, but academic work in collaboration with local actors can result in feasible solutions to export to other cases.

Integrating Earth observation IMINT with OSINT data to create added-value multisource intelligence information: A case study of the Ukraine–Russia war

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 heralded a new “social media war” era. This “hybrid warfare” extends beyond the military landscape and includes attacks in cyberspace and fake news with the aim of destabilising governments. The goal of this paper is to present a high-level of architecture based on imagery intelligence (IMINT) and geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) using geographic datasets and state-of-the-art methods. Integration with intelligence information (like Open-Source Intelligence [OSINT]) produces multiintelligent knowledge for security and defence decision-making end users. The results depict a harmonious and creative collaboration between IMINT, OSINT, and GEOINT. OSINT data helps to identify and describe the meteorological conditions that are present, contributing to the procedure’s responsiveness. Weather and dense cloud cover above Ukraine poses a challenge for optical imaging satellites, but synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensor satellites can operate at night and overcome the problem. We carried out OSINT and IMINT analysis, monitoring the situation shortly after the invasion. OSINT data helped in the choice of an appropriate area of interest. Using the right Earth observation satellite system and artificial intelligence/machine learning algorithms is the best way to keep an eye on many different sites over long periods, send out alerts about unusual activity, and find new places where incoherent changes might be happening.

“Re-membering” South Korea’s Militarized Landscapes in Pax Americana: Post-Cold War US Military Camps, Camptowns, and Former Camptown Women

The continued US military presence for nearly eighty years in South Korea has produced militarized landscapes of postcoloniality in South Korea. Here, militarized landscapes denote both official American military camps and their vernacular camptowns (kijich'on) as well as social-cultural expressions affected by this spatial militarization, such as the former camptown women’s experiences. As the contours of these militarized borderlands are shifting today with the consolidating of the American military footprint in South Korea, this study seeks to connect these contemporary manifestations with their historical developments. In so doing, it hopes to contribute to what Homi Bhabha conceptualizes as “re-membering”－ “a putting together of the dismembered past to make sense of the trauma of the present.” While camps are becoming even more insulated Americanized spaces and the once marginalized camptowns are caught in a liminal stride toward internationalism, this study examines how these borderlands, which had not only embodied Korea’s coloniality but also catalyzed changes in the greater bilateral relations, are “re-membered.” It then discusses how former kijich'on women and civic organizations that constitute the “Camptown Women’s Human Rights Coalition” are at the forefront of this postcolonial “re-membering.” Through the subjectivity-formation and trans-border activism of those once rendered voiceless victims sacrificed by the state, the former camptown women themselves have demonstrated how they are the main agents of their own historical integration. Their re-membering, moreover, contributes to bringing to the national center the marginalized history of Korea’s militarized landscapes in Pax Americana, which in turn forces us to re-member our shared postcolonial trauma.

Kurdish Cause (1975-1980) and its Impact on Iraq-Syria Relations

Throughout the stages of contemporary Kurdish history, the Kurdish issue has had an impact on regional relations in general and the relationship between Iraq and Syria in particular. This impact became more evident during the Algiers Agreement, which marked the end of one of the most prominent Kurdish revolutions—the Aylool revolution. Simultaneously, it worsened Iraq-Syria relations. Researching the Kurdish question and its effect on the Iraq-Syria relationship during the Algiers Agreement reveals its distinctive characteristics. During this period, the strained relations between the two states were reflected in the Kurdish issue. Through the method of analysis and ascertaining of political events and incidents, we can highlight the significance of this matter. While the post-1975 era marked the emergence of new political parties in the Kurdish political and military landscape, the proliferation of these parties did not substantially influence the Kurdish issue. Additionally, the Kurdish political orientation in the region shifted, particularly in relation to Iraq and Syria. The Kurdish issue experienced a difficult phase, characterized by internal divisions and disarray within the Kurdish community. Meanwhile, the Kurds were unable to capitalize on the strained Iraq-Syria relationship. Despite a complete ban on political activities, Syria extended comprehensive support and cooperation to all South Kurdistan forces and political parties due to its deep-rooted disputes with Iraq. This financial and military assistance played a significant role in revitalizing the new revolution. Syria’s contrasting policy towards the Kurdish cause is evident. It is clear that regional countries utilized the Kurds as a means of pressure against each other, particularly for maintaining a balance in the region. This dynamic persisted until the 1980s, but with the changes that both Iraq and Iran underwent, including the collapse of the Algiers Agreement and shifts in regional relationships, Iraq’s disputes with Syria and Iran intensified. As a result, the Kurdish issue entered a new phase.

Conflict Landscapes of the Great War: The Spatial and Ecological Dimension of Military History

The spatial and environmental dimension of WWI has recently taken the central place in academic debates on the military history of the “short twentieth century”. At present, the large-scale conflict of humanity and nature under totalized warfare is recognized as no less significant to the existential experience of combatants and civilians than actual battles. Functioning as a demiurge, the Great War created and re-molded landscapes, accelerated development trends shaped during the industrial era, triggered the construction and demolition of infrastructure, and determined the resource policy, economic practices, and language constructs of national communities during subsequent historical periods. Textual and visual narratives of the war feature the following three dimensions of the environment: a subject and adversary (sometimes even more dangerous than the real enemy); an object of destruction, invasion, and ordering; and an anthropological construct defining behavioral strategies and the memorial culture relating to the conflict. Modern researchers share a unanimous opinion that the pivotal role of the clash between humanity and the environment during WWI for subsequent historical development is paradoxically at odds with the degree to which the clash has been studied. This may be linked with the fact that the multidimensionality of militarized landscapes would require a research methodology incorporating elements of military history, ecology, anthropology, archaeology, geology (landscape studies), and cultural geography. Such a creative symbiosis has become possible only recently, owing to the adoption of the interdisciplinary approach by military historians. The gradual uptake of innovative study techniques has resulted in the uneven development of the spatial and environmental history of the First World War as a research field: at present, the best-studied locations are confined to the western front and, partly, the colonial periphery. This publication presents a review of the recent conceptual publications by authors developing this research avenue and seeks to identify the heuristic potential of the concepts “Anthropocene”, “belligerent landscapes”, “landscape biographies”, and “layered landscapes”, including their applicability to the history of the Eastern Front of the First World War.

The penguins that wouldn’t explode: Accidental rewilding, militarized landscapes, and post-conflict islands

“Rewilding” is an increasingly influential concept, though the widespread, if unplanned, rewilding that takes place in “no man’s land” or demilitarized zones has received limited attention from environmental historians, and none at all from historians of islands. When former military bases or conflict areas are opened up to development and tourism, the continued presence of the new non-human residents poses both opportunities and challenges. This article will consider two late twentieth-century examples, Quemoy and the Falklands, where the classic traits of insularity—the natural limit of resources and the geographical separation from the mainland—were compounded by the presence of minefields and stringent military control, permitting the emergence of an insular military ecology. The later discovery of the “rewilded” areas by journalists, nature writers, and companies promoting tourism invited reflection on the ability of nature to regenerate and on the larger meanings of post-conflict landscapes. Islands figure here, once again, as sites of the production of knowledge and as opportunities for experimentation, yet in ways which differ from the examples considered by earlier historians of islands.

«ВОЕННАЯ ТЕМАТИКА» В РОССИЙСКИХ ОБЩЕСТВЕННО-ГЕОГРАФИЧЕСКИХ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯХ: ПОДХОДЫ, ТРЕНДЫ, ПРИОРИТЕТЫ

The article discusses the factors, trends, research approaches, and priorities for the development of ‘military subjects’ in Russian human geography. The focus of the analysis is both a prolonged retrospective (since the first half of the 19th century) and current processes, including relevant aspects of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine. Priority attention is paid to the peculiarities of the formation and development in Russia of a special geographical subdiscipline – military geography, as well as the evolution of its basic methodological postulates (considered in the context of global trends). Russian military geography, having initially been one of the drivers of the development of Russian geographical science as a whole, has been on the periphery of scientific search since the middle of the 20th century; the increasing distancing from other (non-military) sections of geography (primarily those related to social studies) has become one of the basic factors (and manifestations) of actual stagnation and marginalization of military geographical research. The paper shows that the metamorphoses of the nature of ‘war’ manifested in the last decades (as well as its reflection by society), complemented by the increasing role of the ‘military component’ in the spatial organization of society, initiate the necessary transition to an extremely broad understanding of the scope of ‘military geography’, whose subject-object sphere is designed to comprise the totality of not only geographical aspects of military activity but also military operations themselves, with priority attention to spatial determinants, consequences as well as structures of war (military districts, theaters of military operations, military landscapes, etc.). It is emphasized that in modern Russia, there are both multidimensional prerequisites for the further development of military geographical research (including in line with the ‘geopoliticization’ of science) and significant barriers (informational, institutional, moral and mental) to their cultivation within human geography.

At the crossroads of Architecture and Landscape

In the context of rapid urban transformations, this thesis explores the possible preservation strategies for historic military systems that used to be embedded in extra-urban settings, but that now are absorbed in the development dynamics of complex metropolitan areas. The research stems from the main peculiarity of these heritage systems: namely, the coexistence of cultural and natural values, and their being at the crossroads of the architecture and landscape domains. Although the need to address nature-culture interlinkages has become a topical issue in the field of heritage preservation, military landscapes have been almost completely left out of this debate. Moreover, the lack of inter-scale strategies in current preservation practices for historic military systems further complicates the way nature-culture interlinkages are addressed. The development of a conceptual framework on this topic has required considering the diversity of existing approaches to landscape, architectural heritage and their interconnection. Italy and the Netherlands were selected as relevant contexts in Western Europe for comparison on this topic. Linking archival research, interviews and field observations, Italian and Dutch contemporary experiences with the revitalization and reuse of historic military systems (NL: New Dutch Waterline; IT: Entrenched Field of Mestre) were compared. Both national and international initiatives promoted in the frame of the World Heritage Convention were analysed. To understand the historical roots of the recent approaches, the evolution of landscape protection in the two contexts has been investigated, highlighting the different influences played by the national discourse on architectural heritage and spatial planning. This historical background, together with the cross-reading of the case studies, has led to the definition of a transnational conceptual framework on the possible preservation strategies for historic military systems with an inter-scale approach. Taking into account the peculiarities of each context, it provides a tool for facilitating the decision-making process, bringing historic military systems into the international discussion on nature-culture interlinkages. Ultimately, it can serve as a reference for other historic landscape systems sharing similar characteristics and preservation issues.

Between Destruction and Beauty: Exhibiting Photographs of Militarized Landscapes

Between Destruction and Beauty: Exhibiting Photographs of Militarized Landscapes

Military Landscapes by Anatole Tchikine and John Dean Davis (eds.)

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Making sense of breaks in landscape change.

ContextThe paper studies the possibilities of how the cultural explosion theory and path dependence approach could be used for exploring landscape (change). The former is an approach (not theory) used in humanities and social sciences to study the processes that happen when culture changes rapidly—how new cultural processes are created and how the past ones are integrated or forgotten. The latter is an approach developed also in social sciences, mostly economy, to study how the current decisions are dependent on the past decisions.ObjectivesTo demonstrate the possibilities the two theoretical approaches might offer.MethodsWe discuss the ways landscape change could be analysed using, first, cultural explosion theory and, second path dependence approach, and demonstrate this on the example of the post-Soviet military areas.ResultsBoth approaches are indeed useful in understanding landscape change. The demo case on military landscapes allows for distinguishing three different development paths for the future of the areas: set-aside, active use, and neglect. Similarly three different ways of relating with the past are found: ignorance and oblivion; acknowledging the past; and making use of the past.ConclusionsLandscapes have time boundaries and these two analytical tools in fact help us to navigate through these boundaries, understand better the trajectories of change and the importance (or the lack of it) of the past.

Assessing user preferences regarding military site regeneration: The case of the Fourth Corps Command in Ankara

The sustainable regeneration of military sites is a challenging problem requiring the involvement of various stakeholders. Yet, in many parts of the world, it is a practice which excludes the public from the decision-making. This article is based on a survey of people residing or working nearby a military area in Ankara, where a number of megaprojects have been proposed by the government. It questions how the public would approach the regeneration of this site, what their preferences and concerns for reuse are and how their responses vary according to certain individual factors. The results show a mismatch between the interest of the ordinary public in the protection of green open spaces and the government's agenda to transform military sites into housing estates. Gender, level of education and landownership affect the way people view the regeneration of military landscapes and their preferences for reuse. These findings are important for the sustainable regeneration of military sites.

Desert Insurgency: Archaeology, T. E. Lawrence, and the Arab Revolt

Desert Insurgency: Archaeology, T. E. Lawrence, and the Arab Revolt