Combat soldier adopt more dovish political views post retirement

Combat soldiers, over the course of their military service, become less right wing, adopt more dovish political views and are more open to compromise on security issues, according to a new University of Haifa study.

Washington, May 20 : Combat soldiers, over the course of their military service, become less right wing, adopt more dovish political views and are more open to compromise on security issues, according to a new University of Haifa study.

The study conducted over three and a half years by IDF Reserve Colonel Dr. Zvika Barkai surveyed 490 male and female soldiers of every rank and in every branch of the IDF. Additional parameters that effect change in political views like the specific unit served in, gender, and service as an officer, were also taken into account.

Soldiers were asked to respond to the same series of questions at three different times, before induction, six months into their service, and immediately following their release.

Findings revealed that the soldiers' political views did change over the course of their service, and that the type of service, length of service, rank, and gender influenced the change.

A large percentage of the soldiers began their service with clear right wing views. Six months into their military service, they became more hawkish, but after completing their service, they took on more dovish views and were more willing to compromise on security issues.

These soldiers, the study revealed, adopted more conciliatory views towards minorities in general, and more specifically towards the Arab minority. They also experienced a greater change in their views about human rights than soldiers who began their service with less extreme views.

In cases, where political views did change during military service, the soldiers generally reverted back to the original views after release, with the exception of combat soldiers who maintained more dovish views following their release, Col. Barkai said.

Findings further revealed that soldiers who served in field units underwent the greatest change in their political views, and this included not only combat soldiers, but all soldiers employed in field units.

Furthermore, those who served as officers underwent a greater change in their political views, compared to non-commissioned staff.

"Officers adopted much less right wing and more pragmatic views than enlisted soldiers. In addition, they underwent a greater change in espousing strongly democratic values, adherence to the rule of law and minority rights," said Col. Barkai, who also served as Commander of the Haifa region and head of the Operations Branch of the Home Front Command.

Surprisingly, women, became more right wing and hawkish; however, at the same time, they increased their support for regulation of non-conventional weapons more than male soldiers did.

"Women soldiers experienced a greater change in their support of democratic values while men underwent a greater change in the attitude towards human rights and minority relations. It is important to note that although men underwent a greater change, their values were almost identical to women's in terms of concern for human rights at the end of their service, as they began with more extreme views," said Col. Barkai.

According to him, the research clearly demonstrate that military service does influence political views; as such minorities and marginalized populations like Arabs, Druze and Bedouins, ultra-orthodox Jews and religious women should be encouraged to serve in the military.

Col. Barkai has also recommended designing special programs for marginalized youth (who are often excused from military service).

"Even taking into account that expanding the draft to include the abovementioned groups may have a marginal or even negative effect on the country's security, the latent national gains should be weighed against the security issues - not necessarily by the military," said Col. Barkai.

"It's a problem when the public is convinced that soldiers are coerced into adapting specific political views, sometimes against their will, and to act accordingly. Such a public belief could limit the ability of the government to use the army for nationalist missions. In the opposite of what would be expected, military service does not cause adopting militaristic views," he added.

The study was conducted under the direction of Prof. Avraham Brichta, Dr. Daphna Canetti-Nisim and Dr. Ami Pedahzur in the School for Political Science at the University of Haifa, Israel.

ANI