The enduring lessons of war: Connecting culture, masculinities & violence across the life course

Despite the ascendancy of the life course paradigm, life course criminology remains heavily centered on Western peacetime contexts, often overlooking how large-scale structural ruptures such as war and political violence shape life trajectories. This research extends the purview of life course criminology by linking the cultural context of war to individual pathways of development over time. Drawing from life history data gathered from 18 Bosnian men who experienced the Bosnian war (1992–1995) as children, and engaged in chronic violent and aggressive behavior in adolescence and adulthood, this work examines the discourses, rationalizations and motivations espoused by men, with particular focus on how they are shaped by the conflation of war and militarism with violent masculinity. Analyses suggest that their internalization of hegemonic discourses of masculinity and militarism rooted in war helped legitimize and sustain their violent behavior in its aftermath. Violence was commonly portrayed as thrilling, empowering, and cathartic; as a means of retribution for historical and personal harms; and as a way to restore honor and assert masculine status in the face of perceived disrespect. This work calls attention to the enduring implications of war upon the life course, and bridges theorizing on culture, masculinities and life course criminology.