Resilient subjects: uncertainty, warfare and liberalism

• Published in: Economy and society Vol. 39; no. 4; pp. 488 - 509
• Main Author: O'Malley, Pat
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.11.2010; Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Armed Forces; Certainty; Cognition; Cognition & reasoning; Cognitive ability; Cognitive therapy; General studies. Ideologies; Government; Liberalism; Military; Military officers; Military sociology; National Security; Occupational psychology; Political sociology; Psychoanalysis; Resilience; Risk; Security; Social psychology; Sociology; Studies; Subjectivity; Uncertainty; Values; Military Personnel; Warrior spirit; Government; Tradition; Values; Cognition; military; risk; Behavioral Therapy; Security; uncertainty; Resilience
• ISSN: 0308-5147; 1469-5766
• DOI: 10.1080/03085147.2010.510681

While resilience has been recognized as a new strand in the government of security, little attention is paid its associated subjectivities and technologies of the self. One of the key sites for such development has been the military. A principal attribute of traditional military subjects has been fortitude, an assemblage of moral strength, will-power and courage deeply inscribed in the soul. In the new military, fortitude is now seen as of only conditional value to the latest configuration of the 'liberal way of war'. Instead, resilience is centred as appropriate to 'warriors', and resonates with an advanced liberal political environment. Resilience appears as a set of cognitive skills that anyone can develop with correct training. Founded in cognitive behavioural therapy, resilience centres innovativeness, enterprise, responsibility and flexibility. It now takes its place as part of a complex of scientifically grounded techniques of the self necessary to optimize autonomous subjects in an age of high uncertainty.