Are Americans becoming more peaceful? One Tufts professor thinks so, and attributes the trend as much to the Vietnam War as to any of the recent conflicts in the Middle East.
Sociology professor Paul Joseph argues that Americans are increasingly rejecting war as a tool of national policy in his new book, "Are Americans Becoming More Peaceful?"
"This book is really about exploring how the hesitations from the Vietnam War about the use of armed force have continued long after the end of the war and into the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq," Joseph said.
Joseph began research for this book, his fourth, three years ago. He interviewed former and current government officials and studied public opinion polls and government documents.
The book does not claim that an overwhelming anti-war movement is sweeping through the American culture, Joseph said.
Americans' opinions towards war contain "several layers; they're not just a single piece," he said.
Professor Joseph compares Americans' support for war to a Jenga game with the pieces being slowly removed. "Temporarily you might be able to put a piece back in," he said.
Another direct attack on American soil or an American embassy with clearly identified perpetrators could temporarily rouse the public's support for war, he said.
Joseph created three categories to describe attitudes toward war.
Twenty-five to 30 percent of the population is unambiguously "hawk," and see war as an acceptable policy tool.
"Type 1" doves (15 to 20 percent of the population) are more or less opposed to the use of war under any circumstances.
Joseph is particularly interested the middle-of-the-road segment or "Type 2" opposition (up 50 to 60 percent of the population).
"This group is sensitive to war costs and the possibility that war will be 'like Vietnam,' but is also sensitive to war management and the rhetoric that the administration has for emphasizing fear," he said. "In their mind, there is a tussle between support for war and war opposition."
Students from Joseph's experimental advising program "Windows on Research," offered in the fall of 2004, contributed to the research.
Ketan Gajria, a Tufts junior, contributed research on the Homeland Security Advisory System and analysis on newspaper photography from the Iraq war.
A 2004 victory for presidential candidate John Kerry, Gajria said, would have been a fitting conclusion in support of Joseph's thesis that the American public rejected the war.
Though Kerry lost the election, Gajria feels that the book's conclusions are relevant and worth discussing. "It is a very interesting time for Professor Joseph's book to be released," Gajria said.
The book examines the history of the American public perception as early as World War II.
Professor Joseph compares World War II war narratives and Vietnam War narratives to support his thesis, noting how wars such as Vietnam are more ambiguous and can be more divisive for the general public.
"World War II narratives show that the country was united, and that the sacrifice was sad, but necessary," Professor Joseph said.
Professor Joseph said that these narratives recognize the tangible progress soldiers achieved in World War II.
"Vietnam is the opposite," Professor Joseph said. "These narratives are negative. They say that the war was a mistake, and that the United States should not have been involved."
He argues that the American public is quicker to be cautious about war than before Vietnam, even when support for war is high. "They will rear their heads more quickly than in the past," he said.
To add to his research, Joseph compared media photography and graphics from World War II to today. He said that the current administration does not allow casualties or even body containers coming from Afghanistan and Iraq to be photographed, a stark difference from coverage from World War II.
"The government then was confident that the public would continue to support the war even if those photographs were shown," Joseph said. "I think that the current administration thinks that the public will shy away if they see the sacrifice."
Joseph believes that some in government are very aware of the public's growing opposition to war, and are attempting to counteract it. "They are very clever at trying to combat this. Politicians make strategic efforts to try to counter the tendency of American citizens to become more peaceful," he said.
Tufts Sociology Department Chair Paula Aymer praised Joseph's research. "Professor Joseph's book is a fine contribution to the discussions scholars have been making about the tendencies of nation states to start wars," she wrote in an e-mail.
