11 – Frames and experience of soldiering in Germany. A conversation with Maren Tomforde

This episode first traces how public perceptions of soldiers have changed over time, including the recent reappraisal of the status of the armed forces in the face of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The episode also sheds light on how soldiers experience civil-military relations. Against this background, the conversation revolves around German society’s relation to war. The conversation then digs into ostensibly contrasting realms of soldier experience. It addresses mechanisms to deal with fighting and killing and reveals the unexpected omnipresence of humor in soldier life.   Maren Tomforde is an anthropologist and the Head of Global International Relations at the German Armed Forces Command and Staff College. Maren is also a Professor at Macquarie University in Sydney.   Eva Johais is a Post Doctoral Researcher for the “War and Fun: Reconceptualizing Warfare and Its Experience” project at the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway.