Fighting the fifth column: The terror in Republican Madrid during the Spanish Civil War

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Distinguishing between civilians and combatants is a central aspect of modern conflicts. Yet such distinctions are rarely upheld in practice. The Civilianization of War offers new ways of understanding civilians' exposure to violence in war. Each chapter explores a particular approach to the political, legal, or cultural distinctions between civilians and combatants during twentieth-century and contemporary conflicts. The volume as a whole suggests that the distinction between combatants and non-combatants is dynamic and oft-times unpredictable, rather than fixed and reciprocally understood. Contributors offer new insights into why civilian targeting has become a strategy for some, and how in practice its avoidance can be so difficult to achieve. Several discuss distinct population groups that have been particularly exposed to wartime violence, including urban populations facing aerial bombing, child soldiers, captives, and victims of sexual violence. The book thus offers multiple perspectives on the civil–military divide within modern conflicts, an issue whose powerful contemporary resonance is all too apparent.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Civilianization of War
Subtitle of host publicationThe Changing Civil–Military Divide, 1914–2014
EditorsAndrew Barros, Martin Thomas
Place of PublicationCambridge; New York; Port Melbourne
PublisherCambridge University Press
Chapter2
Pages47-63
Number of pages17
ISBN (Electronic)9781108643542
ISBN (Print)9781108429658
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 9 Aug 2018

Publication series

NameHuman Rights in History
PublisherCambridge University Press

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