Refusing to take part in war is as old as war itself. This wide-ranging and original book brings together four different bodies of knowledge to examine the practice of conscientious objection: historical and philosophical analyses of conscientious objection as a critique of compulsory military service and militarization; feminist, LGBT and queer analyses of conscientious objection as a critique of patriarchy, sexism, and heterosexism; activist and academic analyses of conscientious objection as a social movement and individual act of resistance; legal analyses of the status of conscientious objection in international and national law.Conscientious objection is an increasingly important subject of academic and political debate in countries including the US, Israel and Turkey. This book provides a much needed introduction and tool for making sense of the history of nation-states in the 20th century and understanding the political developments of the early 21st century.

Examines the practice of conscientious objection. This book provides an introduction and tool for making sense of the history of nation-states in the 20th century and understanding the political developments of the early 21st century.

AcknowledgementsPreface - Cynthia CockburnIntroduction - Coskun Üsterci and Özgür Heval ÇinarPart I: Conscription and resisting conscription in a militarized society1. The militarization of society: conscription and national armies in the process of citizen creation - Suavi Aydin2. Patriotism and the justification of inequality in the construction of militarism - Melek Göregenli3. Refusing to serve by other means: desertion in the late Ottoman Empire - Erik-Jan Zürcher4. Sand in the wheels? Conscientious objection at the turn of the twenty-first century - Ulrich Bröckling5. The morals and politics of conscientious objection, civil disobedience and anti-militarism | Nilgün Toker Kilinç6. The philosophical grounds of conscientious objection - Taha ParlaPart II: Conscientious objection as a critique of patriarchy, sexism and heterosexism7. Where are the women in military conscientious objection? Some feminist clues - Cynthia Enloe8. Refusing to identify as obedient wives, sacrificing mothers and proud warriors - Ayse Gül Altinay9. Conscientious objection and masculine violence - Serpil Sancar10. Rotten report and reconstructing hegemonic masculinity in Turkey - Alp BiricikPart III: Conscientious objection in the world: experiences and problems11. Experiences of conscientious objection movements: South Africa, Greece and Paraguay - Andreas Speck and Rudi Friedrich12. Military conscription, conscientious objection and democratic citizenship in the Americas - Matthew C. Gutmann13. Conscientious objection in Chile - Pelao Carvallo14. Conscientious objection in Spain: disobedience - Cthuchi Zamarra15. Conscientious objection in Israel - Tali Lerner16. Refusing to serve in the army for reasons of conscience in Greece - Alexia Tsouni and Michalis Maragakis17. Conscientious objection in Turkey - Coskun Üsterci and Ugur YorulmazPart IV: Conscientious objection and lawA International law18. A view on international implementation of the right to conscientious objection - Özgür Heval Çinar19. International standards on conscientious objection to military and alternative service - Rachel Brett20. European standards on conscientious objection and alternative service - Friedhelm Schneider21. Conscientious objection in international law and the Osman Murat Ülke case - Kevin BoyleB The case of Turkey22. Conscientious objection and the Turkish constitution - Osman Can23. The criminality of conscientious objection in Turkey and its consequences - Hülya ÜçpinarNotes on contributorsIndex