Description
Feminist critiques indicate largely that the military is an irredeemable space when it comes to the integration of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other diverse bodies. Embodied through practices of militarised masculinities, exclusivity, and various forms of psychological and physical violence, it is widely argued that the values which appear to be inherent to the institution are prohibitive to the full, whole, and safe integration of these communities. This contrasts with the language used within the defence sector which preaches integration and inclusion as essential to “operational effectiveness” (Ministry of Defence, 2018). How can integration and inclusion simultaneously contribute to and detract from operational effectiveness, and if that challenge exists, how does the British Armed Forces navigate it? An ontological reading of integration and exclusion reaffirms and strengthens the argument that the British Armed Forces (and other military institutions) faces ontological insecurity by having to implement changes related to social cohesion but at the same time, the ontological security literature tells us that change is possible under certain. By applying an ontological security lens to the British Armed Forces, this paper will identify these tensions and propose ways in which they might be addressed in future research.
