Security and the Military between Reality and Perception

This anthology is a result of the research activities carried out in the ERGOMAS Working Group Public Opinion, Mass Media and the Military. The book explores the attitudes of the public and the mass media toward international peacekeeping, crisis management and humanitarian operations and missions. Further, it considers several salient issues regarding the question of “casualty tolerance” in contemporary societies, the image and the missions of the armed forces, the public’s perceptions of the relationship between political and military systems, and an explanation for the apparent contradiction between a relatively high level of public confidence in the military on one hand and a relatively high level of indifference expressed by the same public on the other hand. Lastly, the book examines the mass media coverage of wars and explores the role of the media in the political sphere, especially in the question of civilian democratic control of the armed forces. The addressees of the book are researchers, students and practitioners in military affairs in a broad sense.