Emotions often determine the path towards conflict as well as the actual war itself. The wish for revenge is a central element in this emotion-driven relationship and often impacts the views of the combattants, but also the experience of the victims of violence during wars. The memory and the respective commemoration of a violent past is thereby also very often determined by a sense or wish for a supposedly necessary form of revenge. The interrelationship between war and revenge is therefore an important subject for a more detailed anaylsis.

The legal concept of ‘retribution’ plays a central role in the thematic field of ‘war and revenge’ and often represented a key legitimisation strategy for atonement measures. By claiming the right to ‘atone,’ i.e. to punish, it was possible for the actors to feel that they represented a power that claimed the right to establish a new order. Violence was thus based on a ‘subjective sense of action,’ which was intended to ensure stability and at the same time appeal to a socially widespread, metaphysically anchored sense of justice. Damage was to be inflicted on the opponent in at least the same way or with the same effect as that for which the opponent himself was responsible. This gave retaliation a dynamic factor: by reversing the responsibilities, justifying one’s own violence with a threat and interpreting it as preventive self-defence, one’s own de-limitation of violence could be declared legitimate and necessary.

For a volume in Brill/Schöningh’s series War (Hi)Stories (https://brill.com/view/serial/WHS) this call, which is open with regard to time period and geographical region, is directed towards scholars at any career level who work on revenge and war in all possible related contexts, including, but not limited to, the following aspects and questions:

1. Revenge and the path to war: Which role does revenge play with regard to pre-war politics and strategic war plans? How does the wish for revenge create a certain legitimation for war?
2. How is revenge and violence during war actually legitimized? Which narratives or strategies are applied to justify retaliatory or penal measures of extreme violence?
3. How does the sense of revenge determine the relationship between perpetrators and victims in a war related context?
4. How is revenge related to the memory and commemoration of war as well as a possible element in the preparation of the next violent conflict?

Short proposals (ca. 250-300 words) and a short bio should be sent to mgoellnitz@uni-marburg.de and frank.jacob@nord.no until October 31, 2024. Final papers, ranging from 7,500-10,000 words, including footnotes (following the latest Chicago Manual of Style) but excluding refrences, are expected by March 30, 2025.