Pathways to Pacifism and Antiwar Activism among U.S. Veterans: The Role of Moral Identity in Personal Transformation

Pathways to Pacifism and Antiwar Activism among U.S. Veterans seeks to answer the question of how and why some military personnel become antiwar activists. To examine this, the authors look at the stories of 114 veterans’ pathways from a militaristic perspective to either a Just War or pacifist perspective. Identity theory provides a lens for exploring this process. The authors argue that this postservice process of identity transformation is not pathological but healthy, as it offers healing and verification of multiple roles and social aspects of the veterans’ lives.