Fighting for the family: Overcoming distances in time and space

Abstract

The article explores how military deployment affects the everyday lives of Danish soldiers’ families. By approaching the challenges faced by soldiers and their partners from an anthropological perspective of the family, the article provides new insights into the social consequences of military deployment and the processes of militarization at home. Drawing on ethnographic examples from recent fieldwork among women, children, and soldiers at different stages of deployment, the article demonstrates how soldiers and their families attempt to live up to ideals about parenthood and family by creating ‘relational spaces’ that allow them to preserve intimate relationships despite geographical distances. Besides dealing with the practical responsibilities of everyday life, soldiers’ partners also fight to maintain the sense of closeness associated with normative ideals about family relations and a ‘good’ family life. The emergence of relational spaces enables soldiers and their families to take part in each other’s everyday lives. However, when the lives of soldiers abroad and family members at home become entangled, these relational spaces also result in the normalization and legitimization of the military as a present and interfering figure in the lives of soldiers’ families.