TY - JOUR
TI - Tradition as an Element of Identity Building. The Case of the Special Units Soldiers
AU - Rybak, Jarosław
TI - Tradition as an Element of Identity Building. The Case of the Special Units Soldiers
AB - 
	Modernity have any impact on military identity. It was proved that traditions of historical military formations serve as a factor that facilitates building identity of modern Special Forces soldiers. Referring to historical traditions gives them a sense of “nobility” and strengthen their “military backbone”. Tradition, however, should not be perceived with regard to history only. It’s possible to build identity effectively basing on values such as elitism or a community of extreme experiences. Invented tradition, which precipitates and facilitates building identity of the group, can also play a key role. The Individual In-depth Interview technique was used to examine seven soldiers of different generations. They served in the army during World War II, afterwards (over the communist period) and contemporarily. The last ones are experts with extensive combat and command experience. Concurrently, Polish Special Forces were characterized through the prism of identity building and their history, inherited traditions, origin of the name and symbols were described.
VL - 2021
IS - 12/2021
PY - 2021
SN - 2082-7806
C1 - 2543-408X
SP - 133
EP - 187
DO - 10.4467/2543408XZOP.21.006.15112
UR - https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/zoon-politikon/article/tradycja-jako-element-budowy-tozsamosci-przypadek-zolnierzy-oddzialow-wojsk-specjalnych
KW - military tradition
KW - identity building
KW - soldiers
KW - identity in postmodernity
KW - invented tradition
KW - military rituals
KW - special forces symbols
KW - elitism
KW - extreme experiences