How, and in which ways, can learning about war and violent conflicts contribute to citizenship education, and what are the challenges? What are the roles of war in educational settings and what are the messages learners are left with when learning about war? These are crucial questions if we think about the different arenas inviting learners to reflect on and learn about topics related to war and violent conflict. Moreover, topics related to war and violent conflicts are frequently included in social studies, history and citizenship education, and are considered as an important issue and of global concern by both teachers and students (Davies, Harber and Yamashita, 2004; ICCS-study, 2016; Vesterdal, 2022; Yamashita, 2006). Both in school, higher education, museums and memorials, cases of war represent a topic that we are expected to learn given lessons from. These are not necessarily explicit, but it often ‘goes without saying’ that there are important, if not crucial lessons to be learned from the narratives of war that are represented (Lisle, 2006; Pennell, 2016). There is, however, less research on how teaching and learning about war and conflict are carried out in practice, what kind of approaches, perspectives and purposes and its educational effects (Davies, 2005; Yamashita, 2006).
In this article, I will explore and discuss theoretical approaches that illuminate the different roles of war and violent conflict in educational settings, and how these may produce divergent messages and lessons in light of citizenship education. These illustrate typologies that represent educational entrances to the roles of war narratives in educational settings and the possible challenges they produce. In light of these approaches, it is appropriate to question the role and functions of war narratives in different learning sites- what kind of citizenship education is at play and who are included and excluded in these settings? The (ambiguity of) messages point to different forms of citizenship, where both the exclusive, critical and more inclusive perspectives, global and national dimensions are present in the discourses. The shaping of identity through such historical narratives often involves the construction of an essentialized national identity, as Bekerman & Zembylas (2016, p. 216-217) argue: “The inclusion or exclusion of particular narratives in the public sphere and in educational settings sets the stage for the tensions that characterize the relations between hegemonic and marginalized groups in traumatized societies”. Representations of war and violent conflict represent a double-edged sword in citizenship education, as a potential bulwark against future wars, but also as a tool for promoting militarism and future wars. I will present and discuss four typologies related to war and violent conflict in educational settings and how it may be related to citizenship education: 1) war as a historical and social phenomenon, 2) narratives of war as conflict prevention, 3) war as a tool for national identity construction, 4) war and conflict as part of global awareness.
