This book seeks to answer the question: how and why do some military personnel become anti-war activists? To explore this question we examine 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. Identity Theory is rooted in sociology, specifically Structural Symbolic Interactionism that explains the formation of one's self via a continuous self-regulating cycle of identity verification. The vast majority of these veterans did not merely change their attitudes about war...

This book examines the journeys of 114 veterans as they seek to make sense of their military experiences and their new post service pacifist and/or antiwar identity. Focusing on the identity change process, the book reveals the powerful role of moral authenticity in living a life of well-being after military service.