Are the reasons for fighting in a dictatorship different from those in a democracy?

For almost a year now, Russian soldiers have been fighting in Ukraine in a war whose rationality escapes most of the world. On the Ukrainian side, the reasons for fighting are almost self-evident, a question of survival. In the Russian ranks, the question arises.

What drove these men to resist, to hold the line, to want to go to the front, obey their officers and perhaps die for their country? This is precisely the question posed by Jean-Luc Leleu in his recent book Fighting in a dictatorship. 1944 - The Wehrmacht in the face of D-Day. Over the pages, the historian examines the motives and determining factors that led soldiers and commanders to obey, to fight «to the last» in a war that was already lost. At a time when war is taking place on our very doorstep, it's hard not to draw some lessons from this book.

What are the reasons for fighting?

All things considered, the basic factors that motivate a soldier to fight do not vary fundamentally between a democracy and a dictatorship. As Jean-Luc Leleu reminds us, «[in] wanting to intellectualize war, we sometimes forget the most elementary factors that influence morale on a daily basis». Soldiers must be properly clothed, regularly fed and provided with sufficient and effective equipment. This is a kind of «social contract» between the soldier and the institution. In exchange for his care, the soldier must obey his superiors. In most cases, «the feeling of loyalty, the straitjacket of the military institution, conditioning to obedience, repetition of gestures, behavioral mimicry» are enough to explain a unit's fighting spirit and resistance, whether in a democracy or a dictatorship, in Normandy or the Donbass.

However, unlike dictatorships, democracies need to generate a minimum of support for their cause among soldiers. In the Wehrmacht of 1944, «physical violence in the exercise of command» was present at all levels. Above all, the German armed forces had succeeded in creating «a ‘mechanical reaction to orders‘ among the German soldier, leading him to fight to the limits of his capacities as much as to show great docility once captured’. Finally, the dissemination of propaganda over several years, confidence in the leader - whether Hitler or Putin - and all the supporting factors, function as engines providing the central element: the hope of victory. Fighting with the sole aim of winning, in short.

At what point does willpower collapse?

Although the Wehrmacht went so far as to create a form of enslavement for its soldiers, they were not machines. The «willingness to sacrifice», especially in desperate situations, often disappears in the end. Lack of supplies, missions with no hope of success, physical and mental exhaustion drove soldiers to adopt «avoidance strategies»: taking themselves prisoner, deserting, seeking to stay behind, self-mutilating, even committing suicide.

In a dictatorship, when information is locked down and unfavorable situations arise, cognitive dissonance grows among soldiers. This is characterized by incompatibility between an unfavorable reality and the idea, inculcated by propaganda, that victory is inevitable. In Normandy, «[i]t was therefore necessary to find a way of reinterpreting reality in a positive sense that would give them cause for hope». The risk, for a dictatorship, is the disappearance of this dissonance and an acceptance of reality. «[Once in Germany], we then witnessed a brutal phenomenon of decompensation of the German social body: all the emotional artifices inspired by the regime's propaganda and based on Hitler's charisma were no longer enough to balance a military situation now judged hopeless by most.» This is where the «willingness to sacrifice» disappears.

The case of the Russian army in Ukraine

The reasons why people risk their lives and eventually die are much the same in a democracy as in a dictatorship. Putin's regime is no exception. Whether through pensions and rewards for soldiers, or through obedience and coercion, Russian soldiers continue to fight for the time being. But they need, as in the Wehrmacht, the confidence in their leader that gives them hope of victory in the near future. Putin has already won in the Donbass and brought Crimea back to Russia. Another essential element organized by the Russian leader for twenty years now: the destruction of any form of credible alternative to the current power, so that the Russians' only options are combat or chaos. A chaos that many Russians have already experienced since the dissolution of the USSR.

But now the cognitive dissonance is growing within the army and the population. If Russia is as powerful as the Kremlin says, why is it retreating in Ukraine? What will be the limit at which the Russians' illusions about their ability to win, and about the legitimacy of this war, disappear? When will the Russians open their eyes? For the Germans, the triggering event was the arrival of the Allies on the Rhine, at the gates of their homeland.

Write to the author: clement.guntern@leregardlibre.com

You have just read an analysis from our print edition (Le Regard Libre N°91).

Photo credit: Lukyanivka, Ukraine, March 25, 2022, destroyed Russian military vehicle © Oles Navrotskyi

Jean-Luc Leleu
Fighting in a dictatorship. 1944 - The Wehrmacht in the face of D-Day
Editions Perrin
2022
776 pages

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