Friday, February 8, 2008

Collective action at the time of crisis: A thing to adore

“Stalingrad is a fortress, an unconquerable fortress of the Russians”

–was a common cry of the invading Nazi, whereas the Russians made fun of it as they knew the city was as normal as any other cities only the citizens rose to make it a fortress. It was often seen that women and children were in ammunition factories as all men were in the front saving ‘Mother Russia’, often anti-tank mines came from the Tula (cookie), factory made by the same people who made the famous Tula cookies.

Wartime has always shown people to pump in more adrenalin. It has been a thing to notice that collective action shows its best during times of crisis be it internal or external. External crisis is a better stimulator of this fact. We can see this fact from the battlefields of Stalingrad or the battlefields of the Muktibahini of Bangladesh, a war is a sure platform to bring people together. Some possible reasons could be:-
1. In most wars, the identity of those defending their territory is on the stake.
2. It is easier to bring together people under the umbrella of nationalism and patriotism
3. Man has traditionally been taught to react to emergencies and threats in groups right from the days of hunting and gathering.
4. It becomes a thing of pride and honour to fight for one’s own country.
5. Often it is the last post (as for the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan) with no more land to retreat, so it is more fight or perish.

Mostly it is seen that if the defenders have a shared goal, the people rise to achieve it whatever may be the consequence. It is just the opposite in the case of Iraq where the majority shunned the dictator and hence had no motivation to defend the country.

Thoughts by : Sreejit Basu ( 28044)

No comments: