Differences and Similarities in Perceptions of Recruits, Soldiers, and Veterans in an Austrian Cohort

While international research on public perceptions of military service personnel and veterans has received extensive academic attention (e.g., Ashcroft, 2012, 2017; Hines et al., 2015; ICM Unlimited, 2015; Institut Public de Sondage et al., 2015; Park et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2020), little is known about Austrian public attitudes towards their service personnel and veterans. When this type of work has been done, it focused predominantly on explicit attitudinal data measures on public perceptions of the Austrian military (Prinz et al., 2019). The most thorough and recent representative survey was conducted by Statista (2021b), surveying 1,020 Austrians above 15 years of age between spring 2017 and spring 2021. This work revealed that the majority of the surveyed population hold a favourable view of the Austrian military, with 94% to 98% of the participants trusting their Armed Forces.

Additionally, research has outlined that the Armed Forces can so be a source of internal wealth of a country by drawing upon civilian-defence knowledge transfers that can improve the innovation and productivity of companies (Acosta et al., 2019; Briones-Peñalver et al., 2020). In this sense, the Armed Forces accelerate research and development besides supporting small and medium companies by drawing on inter-organizational relationships and cooperation among firms (Acosta et al., 2019; Briones-Peñalver et al., 2020). However, not least to the lack of empirical evidence, there is an ongoing academic dispute whether or to which extent similar favourable views are held of the Austrian Armed Forces’ personnel and its veterans (e.g., Amtliche Publikation der Republik Österreich Bundesminister für Landesverteidigung und Sport, 2014; Daxner, 2017; Hessel, 2002; Giller et al., 1992; Vogel, 2002). The present study addresses this by examining and comparing word-associations that correspond to recruits, soldiers, and veterans of the Austrian Armed Forces.

Unlike predominantly appreciative attitudes towards service personnel in many democratic countries (e.g., Ashcroft, 2012, 2017; Park et al., 2012; Statista, 2014), the public image of the Austrian Armed Forces’ personnel may be more problematic (e.g., Pirker, 2018; Daxner, 2017; Berger, 2011; Giller et al., 1992; Rauchensteiner, 2002). This is because public knowledge and sense-making processes always include a historical aspect that relates to a culture’s past (e.g., Liu & Hilton, 2005). In this sense, Jovchelovitch (2001) argued that the historicity of knowledge is evidenced by the interdependence between today’s knowledge and historical knowledge, and, its temporal, transformative character. Therefore public knowledge commonly draws on comparisons between “today” and “the past” and interrelates different temporal perspectives (Jovchelovitch, 2001). For example, to understand feminists’ or human right activists’ emphasis on equality, it is necessary to draw on historical notions indicating that, at times, specific groups of people such as women or Black people were defined as inferior. In the same way public perceptions of recruits, soldiers, and veterans may respond to historical perspectives.

While in some countries like the US and the UK the conceptualisation of soldiers is often intertwined with heroic representations (Ashcroft, 2012; Dandeker et al., 2006; Statista, 2014), conceptualisations of Austrian soldiers are less positive due to its history of National Socialism during the Second World War (Pirker, 2018; Rauchensteiner, 2002). For example, Austrian war memorials of WWI and WWII have commonly been rewritten, relabelled, and occasionally removed (Giller et al., 1992; Pirker, 2016). Monuments now refer to soldiers as “victims” (Opfer) or the “fallen” (die Gefallenen; Giller et al., 1992; Pirker, 2016, 2018).

This is particularly relevant in the light of Liu and Hilton’s (2005) study, which evidenced the long lasting and permeating character of historical representations on cultural identity. Culturally shared representations of history, such as legacies of WWI and WWII, become in this sense a narrative framework that provides an incontestable reality, serving as a foundation for societal decision-making processes (Liu & Hilton, 2005). For example, the UK, France, and Germany faced a similar challenge after the terrorist attack on the US World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, as they were all obliged by NATO to offer support to the US. Nevertheless, the UK dispatched troops immediately, whereas France promised military aid with more reticence and Germany called a vote of confidence in the government (the first in over 20 years) before dispatching troops. Liu and Hilton (2005) argued that these discrepancies can be explained in culturally shared representations of European military history. While the UK sees itself as world policemen that together with the US defends democracy just like in 1941, France understands its role as defending mainly human rights, resistant to Anglo-Saxon world hegemony, and Germany is on a quest of developing a “normal” role without arousing historically grounded fears of German aggression. Austria, a country that shares (military) history and language with Germany, may therefore experience similar challenges of redeveloping its military identity in the context of history. In this sense, the permeating character of historical representations may also affect the public image of those who currently serve in the Austrian Armed Forces or have served and are now veterans negatively.

This negative spillover effect may be a particular issue in the light of the lack of media coverage that the Austrian Armed Forces receives (Suppan, 2019; van Boom et al., 2017; Vogel, 2002). Despite the support the Austrian Armed Forces receives from its public relations department, neither positive nor negative aspects of the Austrian Armed Forces are widely communicated and propagated by the media (Suppan, 2019; van Boom et al., 2017; Vogel, 2002).

Similarly, the Austrian Armed Forces receives little attention at individual events aside from a traditional parade on the Austrian Staatsfeiertag, happening on the 26^th of October each year, while schools focus on the presentation and discussion of mere facts of Austrian military history (Hessel, 2002; van Boom et al., 2017). More serious discussions surrounding today’s Armed Forces in connection with recognition for its members and veterans, only take place in relatively rare instances when concrete missions or deployments are decided upon or immediate aid is to be delivered locally or overseas (Hessel, 2002; van Boom et al., 2017). In this sense, it can be argued that the Austrian Armed Forces are placed on the margins of societal attention, widening the civil-military gap as a possible consequence thereof (Hines et al., 2015; Rahbek-Clemmensen et al., 2012). This is problematic, as an absence of knowledge regarding what individuals in the military do on a daily basis may deter recruitment and cause disaffection among those who are currently serving (Hines et al., 2015). Additionally, little knowledge about service members’ daily routines may be particularly detrimental for veterans from the Austrian Armed Forces. While most international research outlines that soldiers and active service personnel are beneficially viewed (e.g., Ashcroft, 2012, 2017; Hines et al., 2015; ICM Unlimited, 2015; Institut Public de Sondage et al, 2015; Park et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2020), public perceptions of veterans are often dominated by representations of damaged, aging, and war-weary individuals (Ashcroft, 2012, 2017; Bulmahn, 2012; Daxner & Mann, 2016; Park et al., 2012; Phillips et al., 2020). For example, in a free-word association task in which 1,250 German respondents provided immediate associations to the stimulus word “veteran,” the majority of the respondents did not provide any, or, only generic responses relating to war or old-age (Bulmahn, 2012). Also, if associations were provided that characterised a veteran, then only a minority of 3% was positive and appreciative, whereas 11% were negative and victimizing associations. These results are mirrored by studies conducted with members of the UK and US public, suggesting that veterans are predominantly conceptualised as labile and fragile victims of warfare (Phillips et al., 2020; Schreger & Kimble, 2017). This is problematic as negative perceptions of veterans, even if held implicitly, may influence the veterans’ transition into civilian society, as skills may not be recognized and so impede the veterans’ civilian re-employment (Hines et al., 2015). Therefore, an absence of societal discourses thematizing the Austrian military and its members may have negative consequences as contributing to the civil-military gap.

However, the argument that Austrian civilians may know little about members of their Armed Forces due to low levels of societal attention and thematization stands in stark contrast to Austria’s conscription of all male citizens (Hessel, 2002; Rauchensteiner, 2002; van Boom et al., 2017; Vogel, 2002). Since 1955, all male-identifying Austrians who are 18 years or older are conscripted into the Austrian Armed Forces, with an option of civilian service being introduced in 1975. As conscripts enjoy more advantages such as serving a shorter period of time (being conscripted for 6 months versus being a civilian servant for 9 months) and have greater career prospects (i.e., becoming a private or starting a career as a pilot), the majority of young men decide to join the Austrian Armed Forces (Statista, 2019).

Conscripts undergo three stages of basic military training. First, they are taught the correct handling of the equipment and military proceedings. In the second and third stages, conscripts are assigned to units and undergo a more specific training (e.g., identify mines and booby traps, learn how to use specific kinds of weapons such as mortars, etc.). After completion of the obligatory 6 months of military service, the roughly 17,000 conscripts per year (Statista, 2019) can decide whether they want to join the Austrian Armed Forces full-time to pursue a career in the military as a non-commissioned officer or an officer, or, whether they prefer to become part of the Austrian Militia. The approximately 25,000 militia-soldiers, together with the 950,000 reservists (non-active militia) and the roughly 17,000 conscripts per year supplement the relatively small Austrian all-volunteer Force of 14,000 soldiers (Bundesheer, 2021).

Only around 5% of the Austrian’s all-volunteer Force is currently deployed. This is due to the Austrian State Treaty of Neutrality, which declares that “In all future times Austria will not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of a foreign military base on its territory” (Federal Constitutional Law on the Neutrality of Austria, 1955, p. 1). Under the Declaration of Neutrality (Federal Constitutional Law on the Neutrality of Austria, 1955), Austrian troops can only be deployed to peacekeeping missions and operations that aim to provide humanitarian aid or disaster relief. As such, Austria has a relatively small presence across different countries (see Table 1 below).

While the Austrian Armed Forces has emphasized equality and gender mainstreaming and working on anti-discrimination acts (Mathes & Gruber, 2019), only approximately 5% of the Austrian’s Armed Forces personnel is female. However, due the high number of reservists (approximately 950,000 members) who supplement the active militia (approximately 25,000 members) and the all-volunteer Force (approximately 14,000 members), it can be assumed that approximately every 9^th of the 8.96 million people living in Austria is somewhat associated to its Armed Forces. This makes it considerably likely that most people who live in Austria also know someone who serves in its Armed Forces.

Additionally, the Austrian Armed Forces has increased its public visibility since the COVID-19 pandemic, as recruits, soldiers, and the militia played a vital role in crisis management. This was positively received by the majority of the Austrian public. Specifically, a total of 64% of the surveyed population stated that the Austrian Armed Forces response to the COVID-19 crisis improved their appreciation for the Austrian Armed Forces (Prinz et al., 2020). Additionally, the majority of the population (54%) felt reassured by the presence of soldiers in public spaces (Prinz et al., 2020). In conclusion, members of the Austrian general public are not only likely to either have served themself or know someone who has served in the Austrian Armed Forces. Therefore, it may well be possible that Austrian public perceptions of its Armed Forces’ recruits, soldiers, and veterans is more beneficial than scholars (i.e., Hessel, 2002; Vogel, 2002) assume.

However, without empirical data that substantiates arguments surrounding Austrian’s public perceptions of members who serve and have served in its military, knowledge remains limited and based on assumption. The present study addresses this gap in knowledge by utilizing the structural approach in Social Representation Theory (Abric, 1989; Moscovici, 1988, 2000, 2001).

Methods

Participants

After receiving ethical approval from Robert Gordon University, a convenience sample of 266 participants who lived in Austria was recruited between December 2020 and March 2021. The sociodemographic characteristics of the recruited population are indicated in Table (below). As outlined in Table 2, the recruited population includes a high proportion of females (75.2%) with an average age of 27.51 (SD = 11.53). It is also evident that a high percentage of the recruited cohort has lived in Austria for a long period of time and had no specific preference for a political party (middle of the road: 56%).

Table 2

Participant Demographic Information.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS	FREQUENCY
Gender	Female: 200 (75.2%) Male: 66 (24.8%) Non-Binary: 0 (0%)
Age	M = 27.51, SD = 11.53
Education	Above A-levels (“Matura”): 91 (34.2%) A-levels or equiv. (“Matura”): 161 (60.5%) Below A-levels (“Pflichtschule”): 14 (5.3%)
Nationality	Austrian: 254 (95.5%) Other: 12 (4.5%)
Religion	No religion: 54 (20.3%) Christian: 177 (66.5%) Muslim: 10 (3.8%) Other: 25 (9.4%)
Opinion about the Austrian Armed Forces	Very high: 46 (17.3%) High: 130 (48.9%) Low: 75 (28.2%) Very low: 15 (5.6%)
Social distance to the Austrian Armed Forces	No contact to the Austrian Armed Forces (no member/ex-member in a social circle): 47 (17.7%) Distant contact (a member/ex-member in distant social circle): 78 (29.3%) Close contact (a member/ex-member in close social circle): 107 (40.2%) Being a member of the Austrian Armed Forces oneself: 34 (12.8%)
Time since residing in Austria	Before 2011: 233 (78.9%) Between 2002–2011: 29 (10.9%) Between 2012–2015: 0 (0%) Between 2016 and now: 4 (1.5%)
National pride	Very proud: 138 (51.9%) Proud: 108 (40.6%) Rather not proud: 14 (5.3%) Not proud: 6 (2.3%)
Political opinions	Left wing (i.e. Green Party/Liberals): 32 (12%) Somewhat to the left: 67 (25.2%) Middle of the road (i.e., SPÖ, ÖVP): 149 (56%) Somewhat to the right: 14 (5.3%) Right wing (FPÖ, Team HC Strache): 4 (1.5%)

Materials and Procedure

After giving informed consent, three successive steps were carried out. Free Word Association Task: Participants were asked to produce the first three words that came to their mind when seeing the stimuli terms “recruit of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Rekrut des österreichischen Bundesheeres), “soldier of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Soldat des österreichischen Bundesheeres), and “veteran from the Austrian Armed Forces” (Veteran des österreichischen Bundesheeres) on a computer screen. Participants were randomly presented with either stimulus first and, to ensure they answered rapidly, a timer was displayed on the screen beneath the free-text entry fields (i.e., free association task; see Clemence et al., 2014; Di Giacomo, 1980; Lorenzi-Cioldi, 1988; Sarrica & Contarello, 2004).

After the three-word associations for each stimuli word (recruit, soldier, and veteran) were provided, participants were asked to rank the importance of their word associations in describing each of the three stimuli words on a 5-point Likert scale (extremely important, very important, moderately important, slightly important, not at all important). This process was not timed, and participants were encouraged to be reflective in their rankings (Abric, 2012; Dany et al., 2015; Lo Monaco et al., 2016). In the third and final step, participants were asked to provide sociodemographic information about themselves.

The three stimuli words of recruit, soldier, and veteran were chosen in order to present a full lifespan of a career in the Austrian Armed Forces. In this way possible differences in perceptions of Austria’s Armed Forces Personnel could be best outlined.

Data Analysis

Content Analysis

A theme-based content analysis (Bardin, 1977) was conducted to facilitate further analyses. A process of grouping together semantically similar answers assisted with data-aggregation and made the corpus of data more uniform and less ambiguous (Bolasco et al., 1999; Sarrica & Contarello, 2004). Semantically similar answers such as items that expressed the same semantic content and differed in grammatical form, expression, spelling or upper or lower cases, were put together (i.e., honor – honour, bravery – brave). The evaluation of saliences, frequencies, and characteristics of associations informed by relevant literature (i.e., Joffe, 2007; McCulloch, 1995; Sarrica & Contarello, 2004), guided the subsequent construction of the theme-based categories.

Hierarchical Evocation Method

The Hierarchical Evocation Method was utilized to distinguish between central and peripheral elements (Dany et al., 2015; Lo Monaco et al., 2017) and is commonly used in social representational research (e.g., Baquiano & Mendez, 2016; Dany et al, 2015; Lévy et al., 2010; Lo Monaco et al., 2017). It satisfies two criteria. First, the frequency of element-occurrence and secondly the hierarchical order of valence (importance). Cross-referencing frequency and importance produced a four-area chart (see Figure 1 below). The threshold for frequencies is determined by the number of associations divided by the number of previously defined elements (thematic clusters). The distinction between high and low importance of these elements is made by utilizing the importance ratings’ mean as the cut-off point.

Figure 1

The upper-left corner of the chart contains the representation’s central elements based on high frequencies and importance. These central elements ought to be defined by the homogeneity of group understandings, stability, coherence, change resistance, and rigidity. The bottom left cell comprises categories that were named by fewer people but were still considered very important. This zone, the contrasting zone, represents elements that may be important to sub-groups in the recruited population. The first and second periphery contain mutant elements, oscillating in the adaptation to the situation and social context (Baquiano & Mendez, 2016). While the first periphery contains frequent but unimportant elements, the second periphery is constituted of infrequent and unimportant elements. The first and second periphery allow for the integration of individual experiences and tolerate heterogeneity and contradictions.

Results

The 266 participants generated a total of 2,394 word associations (798 per stimulus term). These were downloaded from the online survey-tool Qualtrics and transposed to SPSS along with the participants’ importance rankings and the sociodemographic information. The word associations were then grouped into thematically coherent clusters utilizing Content Analysis. These clusters were indicative to differentiate between central and peripheral clusters in the subsequent Hierarchical Evocation Models.

Content Analysis

An inductively-driven coding chart was generated. Findings from previous literature (i.e., Joffe, 2007; McCulloch, 1995; Sarrica & Contarello, 2004) were used to amend the original coding chart into the final 13 thematic cluster chart. Inter-rater reliability was validated by concordance in category ratings with an academic linguist (93.4% inter-rater concordance). An overview of the thematic clusters together with their frequency of evocation can be found in Table 3 (below).

Table 3

Category Definition, Examples, and Frequencies.

CATEGORY	DEFINITION	EXAMPLES	TOTAL FREQUENCY OF CATEGORY OCCURRENCE
Positive personality dispositions/character traits	References to personality characteristics and traits that are beneficial and pro-social	Helpful Intelligent Eager	837 (34.96%)
Heroization	Associations relating to superiority and heroism; Descriptions referring to looking up to service personnel	Hero Fearless Saviour	289 (12.07%)
Negative personality dispositions/character traits	References to personality characteristics and traits that are negative and anti-social	Racist Idiot Dumb	204 (8.52%)
Older age and experienced	Associations which characterise stimuli words by higher age and experience	Old Experienced Has seen a lot	199 (8.31%)
Victimization	Associations which refer to suffering from illnesses or injustice	Amputee Trauma Injured	198 (8.27%)
Athletic	Associations which refer to elevated levels of fitness	Active Trained Fit	122 (5.1%)
Young and inexperienced	Associations which characterise stimuli words by low age and inexperience	Young Inexperienced Newbie	118 (4.93%)
Physical description	Physical description of a person	Man Woman Green uniform	94 (3.92%)
Branch of military service	Reference to a group within the Forces/to the membership within this group	Soldier Pilot Pioneer	75 (3.13)
War & deployment	Associations, conceptualising the term “war” (i.e. Sarrica & Contarello, 2004)	War Bomb Explosion	75 (3.13%)
National belonging	Associations which refer to being Austrian or in-group belonging; associations grounded on national inclusion or more subordinated group belonging	One of ours Austrian Our soldier	74 (3.09%)
Other	Associations which did not fit any other categories	? Don’t know A/A	57 (2.38%)
Job/occupation	Associations which refer to jobs, being employed and descriptive synonyms of these aspects	Occupation Job Employee	52 (2.17%)

Hierarchical Evocation Method (HEM)

HEM models were created for the stimuli phases “recruit of the Austrian Armed Forces”(Rekrut des österreichischen Bundesheeres), “soldier of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Soldat des österreichischen Bundesheeres), and “veteran from the Austrian Armed Forces” (Veteran des österreichischen Bundesheeres). The mean frequency (f) threshold was created by dividing the number of words included in the analysis (798 associations per stimulus word) by the number of categories (13 thematic categories), resulting in a value of 61 for each stimulus words. The mean value for the importance ratings (Average Order of Evocation, AOE) was 3.35 for the stimulus term “recruit of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Rekrut des österreichischen Bundesheeres). For the stimulus term “soldier of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Soldat des österreichischen Bundesheeres) the AOE was 3.41, and for “veteran from the Austrian Armed Forces” (Veteran des österreichischen Bundesheeres) it was 3.27. The associations that were grouped into thematic clusters through the categorization in the content analysis were handled as elements and allocated to the central, contrasting and peripheral zones of the HEM models (see Figures 2, 3, and 4 below).

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

The results suggest that the three stimuli words—recruit, soldier, and veteran—are well-defined representations with organized and distinct central cores. The three stimuli words are structured around stable, highly salient and evocative cores. Out of 13 thematic clusters, only five clusters were part of the central core or the contrasting zone the HEM models of the three stimuli words. The other eight thematic clusters were part of the second periphery, indicating very little importance.

For recruit, the central elements focused on descriptions of the personality (whether positive, negative, or even heroizing) and on references to immaturity and inexperience. Therefore, at first sight, characterisation of a recruit may appear to be indifferent or generic, as both positive and negative character dispositions are anticipated. However, the evocation of various character dispositions may well also reflect insight into the recruitment system practiced by the Austrian Armed Forces. Essentially, the decision to join the Austrian Armed Forces as a recruit can be—not at least due to the many advantages when compared to civilian service—less inspired by intrinsic motives or altruism than when individuals sign up voluntarily. Therefore, the multitude of personality characteristics that reside in the recruit’s central core are no contradiction but, together with anticipations of young age, the representation of reality, as Austrian recruits may come from various backgrounds and have different reasons for joining (i.e., understanding military service as more time efficient than civilian service).

In contrast to recruits, the stimuli phrase “soldier of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Soldat des österreichischen Bundesheeres) had solely positive and heroizing sentiments in its central core (see Figure 3 above). As already seen in the recruit’s contrasting zone, the soldier’s contrasting zone contains similar references to Austria as a nation state, which may reflect that only Austrians can join its Armed Forces, and thematizes the fitness of the individual, which lies in the nature of the profession. However, besides the thematic clusters “national belonging” and “athletic,” the contrasting zone also included references conceptualising service as an occupation, while negative characterisations of the personality are pushed to the representation’s outer periphery. This may well reflect the participants’ knowledge about recruitment and retention, as individuals who have completed their basic training can voluntarily join the Austrian Armed Forces in its different capacities.

Similar to soldier, the stimulus term “veteran of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Veteran des österreichischen Bundesheeres) comprised thematic clusters that referred to positive personality traits and heroization in its central core. Besides the attribution of beneficial dispositions and characteristics, references to older age and experiences were made. This aligned with the etymological origin of veteran, referring to the Latin word veteranus meaning old age (Stevenson, 2010). However, as victimizing sentiments were in the second periphery, the image of the elderly that is stained by negative stereotypes of ill-health and economic inactivity (Tuckman & Lorge, 1953), seemed inapplicable to perceptions of veterans. While veterans are perceived to be older and more experienced, they are neither related to damaged or war-weary individuals who cannot look after themselves. The contrasting zone suggested the opposite, with references to high levels of fitness, besides the veteran’s nationality, being made. In addition, the absence of words in the first periphery indicated that the stimulus phrase “veteran of the Austrian Armed Forces” (Veteran des österreichischen Bundesheeres) may be a culturally-hegemonic representation with a set of uniform and widely shared understandings. In conclusion, the HEM models suggest that recruits, soldiers, and veterans are not only positively perceived, but also well-defined representations.