Brutalisation May 2026

The Brutalisation of British Soldiers in the Peninsular War 1808-1814

Whether on the battlefield, in broken homes, or across digital screens, brutalisation erodes our capacity for empathy and replaces it with a "politics of death". 1. From Victim to Aggressor: The Survival Strategy brutalisation

: Soldiers in conflict often undergo a psychological shift where "murderous drives" are liberated as a survival mechanism. The Brutalisation of British Soldiers in the Peninsular

: In contexts of occupation or systemic injustice, the "long night of collective humiliation" can turn into a "caldron of hate," leading the brutalised to seek revenge through the same violent means used against them. 2. The Normalisation of Horror : In contexts of occupation or systemic injustice,

: Thinkers like Achille Mbembe suggest we are living in an era of "global brutalism," where power is increasingly expressed through the destruction of bodies, environments, and human dignity. 3. Institutional Brutalisation

It isn't just individuals who become brutalised; institutions do too. When states or organisations rely on force rather than dialogue, they perpetuate a culture of aggression.

One of the most tragic aspects of brutalisation is its circular nature. Clinical psychologists note that the brutality of an offense is often deeply rooted in the brutality the offender experienced as a child. When humans are subjected to environments where their vulnerability is met with violence, they may stop being able to tolerate that vulnerability in themselves or others.