Living in the Grey Zones: The Experiences of Foreign and Commonwealth Army Wives in North Yorkshire

Aims - The aim of this project is to explore the experiences of the wives of foreign personnel serving in the British army in North Yorkshire. Their liminality can shed light on the intersections of gender and race with violence and conflict in modern Britain, highlighting the interactions of militarism and citizenship with gendered and neo-colonialist discourses. The subjectivities of these women (negotiating public/private, military/citizen, migrant/citizen divides) allow insights which reflect the tensions in policies and discourses on modern British security, identity and belonging.

Research Questions - How do the wives of foreign army personnel experience and negotiate their relationship with the army, military and civilian communities in North Yorkshire?
How do the participants practise and understand their identities within the United Kingdom and its army?
What role do gender and race play in the construction and experience of violence, conflict and militarism in Britain?
How do the intersecting issues of militarism, race and gender inform and shape understandings of citizenship and belonging in military communities in North Yorkshire and what does this tell us about contemporary Britain?

Rational and Impact -An exploration of those at the margins of societies and militaries can highlight continuing gendered and racialised inequalities in security and wider policy. A focus on the experiences of the wives of foreign army personnel can allow us to explore contemporary identities in Britain and how they interact with and are shaped by encounters with violence and conflict. These findings will reflect wider issues of belonging and citizenship as Britain struggles to find and articulate its place (and the place of people in it) in the 21st century in the aftermath of Brexit and attempts to reckon with Britain's colonial past. By filling the gaps that exist in research on military wives and military migrants this project can have a substantial impact on existing academic knowledge and can reshape debates as the nation moves forward. In addition, a comprehensive understanding of the lived realities of the participants can facilitate better infrastructures (e.g. transport links), more effective provisions (e.g. language training) and support (e.g. mental health). Better informed and targeted policies are more effective economically. This can have wide ranging benefits for the armed forces, civilian organisations and governmental bodies; including schools, charities and healthcare providers.

Methodology - The project will use semi-structured, qualitative interviews with the wives of foreign personnel and members of military and civilian communities in North Yorkshire including charities and military welfare organisations. I intend to use convenience sampling to recruit those most readily available to participate using stakeholder and gatekeeping organisations. These will be episodic interviews, combining answers to pre-set questions with a narrative approach. I will use critical discourse and thematic analysis to analyse the interviews. The interview questions will be designed in consultation with stakeholder groups. Collaboration will be supported throughout by bi-monthly meetings after which I will create a report shaped by and for the stakeholders.