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Now the largest-ever survey on attitudes to war reveals a tougher, more cynical public view on how fighting is done, including the statistic that nearly one quarter of Australians think torturing enemy soldiers is justifiable.
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Red Cross train volunteers before dicey deployment
Mimicking a real hostage situation, the Red Cross train volunteers, who are going to dangerous parts of the world, what to do in countries where they may encounter violence.
The survey of 17,000 people in 16 countries, published by the International Committee of the Red Cross on Monday, found that while most people still believe war should have rules, faith in the Geneva Convention is fading and there is growing acceptance of torture and civilian casualties.
It is prompting the Red Cross, the respected organisation that works in the world's most dangerous places, to call for a renewed effort to promote the virtues of rules in warfare.
"We were heartened by the fact the majority [of people] globally still believe the laws of war matter," said Helen Durham, the Red Cross's director of law and policy.
"But it does disturb us when you drill down into the statistics you … see some more cynicism and the sense that it's pretty tough out there and so we might have to do things we're not comfortable with."
Specifically, the proportion of people who believe torture of enemy combatants for important information is acceptable has risen from 28 per cent in 1999 to 36 per cent today. Less than half today said it was unacceptable, compared with two-thirds in 1999, while the number who didn't have a view rose from 6 per cent to 16 per cent.
In Australia, 23 per cent of respondents said torturing an enemy fighter was acceptable – a higher figure than in Russia, China, Ukraine or South Sudan though much lower than the 46 per cent in the United States.
Some 21 per cent said this applied also to Australian soldiers. This was the first time the survey has been conducted in Australia so there is no historical comparison.
Globally, the proportion of people who think the Geneva Convention makes any difference has fallen from 52 per cent in 1999 to 38 per cent today. The proportion who believe it is wrong to carrying out military operations knowing there will be significant civilian casualties fell from 68 per cent to 59 per cent.
The survey conspicuously revealed that a cavalier attitude towards the laws of war are more prevalent in peaceful countries than those beset by conflict. Often those who championed laws in war most firmly were militaries themselves, Dr Durham said.
She said cynicism was fuelled by the fact that people only saw when laws were failing, not when they were successful, such the Red Cross's negotiating with dozens of armed groups to safely deliver aid or monitor prisoners in a war zone.
"When you only hear the news of unacceptable atrocities … it's quite easy to think that international law is useless and if it's useless, why bother?
"But international law does matter. If we allow societies globally to slip into a situation where it doesn't matter, it allows those states who have the responsibility to carefully utilise the military use of force to feel they have less pressure from the public."
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