Exploitation of Moral Injury

Last fall, I wrote about a lecture I attended that introduced the concept of weaponization in moral injury. Assala Khettache, a PhD student in International Politics at Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom, introduced the idea of weaponizing moral injuries based on her research of the Wagner Group’s campaign in North Africa. Since then, Khettache’s work has heightened my awareness and interest in how moral injuries are exploited for gain – political, economic, social, etc. My goal for this post is to expand Khettache’s work to a broader audience. I’ll provide a basic definition of what exploitation of moral injury is, some of the ways to identify how it occurs, and how understanding this concept might change how we engage others in mutual dialogue and collective action.

What IS the exploitation of moral injury?

Exploitation focuses on the manipulation of emotions that result from moral injuries. This manipulation is an effort to control moral judgments that lead to actions and decisions that serve the motivations and agendas of the manipulator. For example, a perpetrator’s attorney may prey upon a sexual assault survivor’s guilt over failing to prevent the assault to stop them from pursuing prosecution. Another example is when collective feelings of betrayal or resentment toward existing authority structures are exploited to enact a regime change through peaceful or violent means.

Exploiting moral injuries is often more successful than the usual disinformation or psychological effort because the narratives and messages appeal to deeply held beliefs about what is right and wrong. Increasing the intensity of people’s emotions over moral wrongs and injustices undermines moral reasoning and other moral values that guide their decision-making, thus making them easier to control and manipulate. It also allows actors to employ strategies and tactics that hide and distract others from their real intentions by keeping them fixated on their moral injuries.

What does the exploitation of moral injuries look like?

Most strategies and tactics that exploit moral injuries include narratives that evoke strong emotional responses. Messages that call attention to a “golden age” rooted in nostalgic longing for what has been lost cause betrayal and despair. These messages are often accompanied by repeated naming of a “boogeyman” – a group or individual responsible for the loss and the source of the betrayal. Rather than discussing a spectrum of possibilities that benefit the collective, moral dilemmas are oversimplified as a straightforward choice between “right” and “wrong.” The choice is also presented as essential for the survival of one group over another, with no compromise possible. Every moral choice has a winner and a loser.

Those who exploit moral injuries often portray themselves as benevolent rescuers who desire to bring healing to an immoral, unjust, and broken situation. Solutions are made under the false assumption that they will restore agency in a situation where freedoms have been lost, and oppression is widespread. In reality, by exploiting their moral injuries, people are manipulated into overlooking and compromising moral standards in hopes of realizing an unrealistic moral worldview. Said another way, people become convinced that morally questionable and immoral means justify pursuing an impossible end.

On the other side of these strategies and tactics, exploitation also works to illicit strong, emotionally charged reactions by perpetuating moral injury. The effect is that opposing voices can be dismissed as irrational and are portrayed as the actual “threats” to the rest of the population. Thus, the morally injured become “the boogeyman” that others who are morally injured should fear.

What do we do about this?

Solutions to exploitation are easier stated than enacted! It is simple to say things like “collective action,” community engagement, activism, increasing spiritual and mental health, and other methods of moral injury repair. However, these are all long, difficult processes that require people to work together in spite of their ideological differences. I maintain that they are important and worth our commitment to them. Yet, I ask myself, “What are the starting points for combatting how our moral injuries are exploited?” I offer two thoughts for consideration here.

Understanding that those who frustrate us might be morally injured. There is a tendency to view those who support corrupt individuals and unjust actions, or pay no heed to them, as immoral. In short, we assume the worst about them. In my work as a religious leader and chaplain, listening to and understanding betrayal narratives has helped me bridge theological, social, and political differences with others. I can connect with the feeling of betrayal by institutional authority, even if I do not experience it as immoral or unjust. How might our engagement with others change if we take the time to understand their moral injuries and identify how they are being exploited for power and personal gain? How might our engagements change if we view immoral talk and actions stemming from a morally injured character rather than as an act of voluntary will?

Understand how our own moral injuries are being exploited. Speaking from my experience, I had a colleague who noticed I reacted strongly to news of unethical behavior. I had just come from a work situation where I failed to report a supervisor’s unethical and illegal decisions and was struggling with guilt over not reporting it. Noting my reaction, they began to tell me about every questionable action by our supervisor in hopes that I would act on it – which I did. However, my colleague’s information was inaccurate and incomplete, and my responses discredited my reputation with our supervisor. My colleague would then swoop in to mediate the conflict, increasing their reputation with our supervisor, and they were ultimately promoted ahead of me.

We are moral beings living in a world shaped by moral and ethical actions and decisions. Moral injury is, to an extent, unavoidable and leaves us all vulnerable to exploitation. The better we can understand moral injury in others, even if we oppose the basis for it, the better our chances for enacting collective repair with them. The better we can understand our own moral injuries, the better we can articulate responses that counteract those trying to exploit them.

As moral beings, our moral values and virtues differ across cultures, communities, and backgrounds. Yet, the experience of moral injury – the violation of those values and virtues – and the emotions of betrayal, resentment, guilt, shame, and anger are shared. Understanding, identifying, and addressing the exploitation of moral injuries serves as a starting and connection point where we can build communities, societies, and a world we all want to live in.