Psychological Effects of Anti-Personnel Landmines: A Standard to which Alternatives can be Compared

摘要

On September 17, 1997, President Clinton announced that, by the year 2003, the U.S. will no longer use anti-personnel landmines (APLs) outside of Korea and, within Korea, the goal is to have APL alternatives ready by 2006. It is desired that APL alternatives have the same psychological effects as APLs without the negative humanitarian aspects. However, in order to replicate the psychological effects of APLs, those effects must first be identified. This study sought to provide input regarding the effects of APLs on soldiers when they are used in military operations. A two- phased approach was employed. The first phase consisted of a review of the open literature to determine what research had already addressed this issue and what such research found. The second phase was an exploratory investigation into APL effects on individuals who had experience with them, primarily in a non-training situation. This study makes four primary conclusions regarding the psychological effects of APLs. Although not the focus of this study, the operational effects of APLs were also explored and there are five primary conclusions regarding the operational effects. Overall, this study offers five primary conclusions related to the development and evaluation of APL alternatives. Areas for future research are also suggested.