The dissertation provides a theoretical analysis and empirical study of the problem of legal intolerance of military personnel. It is shown, that the legal intolerance of military personnel as a contemptuous attitude to the norms of the law, their deliberate violation, rejection of the legal values that have developed in society and in the army collectives in the conditions of war represents a great threat to the implementation of the main function of the Armed Forces - to protect the independence and sovereignty of the country. For more than two years of hostilities, tens of thousands of offenses and crimes committed by military personnel have been recorded, including voluntary desertion of units, disobedience, refusal to obey orders, deliberate killings, etc.
The dissertation first used the concept of military nihilism as a military form of legal nihilism, which is expressed in denial and disdain for legal norms and is embodied in specific manifestations of deviant behaviour of combatants - disobedience, desertion, voluntary abandonment of a military unit, voluntary abandonment of the battlefield, looting, treason, etc., as well as violations of laws and customs of war. It has been established, that the specificity of military nihilism consists in a set of behavioral signs of war-induced aggressiveness - in the possibility of using force, using weapons, the possibility of subduing, causing pain and bodily harm, killing, and at the same time morally justifying and distancing oneself from responsibility for what has been done. The paper proposes a theoretical construct of legal intolerance, which assumes: 1) the presence of a certain irritant, deviation (morally unacceptable phenomenon) (Deviance); 2) importance (non-triviality, existential significance) of the deviation (Importance); 3) moral disagreement with what is happening (disagreement with deviation) - (Moral Disapproval); 4) the ability to suppress deviations (Power); 5) active intervention (rejection). Intolerance is defined as a subjectively justified desire to use the power to influence the existence of a morally unacceptable phenomenon.
As factors of legal intolerance of servicemen-offenders, the following are presented: the level of combat traumatization; legal nihilism, legal skepticism, criminal-infantile contagion, the ability to subjugate, defend and attack, dispersion and displacement of responsibility, dehumanization of the enemy, distrust of fellow officers, lack of confidence in the competence and combat experience of commanders, helplessness in extreme conditions, etc. The work empirically proves, that the low level of legal culture of military personnel, cynicism about legal norms and institutions, as well as the lack of responsibility contribute to the formation of their criminal and infantile contamination.
In the dissertation scientific ideas about the specifics of the combatants' perception of legal reality in the conditions of war (legal realism, legal nihilism, legal skepticism, legal cynicism, legal conformism, legal idealism, legal infantilism) were further developed. The understanding of the specifics of disengagement of moral responsibility by servicemen, who have committed offenses has been further developed, in particular, it has been empirically demonstrated, that justifying their actions with moral reasons, servicemen believe that laws do not correspond to the realities of war, that legal norms limit their ability to act effectively; in situations, where responsibility is diffused among many individuals or institutions, combatants-offenders feel less need to comply with legal norms, which leads to more aggressive behaviour and violation of legal restrictions. It is shown, that there is a significant dehumanization of the enemy, which in the absence of control can lead to gross violations of the laws and customs of war.
Scientific provisions regarding the specifics of the general and individual structure of legal awareness of servicemen with deviant behaviour, which is characterized by an ambivalent attitude to law and the legal system, have also received further development. It is noted, that if the revealed legal nihilism leads to anarchic attitudes and violations of laws, then the legal skepticism of the combatants can stimulate constructive changes, reforms and innovations regarding legal norms.
Scientific ideas regarding the mental health of servicemen, who have committed offenses have received further development, in particular, it has been established, that the most law-intolerant combatants are characterized by negative mental states and a high level of combat traumatization, which affects their personal well-being and activates their willingness to commit offenses.
