Militarization

Militarization, or militarisation, is the process by which a society organizes itself for military conflict and violence. It is related to militarism, which is an ideology that reflects the level of militarization of a state. The process of militarization involves many interrelated aspects that encompass all levels of society.

Geopolitical

The perceived level of threat, influences what potential for violence the state must achieve to assure itself an acceptable level of security. This threat may involve the:

• balance of power of neighboring states (Pre-World War I Europe for example.)
• terrorism, rogue states, and weapons of mass destruction
• threats to state-interests, such as oil, or preventing the spread of a conflicting ideology

Political

Militaristic ideas are referred to within civilian contexts. The war on poverty declared by President Johnson, and the war on drugs declared by President Nixon, are rhetorical wars. They are not declared against a concrete, military enemy which can be defeated, but are symbolic of the amount of effort, sacrifice, and dedication which needs to be applied to the issue. They may also be a means of consolidating executive power, because war implies emergency powers for the executive branch which are normally reserved for the legislature.

Economic

• military-industrial complex
• metropolitan-military complex (Lotchin, 2002, Ch. 1)

Militarization has been used as a strategy for boosting a state's economy, by creating jobs and increasing industrial production. This was part of Adolf Hitler's plan to revive the German economy after the devastation it suffered after the First World War.

== == Social Sexe === === L'armée a également un rôle dans la définition des identités de genre. Guerre des films (ie Rambo) reflètent l'identité culturelle de la masculinité avec le guerrier. (Voir Gibson, 1994.)

Civil-military relations

- Le rôle et l'image de l'armée dans une société est un autre aspect de la militarisation. Parfois divergentes et des lieux de l'histoire, les soldats sont tour à tour perçu comme turbulent ou respectable (par exemple - des soldats considérés comme des tueurs bébé pendant la guerre du Vietnam, contre leLe soutien de nos troupesvoiture -aimants au cours de la guerre contre le terrorisme.      Organisation structurelle est un autre processus de militarisation. Avant le Seconde Guerre mondiale, les États-Unis ont connu une réduction de post-guerre des forces après des conflits majeurs, reflétant la suspicion américaine de grandes armées permanentes. Après la Seconde Guerre mondiale, non seulement l'armée maintenue, mais la National Security Act de 1947 restructuré la fois civiles et militaires des structures de direction, l'établissement de la Département de la défense et la National Security Council. La loi a également créé des structures de renseignement permanents (la CIA et al.) Au sein du gouvernement des États-Unis pour la première fois, ce qui reflète la perception par le gouvernement civil d'un besoin de préalablement militaire basée sur l'intelligence doit être intégrée à la structure de l'civile état.

Façon dont la citoyenneté est liée au service militaire. Volontaire, projet, ou la conscription universelle reflètent si oui ou non il faut avoir servi à être considéré comme un citoyen. Comparer historiques Prusse, où chaque mâle était nécessaire pour servir, et le service était une exigence de citoyenneté, pour l'après-Vietnam America's All-armée de volontaires.

Voir aussi Frevert, 2004, ch. 1.4, 1.5.

Race

Racial interactions between society and the military:

• During imperial Germany, military service was a requirement of citizenship, but Jews and other foreigners were not allowed to serve in the military. (Frevert, 2004, pp. 65–9)
• The Holocaust.
• In the United States, beyond the Civil War, military service was a way for blacks to serve the country, and later appeal for equal citizenship during World War II. The military was one of the first national institutions to be integrated. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman issued Executive Order 9981 establishing equality within the armed services. The military was also a tool of integration. In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower sent troops to Little Rock, AK to desegregate a school after the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision in 1954. (See also MacGregor, 1985.)
• Improved race relations was seen as a national security issue during the Cold War. Communist propaganda cited American racism as a major flaw, and America wanted to improve its image to third-world countries which might be susceptible to Communism.

Eleanor Roosevelt said "civil rights [is] an international question. . . [that] may decide whether Democracy or Communism wins out in the world." (Sherry, 1995, p. 146)

Class

The military also serves as a means of social restructuring. Lower classes could gain status and mobility within the military, at least after levée en masse after the French Revolution. Also, the officer corps became open to the middle class, although it was once reserved only for nobility.

In Britain, becoming a military officer was an expectation for 'second sons' who were to gain no inheritance, the role of officer was assumed to maintained their noble class.

In the United States, military service has been/is advertised as, as means for lower class people to receive training and experience that they would not normally receive, propelling them to a higher position in society.

See also

• Militarisation of space
• List of military officers who have led divisions of a civil service

References

• Bond, Brian. War and Society in Europe, 1870-1970. McGill-Queen's University Press. 1985. ISBN 0-7735-1763-4
• Frevert, Ute. A Nation in Barracks: Modern Germany, Military Conscription and Civil Society. Berg, 2004. ISBN 1-85973-886-9
• Gibson, James William Warrior Dreams: Violence and Manhood in Post-Vietnam America Hill & Wang, 1994. ISBN 0-8090-1578-1.
• Lotchin, Roger W. Fortress California, 1910-1961: From Warfare to Welfare. University of Illinois Press, 2002. ISBN 0-252-07103-4
• MacGregor, Morris J. Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940-1965 U.S. Govt. Print Office, 1989. online here
• Sherry, Michael S. In the Shadow of War. Yale University Press, 1995. ISBN 0-300-07263-5.

External Links

• [1] Army Girls: The Role of Militarization in Women's Lives