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 or warfare the state must achieve to assure itself an acceptable level of security. When the perceived level of threat is low, as with
Canada, a
country may have a relatively small military and level of armament. However, in
Israel, the threat of attack from neighbouring countries means that the armed forces and defense have a high profile and are given significant funding and personnel.
This threat may involve the:
- *Balance of power of neighboring states
- *Terrorism, , weapons of mass destruction and state terrorism
- *Threats to state interests, such as political control of a resource-rich region, or preventing the spread of a conflicting ideology (e.g., the U.S.'s use of CIA interventions to undermine various communist governments)
Political
Militaristic ideas are referred to within civilian contexts. The war on poverty declared by President Lyndon B. Johnson, and the war on drugs declared by President
Richard 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. As well, politicians have invoked militaristic ideas with rhetorical wars on other social issues. Some governments draw on militaristic imagery when they appoint "task forces" of bureaucrats to address pressing political or social issues.
Economic
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military–industrial complex
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metropolitan–military complex
Militarization has been used as a strategy for boosting a state's economy, by creating jobs and increasing industrial production.
Social
Increasingly, Christian evangelical prayer has taken on militaristic forms and language.
[ Spiritual warfare may involve forms of prayer spoken in militarized discourse. Its adherents, sometimes referring to themselves as "Prayer warrior", wage "spiritual battle" on a "prayer battlefield". Spiritual warfare is the latest iteration in a long-standing partnership between religious organizations and militarization, two spheres that religion scholar Elizabeth A. McAlister argues are rarely considered together, although aggressive forms of prayer have long been used to further the aims of expanding Christian influence through a variety of conversion tactics.][ These tactics have begun being articulated in Militarism imagery, using terms such as "enlist, rally, advance and blitz". Major moments of increased political militarization have occurred concurrently with the growth of prominence of militaristic imagery in many evangelical communities, such as the evangelical engagement in a militarized project of aggressive missionary expansion conducted against the backdrop of the Vietnam War in the 1970s.]
Gender
The military also has a role in defining gender identities. War movies (i.e. Rambo) associate the cultural identities of masculinity with warriors.[Gibson, James William: Warrior Dreams: Paramilitary Culture in Post-Vietnam America, Hill & Wang, 1994. ISBN 0-8090-1578-1] Representations of Vietnam in popular culture display the male body as a weapon of war and contribute to ideals of masculinity in American culture.
Women have been mobilized during times of war to perform tasks seen as incompatible with men's roles in combat, including cooking, laundry, and nursing.[ Women have also been seen as necessary for servicing male soldiers' sexual needs through prostitution.][ For example, during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese women who worked as prostitutes were allowed on US bases as local national Jabaits.][
]
Civil–military relations
The role and image of the military within a society is another aspect of militarization. At differing times and places in history, soldiers have been viewed as respectable, honoured individuals (for example, this was the reputation of Allied soldiers who liberated the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in WWII, or the view of Americans and Canadians who placed support our troops car-magnets on their vehicles during the war on terror). Military figures can become heroes (for example, the Finnish people's view of the Finnish sniper nicknamed "White Death", who killed many Russian invaders). Alternatively, one can brand soldiers as "baby killers" (as a few U.S. anti-war activists did during and after the Vietnam War) or as (the Nazi leaders and SS units responsible for the Holocaust).
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Structural organization is another process of militarization. Before World War II (1939–1945), the United States experienced a post-war reduction of forces after major conflicts, reflecting American suspicion of large standing armies. After World War II, not only was the army maintained, but the National Security Act of 1947 restructured both civilian and military leadership structures, establishing the Department of Defense and the National Security Council. The Act also created permanent intelligence structures (the CIA et al.) within the United States government for the first time, reflecting the civilian government's perception of a need for previously military-based intelligence to be incorporated into the structure of the civilian state.
Ex-soldiers entering business sector or politics may import military mindsets and jargon into their new environments – thus there is the popularity of advertising campaigns, sales break-throughs and election victories (even if Pyrrhic victory ones).
How citizenship is tied to military service plays an important role in establishing civil–military relations. Countries with volunteer-based military service have a different mindset from those with universal conscription. In some countries, men must have served with the military to be considered citizens. Compare historical Prussia (where every male was required to serve, and service was a requirement of citizenship) to post-Vietnam America's all-volunteer army. In 2016 in Israel, military service is mandatory. This develops a society where almost all people have served in the armed forces.[See also Frevert, 2004, Ch. 1.4, 1.5.]
Race
Racial interactions between society and the military:
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During imperial Germany, military service was a requirement of citizenship, but Jews and other foreigners were not allowed to serve in the military.
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During Nazi Germany's Holocaust, SS units committed war crimes and crimes against humanity on a massive scale, including executing millions of civilians.
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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, Arkansas, to desegregate a school after the Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision in 1954. (See also MacGregor, 1985.)
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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." and this sort of false dichotomy was continued further throughout the McCarthy era and the Cold War in general.
Police
The militarization of police involves the use of military equipment and Military tactics by law enforcement officers. This includes the use of armored personnel carriers, , , flashbang grenades,[The flash from a flashbang grenade detonation momentarily activates all photoreceptor cells in the human eye, making vision impossible for approximately five seconds, until the eye restores itself to its normal, unstimulated state. The loud blast is meant to cause temporary loss of hearing, and also disturbs the Perilymph, causing loss of balance. The concussive blast of the detonation can still injure, and the heat created can ignite flammable materials.] ,[Texas Rangers, Department of Public Safety, Branch Davidian Evidence, Investigative Report No. 1, September 1999; Investigative Report No. 2, January 2000 (PDFs available at Texas Rangers website). The Rangers found that the FBI used grenade launchers to fire two 40 mm M651 grenades. The Army considers the M651 a pyrotechnic device and that it is known to cause fires. The Army Tech Manual for the M651 warns that it can penetrate 3/4" plywood at 200 meters and "projectile may explode upon target impact." During inventory of the Waco evidence the Texas Rangers also found flashbang grenades.] , Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams.
Observers have noted the militarizing of the policing of .[ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plastic+bullet "A solid PVC cylinder, 10 cm long and 38 mm in diameter, fired by police or military forces to regain control in riots."] Tear gas, which was developed for riot control in 1919, is widely used against protesters in the 2000s. The use of tear gas in is prohibited by various international treaties[e.g. the Geneva Protocol of 1925: 'Prohibited the use of "asphyxiating gas, or any other kind of gas, liquids, substances or similar materials"'] that most states have signed; however, its law enforcement or military use for domestic policy or non-combat situations is permitted.
Concerns about the militarization of police have been raised by both ends of the political spectrum in the United States, with both the right-of-center/libertarian Cato Institute and the left-of-center American Civil Liberties Union voicing criticisms of the practice. The Fraternal Order of Police has spoken out in favor of equipping law enforcement officers with military equipment, on the grounds that it increases the officers' safety and enables them to protect civilians.
See also
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Militarization of space
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List of military officers who have led divisions of a civil service
Notes
Sources
External links
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[3] Army Girls: The Role of Militarization in Women's Lives
