Everything about Militarism totally explained
Militarism is the "belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests" [Source:Apple
Dictionary, Version 1.0.2]. It has also been defined as "aggressiveness that involves the threat of using military force"
Online die.net dictionary
, as well as "Glorification of the ideals of a professional military class" and "Predominance of the armed forces in the administration or policy of the state"
American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.
Overview
Under the justification of
force, militarism asserts that
civilian populations are dependent upon — and thereby subservient to —the needs and goals of its military. Common tenets include advocation of "
peace through strength" as the proper method to secure the interests of society — and is expressed as one that overrides all others; including traditional precursory
diplomatic relations and issues related to
social welfare. Militarism is essentially undemocratic and antidemocratic. Therefore, it isn't part of the culture of democratic societies but flourishes in those subjected to totalitarian theories like fascism.Militarism is sometimes contrasted with the concepts of
comprehensive national power and
soft power and
hard power.
This quality may be identified in economic terms by several methods; including the determination of those nations with large modern militaries requiring large or substantially higher budgets than the average among nations to maintain large military forces (as of 2005 viz
United States, the
People's Republic of China,
Russia) or to expand such forces (as of 2005 viz
Israel,
Kuwait,
Singapore), or to nation-states devoting substantial portions of their GDPs per capita to develop such forces (as of 2005 viz.
North Korea,
Equatorial Guinea,
Saudi Arabia).
Militarism, in practice, is a preference toward goals, concepts, doctrines, and policies that will be carried out by the threat or actuality of military force. Militarism doesn't require that the direction come from members of the military, as there may be militarist policies in society that has civilian control of the military. There are intermediate cases where former active military officers have taken control of civilian posts and hold both military and civilian titles. In nonmilitaristic societies such as the
United States or the
United Kingdom,
freedom of speech and
association, and the right to petition government provides for the formation of groups formed by civilians, former military members and veterans and their families to promote, represent or lobby for the different military services goals, concepts, policies and doctrines.
In a democratic republic, a central component of the state
constitution is the body of rules concerning how military rule (
martial law, and
executive powers) may be implemented, and how such powers are to be returned to the elected government.
Historic and modern manifestations of militarism
Militarism tends to be considered as a direct opposition to self described
peace movements in modern times. Today characteristics of militarism are observed by critics in several nations and groups of nations; viz. the loosely allied
Anglo-Saxon powers (led by the
United States), the
People's Republic of China,
France,
Israel,
Syria, and
Russia.
Militarism is most clearly observable in the history of nation-states and
empires when they engaged in
imperialism or
expansionism; viz.
British Empire,
Empire of Japan,
Nazi Germany,
New Roman Empire of Mussolini, the expansion of the
Russian SFSR into the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and later reign of
Joseph Stalin,
Iraq during the reign of
Saddam Hussein, and the
United States during the period of
Manifest Destiny and army reform. An example of militarism in ancient history would be the Greek city state of
Sparta.
German militarism
The fact that a nation, through universal conscription, maintains a large standing army in times of peace doesn't necessarily make it a militarist state; prior to the
First World War most European nations (except
Great Britain) maintained such an army, yet not all had a government which could be defined as militaristic. Prior to the
First World War in Germany, however, the armed forces were the strongest influence in government, and at times used their influence to override the civil power. Additionally, most
Chancellors and some leading German political figures in this period were serving or retired officers in the armed forces. There was a strong culture of
nationalism and deference towards the
Kaiser. The
Captain of Köpenick incident in
1906 is considered in Germany as an iconic example of that era's attitudes
The roots of German militarism can be found in the history of
Prussia during the nineteenth century, and the subsequent unification of
Germany under Prussian leadership. After
Napoleon conquered
Prussia, early in the nineteenth century, one of the conditions of peace was that Prussia should reduce her army to not more than forty-two thousand men. In order that the country shouldn't again be so easily conquered, the
king of Prussia enrolled the permitted number of men for one year, then dismissed that group, and enrolled another of the same size, and so on. Thus, in the course of ten years, it would be possible for him to gather an army of four hundred thousand men who had had at least one year of military training. The officers of the army were drawn almost entirely from among the land-owning
nobility. The result was that there was gradually built up a large class of professional officers on the one hand, and, on the other, a much larger class, the rank and file of the army. These men had become used, in the army, to obeying implicitly all the commands of the officers, creating a
class-based culture of
deference.
This led to several results. Since the officer class furnished also most of the officials for the civil administration of the country, the interests of the army came to be considered the same as the interests of the country as a whole. A second result was that the governing class desired to continue a system which gave them so much power over the common people, contributing to the continuing influence of the
Junker noble classes.
Militarism in Germany continued after the
First World War and the fall of the German
monarchy. During the period of the
Weimar Republic (1919-1933), the
Kapp Putsch, an attempted coup against the republican government, was launched by disaffected members of the armed forces. After this, some of the more radical militarists and nationalists were subsumed into the
Nazi Party, while more moderate elements of militarism declined.
Nazi Germany was a strongly militarist state; after its fall in 1945, militarism in German culture was dramatically reduced, as a backlash against the Nazi period.
The
Federal Republic of Germany today maintains a
large, modern military and has one of the
highest defence budgets in the world.
Japanese militarism
In parallel with 20th century Germany's militarism, Japanese militarism began with a series of events by which the military gained prominence in dictating Japan's affairs. This was evident in 15th century Japan's
Sengoku Period or
Age of Warring States where powerful samurai warlords or shogun played a significant role in Japanese politics. Japan's militarism is deeply rooted in the ancient samurai tradition, centuries before Japan's modernization.
Even though a militarist philosophy was intrinsic to the shogunates, a nationalist style of militarism came in under the
Meiji Restoration. It is exemplified by the 1882
Imperial Rescript to Soldiers and Sailors. Still, there was a distinct change, roughly in the 1920s, from two main factors. One was the
Cabinet Law that required the Army and Navy to name serving officers as Army and Navy Minister before a cabinet could be formed, essentially giving the military a veto over any cabinet in the ostensibly parliamentary country. Another factor was
gekokujo, or institutionalized disobedience by junior officers . It wasn't uncommon for radical junior officers to press for their goals, to the extent of assassinating seniors.
Centuries of civil wars have brought about rigid military rule and secured a place for the military in government affairs only to last until Japan's unconditional surrender in World War II after the United States brought about democracy to the once militaristic state. With this dictatorial power,
Japan invaded the
Republic of China in
1931 and overtook half of Chinese land within 11 years, and finally spread the
Second World War to the
Pacific by the
Pearl Harbor Attack.
US militarism
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries political and military leaders reformed the US federal government to establish a stronger central government than had ever previously existed for the purpose of enabling the nation to pursue an imperial policy in the Pacific and in the Caribbean and
economic militarism to support the development of the new industrial economy. This reform was the result of a conflict between Neo-Hamiltonian Republicans and
Jeffersonian-
Jacksonian advocates over the proper administration of the state and direction of its foreign policy--between proponents of professionalism based on business management organizations and fuller local control by available figures-including amateurs.
After the end of the
American Civil War the national army fell into disrepair. Reforms based on various European states including Imperial Britain, Imperial Germany, and Switzerland were made so that it would become responsive to control from the central government, prepared for future conflicts, and develop refined command and support structures; it led to the development of professional military thinkers and cadre.
During this time the intellectual ideas of
Social Darwinism propelled the development of an
American Empire in the Pacific and Caribbean. This required modifications for a more efficient central government due to the added administration requirements.
The enlargement of the US army for the
Spanish-American War was considered essential to the occupation and control of the new territories acquired from Spain in its defeat (
Guam, the
Philippines,
Puerto Rico, and
Cuba). The previous limit by legislation of 24 000 men was expanded to 60 000 regulars in the new army bill on 2 February 1901, with allowance at that time for expansion to 80 000 regulars by presidential discretion at times of national emergency.
Again, US forces needed massive enlargement for the
First World War. Officers such as
George S. Patton were permanent captains at the start of the war but received temporary promotions to colonel, but reverted to low rank after the military cutbacks. There was no real concept of a standing large military until the very late thirties, with
the draft instituted with the
Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.
Between the first and second world wars, the
US Marine Corps, while reduced, did engage in questionable activities in the
Banana Wars in Latin America. Retired Major General
Smedley Butler, at the time of his death the most decorated Marine, with two
Medals of Honor, spoke strongly against a trend to what he considered trends toward fascism and militarism. The
Latin American expeditions ended with
Franklin D. Roosevelt's
Good Neighbor Policy of
1934.
Roosevelt briefed Congress on what he described as a
business plot for a military coup, for which he'd been suggested as leader; the matter was partially corroborated, but the real threat has been controversial. There is little evidence that any serious military coups were planned in the US. Even during the
American Civil War, officers sympathetic to the
Confederacy resigned their commissions rather than mutinied.
Robert E. Lee, suggested as the overall Union commander, felt that his greater loyalty was to his home state, and regretfully resigned from the US Army.
Even after the
Second World War, there were major cutbacks, such that units responding early in the Korean War, under
United Nations authority (for example,
Task Force Smith) were understrength, underequipped, and undertrained, resulting in catastrophic performance. It should be noted that when
Harry S. Truman, the ultimate civilian authority, fired
Douglas MacArthur, the tradition of civilian control held and MacArthur left without any hint of military coup. While he received a hero's welcome on his return, and there were even trial balloons of running for the presidency, in his own words, in a farewell address to Congress, "Old soldiers never die; they just fade away." "And like the old soldier of that ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away — an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Good-bye."
Serious permanent buildups were a result of the
Cold War.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, a retired top military commander elected as a civilian President, warned of the development of a
military-industrial complex, more complex than many traditional ideas of militarism. In the Cold War, there emerged many civilian academics and industrial researchers, such as
Henry Kissinger and
Herman Kahn, that had significant input into the use of military force.
It has been argued that the United States has, since the end of the Vietnam War, shifted to a state of
neomilitarism, which is a form of militarism adapted to the constraints of an advanced market society. It is distinguished by the reliance on a relatively small number of volunteer fighters; heavy reliance on complex technologies; and the rationalization and expansion of government advertising and recruitment programs designed to promote military service.
The
Military budget of the United States for 2007 is estimated by the US Department of Defense to be $504 billion dollars
(External Link).
Israeli militarism
Israel's many
security difficulties since the
establishment of the State have led to a prominence of security in politics and
civil society, resulting in many of Israel's top
politicians being former high ranking
military officials (partial list:
Yitzhak Rabin,
Ariel Sharon,
Ezer Weizman,
Ehud Barak,
Shaul Mofaz,
Moshe Dayan,
Yitzhak Mordechai,
Amram Mitzna).
On the other hand, the military culture of the Israel Defence Forces has been affected greatly by the civilian culture. Israeli culture is much less formal and regimented than most and this has spilled over into the military, especially since the vast majority of the officers and soldiers are reservists who bring their civilian background and behavioural norms into the army when they're mobilized (an example is the minimum of formality between separate ranks - commanders often being called by name rather than by rank by their subordinates, very little saluting except in ceremonies and such-like). Also the army has been entrusted with many civilian missions (social work, providing teachers in areas where they're lacking and so on), and this too has had its effect on the way army career personnel view the role of the army and their commitment to civilian society and norms (see
(External Link)).
Militarism in fiction
Further Information
Get more info on 'Militarism'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://militarism.totallyexplained.com">Militarism Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
