Militarism and Development

The social scientific study (rather than the historical and historical comparative study) of militarism and development began in earnest after World War II, when colonies (primarily of European powers) began to gain their independence. Militarism includes a wide variety of distinct but related [Page 1072]phenomena—maintenance of a large military establishment and, potentially, the subordination of other interests to those of the military; protection and possible action against both internal (e.g., civil war) and external (e.g., international war) enemies; and the relationships between the military and other social institutions, notably the government. In contrast, militarization, as used in this entry, involves equipping and developing the military (e.g., military spending, the development of armies), a subset of concerns covered by “militarism.” Militarism will be used as a ...