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, and which is associated with the glorification of the military and of military power. The process of militarization involves many interrelated aspects that encompass all levels of society.

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:

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, because war implies emergency powers for the executive branch which are normally reserved for the legislature.

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.

The military also has a role in defining gender identities. War-movies (i.e. Rambo) reflect the cultural identities of masculinity with the warrior. (See Gibson, 1994.) Representations of Vietnam in popular culture display the male body as a weapon of war and contribute to ideals of masculinity in American culture. War has been seen as an experience elevating men, in which women's participation would destroy the manly fantasy of war. Military prowess has been crucial to understandings of contemporary masculinity in European and American culture. During World War I soldiers who experienced shell-shock were seen as failures of masculinity, unable to withstand war as the ultimate task of manliness. The maintenance of military life relies on the ideas about men and manliness as well as ideas about women and femininity, included notions of the fallen women and patriotic motherhood.

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