Subduing a Nation Through Military Influences (Militarisation and Demilitarisation)

Abstract

The militarisation of behaviours is a compounded process of social control. To build a full picture of its depth it was necessary to discuss some of its layers and concepts which are in its background. This section demonstrates the importance of military influence on the development of a state, its tools, and legislation within the European framework. As part of that discussion, I am presenting elements of the relevant historical traces of the military, its professionalisation, and how the military, due to its role, is positioned to gain and retain social and political influence. To appreciate the importance of that power-grabbing exercises by the military, it is necessary to discuss, and critique, the concepts of militarism and militarisation (in its various configurations). The discussion on militarisation would not be complete without considerations relating to the concept of demilitarisation, moral panics, securitisation (in the context of the relationship between the army, the police force, and internal security), and war as an instrument of social control. One of the reasons that the militarisation of behaviours is becoming so significant in certain states relates to the fact that lines between the civil and military spheres of life are becoming blurred.