Militarism as a Racial Project

Abstract

This paper argues that militarism is a “racial project” central to the social construction of race and the perpetuation of unequal race relations. Typical sociological research on race in the military is largely demographic in nature—reifying race as a social fact and often assuming the military decreases overt racial animus. In place of this perspective, I claim that the military should be seen as both benefiting from unequal race relations in the wider society and reinforcing those relations through military policy. Ultimately, scholars should focus on how the military influences broader patterns of racial inequality.