Justice Issues...

Militarisation

 
What is Militarisation?
  • Militarisation is "an extension of military influence to civilian spheres, including economic and socio-political life" (Marek Thee).
  • Militarisation is "direct military intervention in the people's lives and behaviour (arrests, relocations, indiscriminate warfare, etc.) or indirect structural involvement in political and economic affairs (increasing military expenditures at the expense of civilian needs, military-oriented industries, a reliance on military force in internal and external political affairs, etc). Militarisation will then denote the spread of military values (discipline and conformity, centralisation of authority, the predominance of hierarchical structures, etc.) into the mainstream of national economic and socio-political life" (Jim Zwick).
  • Militarisation "manifested itself through the largeness of resources allocated for arms and the development of sophisticated new weapons" in the advanced capitalist countries.
  • Militarisation is "expressed not only in increased defence spending but also in the greater role assumed by the military in civilian affairs in order to control the dissenters and critics of the existing rulers; to suppress trade unionists, peasants and student activists; and to silence intellectuals through coercive measures".
  • Militarisation is "a system of thought and attitudes that places military institutions above civilian decision making processes".
  • Militarisation is "the general deterioration of human rights".
  • Militarisation is a process, which results in militarism. Militarism "includes such symptoms as a rush to armaments, the growing role of the military in national and international affairs, the use of force as an instrument of prevalence and political power, and the increasing influence of the military in civilian affairs" (Marek Thee).

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