Militarism and American Foreign Policy: A Matter of Balance
Abstract
How could any serious student at the National War College assert that militarism is on the rise in American foreign policy in today's political environment characterized by military overutilization, decreased combat readiness, and poor service retention? The obvious absurdity of this assertion demonstrates the subtlety of the challenge facing our system of government. Driven by systemic imbalances within the Constitutional and bureaucratic structures of the federal government, this militarism has profound implications for America's place in the international community, as well as its global leadership role in the coming century. This is not a warning, however, of impending extra-constitutional action by the US armed forces. Instead, the rising militarism in American foreign policy is an unanticipated result of the profound effectiveness and professionalism of the uniformed military in today's fiscally constrained national security environment. It is also the unintentional byproduct of incremental refinements to the National Security Act of 1947. This discussion is particularly relevant because both Presidential candidates are championing budgetary increases for the Department of Defense. Unless this increased support is accompanied by a realignment of the national security bureaucracy, such increases will exacerbate these systemic imbalances, unintentionally fueling the dynamic responsible for this increased militarism. Militarism in this context has three distinct aspects. The first, often described as militarization, is an increase in the quantity and proportion of resources a society devotes to military affairs. Its second aspect deals with changes in cultural behavior associated with the military at the individual, group, and organizational level. The third aspect deals with the implementation of national policy, including the propensity for and frequency of military interventions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA432931
Entities
People
- Brian D. Fila
Organizations
- National Defense University