Aspects of militarism THE CENTRALITY

of Militarism to modern society makes it a question of major theoretical concern. The end of detente, esca-lating military budgets, the increased domestic use of the armed forces, and the prevalence of war have also made it an urgent political question. These notes provide some background to the various aspects of militarism and suggest a broad framework within which they may be understood. The level of analysis adopted will be of immediate complexity, lying between the specific conjunctural questions like Trident, Cruise and the Falklands and the systemic questions about the operation of the state or capital in general. But at that level, the notes will try to draw together the wide range of issues pertaining to militarism.' What is militarism? The degree of fragmentation in the literature relating to the military is striking. Not only are there a wide variety of theories on the Left, orthodox writing is equally diverse. Strategic, tacti-cal, technical, political, sociological and economic writings on the subject have few points of contact. The difficulty of establish-ing a frame of reference is increased because it is necessary to keep changing the mode of discourse employed. For instance, one mode involves the clinical discussion in game theory terms of nuclear stability, mutual assured destruction, counterforce capability and targeting options. But while the analysis is perfectly Although militarism is central to modern society, the analysis of it is very fragmented. This fragmentation arises because militarism is not a unitary phenomenon, but a portmanteau description covering a number of distinct aspects. These include: high levels of military expenditure; the militarisation of domestic social relations; the use of force in international relations; and the nuclear arms race. Each of the different aspects of militarism arises in an organic way from major conflicts in the modern world. Each has a particular momentum which arises partly from the dynamic of the conflict and partly from the dynamic of the corresponding form of militar