Militarism and Development in Underdeveloped Societies

Militarism is a word to which many different meanings are attached. The archetypal image of militarism is the equestrian figure of a ruler dressed in military costume, the Man on Horseback, the heroic, martial savior of the nation. Most commonly, militarism refers to predominance – political, economic, or social – of the military in government or society. Thus Prussia in the nineteenth century and Japan in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century – both societies in which military ideas and ideology were predominant, the military class was extremely influential, and conscription was widespread – are often characterized by the term ‘militarism’. In developing countries, militarism describes the many new nations which have experienced control of government and direct rule by the military.