Embedded Militarism and Readiness for War

Abstract

Abstract Chapter 5 begins by defining militarism as the normalization of a set of shared beliefs and practices which support developing and maintaining the means for making war as a valued way of defending the nation’s or group’s common interests. Ways in which militarism is embedded in culture and civic society are explored, including the roles played by war games, films and other entertainments, and the militarization of education generally. Whether war graves and war memorials serve the cause of peace or of war is discussed, as is the question of how important weapons themselves, and the arms trade, are as part of militarism and support for war. The chapter concludes with discussion of the possibility of a growing “cultural gap” in some countries between the public and the military and whether militarism in general is in decline.