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Armies in the Process of Political Modernization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2009

Lucian W. Pye
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Extract

Only a few years ago it was generally assumed that the future of the newly emergent states would be determined largely by the activities of their Westernized intellectuals, their socialistically inclined bureaucrats, their nationalist ruling parties, and possibly their menacing communist parties. It occurred to few students of the underdeveloped regions that the military might become the critical group in shaping the course of nation-building. Now that the military has become the key decision-making element in at least eight of the Afro-Asian countries, we are confronted with the awkward fact that there has been almost no scholarly research on the role of the military in the political development of the new states.

Type
Le Sabre Et La Loi
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , June 1961 , pp. 82 - 92
Copyright
Copyright © Archives Européenes de Sociology 1961

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References

(1) It is significant that the most common weaknesses of civil bureaucracies in the new countries—like exaggerating the importance of procedure to the point of ritualizing the routine, and the lack of initiative and of pragmatic and experimental outlook — are not as serious drawbacks to smooth functioning of military establishments. On the contrary, the very qualities that have hobbled civil administration in these countries have given strength and rigidity to their military establishments.

(2) The classic discussion of the spirit of militarism as contrasted with the rational military mind is Vagts, Alfred, A History of Militarism: Romance and Realities of a Profession (New York, W. W. Norton, 1937).Google Scholar

(3) World War II was in itself a decisive event in the birth of many of these countries and, of course, the availability of large quantities of surplus equipment and arms made it realistic to aspire to a modernized army. American military aid has contributed to making the military the most modernized element not only in recipient countries, but also in neighboring countries which have felt the need to keep up with technological advances.

(4) This study will be published in a forthcoming book entitled The Role of the Military in Underdeveloped Countries, edited by John J. Johnson.