War and militarism have existed for centuries now as means of protection against external invasion or attack or to settle international scores and aggressions. However, war should always be used as a last resort as a means of solving differences among countries. Using the conflict and order theories, the role of ordinary citizens and governments in reducing militarism and wars can be analyzed.
Based on the order and governments can work together to reduce the impacts and incidences of war by creating a society with minimal or no inequalities that are likely to create chaos and civil strife that are usual recipes for war and militarism. Going by the social conflict theory that views social inequalities in the society as the cause of wars as stated by Karl Marx, war and militarism may be reduced by putting in place structures that would ensure that some groups of people in the society don’t benefit at the expense of others. By creating a situation whereby every member of the society and the various social groups feel part and parcel of the society’s or government’s agenda, citizens and governments can ensure that there is social order and thus avoid discontents and resort to militarism or war to quell social strife. The state or government can cooperate with the general citizenry in reducing war and militarism by representing the interests of all rather than that of few powerful people.
Moreover, based on the order theory, governments and citizens can create a system whereby war and militarism are perceived only as means of defending the interests of a nation to ensure public safety and not as a means for solving disputes. Militarism should be seen as a means of creating employment in the various sectors of the military. For example, in the case of the US civil war intervention in Iraq and other military bases it keeps abroad, the US government should work together to maintain order and prevent conflicts. According to Lieberfeld (2005), for instance, the US incursion into Iraq could be explained partly by elite interests and ideological influences in which the US government failed to involve its citizens fully in finding a solution to the problem in Iraq before going to war.
References
Lieberfeld, D. (2005). Theories of conflict and the Iraq war. International Journal of Peace Studies, 10(2), 1-21.
