The Military as a Distinct Ethnic or Quasi-Ethnic Identity in Developing Countries

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2340586
AutoresDaniel Zirker (0000-0002-9281-0689, University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand, autor de correspondencia), Constantine P Danopoulos (San Jose State University, autor de correspondencia), Alan Simpson (0000-0003-3286-9846, University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand, autor de correspondencia)
Año2008
Volumen34
Número2
Páginas314-337
Fecha de publicación2008-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArmed Forces & Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0095-327X • E-ISSN: 1556-0848
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0095327x07302978
OpenAlexW2052667122
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas22

Culture, identity, and ethnicity are central to understanding political behavior and the complex questions of military behavior in developing countries. Drawing on distinctive military periods in Fiji, Pakistan, and Uganda, each of which exemplifies, respectively, the main elements of the three schools of thought regarding ethnicity-primordialist, instrumentalist, and constructivist-this study argues that the fundamental behavior patterns associated with ethnicity relate directly to the problems and promises of military establishments in developing countries. By recognizing and understanding the dynamics of the culture of identity, military establishments in new political systems may better understand their own ethnic or 'quasi-ethnic' politics. As developing military establishments build a quasi-ethnic identity, this will reinforce the growth of nationalism, which, in an age of ethnicity, would seem to posit a direct threat to democracy

Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Epistemology · Ethnic group · Ethnic nationalism · Identity (music) · Instrumentalism · Nationalism · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · Island Studies and Pacific Affairs · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East