The Military and Politics in 21st Century

The era of post-colonial nation-building in the previous century was characterized by the worldwide constitution of armed forces that took on active roles in domestic politics as the central element of their institutional mission and strategy. In many countries across the globe, this led to systematic political interventions of the military, ranging from co-governance with civilians and veto coup interventions or long-lasting authoritarian and often violent regimes. After the end of the Cold War, the advance of neoliberal globalization and the 'third wave' of democratization seemed to have put an end to this cycle of military political ascendancy. However, after 9/11 ushered in a new critical juncture, democratic discontent, securitization of politics, and new forms of illiberal and authoritarian nationalism have been challenging the assumptions of liberal democracy. In this context, this panel proposes investigating how this has changed the relationship between the military and national politics.