Militarization

However, in Israel, the threat of attack from neighbouring countries means that the armed forces and defense have a high profile and are given significant funding and personnel.

They are not declared against a concrete, military enemy which can be defeated, but are symbolic of the amount of effort, sacrifice, and dedication which needs to be applied to the issue.

Some governments draw on militaristic imagery when they appoint "task forces" of bureaucrats to address pressing political or social issues.

Spiritual warfare is the latest iteration in a long-standing partnership between religious organizations and militarization, two spheres that religion scholar Elizabeth A. McAlister argues are rarely considered together, although aggressive forms of prayer have long been used to further the aims of expanding Christian influence through a variety of conversion tactics.

[8] Women have been mobilized during times of war to perform tasks seen as incompatible with men's roles in combat, including cooking, laundry, and nursing.

[8] For example, during the Vietnam War, Vietnamese women who worked as prostitutes were allowed on US bases as local national Jabaits.

At differing times and places in history, soldiers have been viewed as respectable, honoured individuals (for example, this was the reputation of Allied soldiers who liberated the Nazi-occupied Netherlands in WWII, or the view of Americans and Canadians who placed support our troops car-magnets on their vehicles during the war on terror).

Before World War II (1939–1945), the United States experienced a post-war reduction of forces after major conflicts, reflecting American suspicion of large standing armies.

Ex-soldiers entering business or politics may import military mindsets and jargon into their new environments – thus there is the popularity of advertising campaigns, sales break-throughs and election victories (even if Pyrrhic ones).

The use of tear gas in warfare is prohibited by various international treaties[25] that most states have signed; however, its law enforcement or military use for domestic or non-combat situations is permitted.

Concerns about the militarization of police have been raised by both ends of the political spectrum in the United States, with both the right-of-center/libertarian Cato Institute and the left-of-center American Civil Liberties Union voicing criticisms of the practice.