This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Zirker, D. Articles by Simpson, A. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

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

University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand, dzirker{at}waikato.ac.nz

Constantine P. Danopoulos

San José State University, cdanopou{at}email.sjsu.edu, danopoulos{at}comcast.net

Alan Simpson

University of Waikato, Private Bag, Hamilton, New Zealand, poli0219{at}waikato.ac.nz

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.

Key Words: military • ethnicity • developing countries • nationalism

Armed Forces & Society, Vol. 34, No. 2, 314-337 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0095327X07302978


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?