The Age of Global Militarism: How Veneration of the Military Spread—and Why it Matters.

20 February 2025, 13.30-15.00 (E2.02). ALL WELCOME.

Around the globe, veneration of the military has been on the upswing in recent decades. Political and cultural elites have increasingly idealized soldiers and officers, portraying them as paragons of patriotism and good citizenship, as heroes who sacrifice for the common good, rather than as competent professionals. Public confidence in the armed forces has risen, new military-themed holidays are appearing on national calendars, and militaries are playing a more prominent role in the celebration of national independence days. This creeping, in some places exploding, militarism is puzzling, as its presumed sustaining forces have waned: warfare between industrialized nations has become rare, technological advances and democratic politics have replaced military men with machines, and mass armies have generally given way to volunteer, professional forces. Drawing on his ongoing book project, Prof. Ron Krebs explains why are witnessing the proliferation of global militarism—and why it is worrisome for soldiers, national and international security, and democracy.

Ron Krebs is Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He is author of the award-winning Narrative and the Making of US National Security (Cambridge UP, 2015) and is coeditor of the Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy (Oxford UP, 2021), among other books. Krebs’ articles on a wide range of subjects in global affairs and international security have appeared in leading scholarly journals, including International Organization, International Security, and Security Studies, as well as in general interest outlets such as Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. Krebs is immediate past editor-in-chief of the leading scholarly journal Security Studies. He is currently writing a book titled The Age of Global Militarism: How Veneration of the Military Spread—and Why it Matters.