Armed Forces & Society

The current environment of our societies has increased their uncertainty, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, with the armed conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. Numerous national governments’ concerns about this situation have led them to promote increased defense spending in their budgets, and international organizations are interested in developing specific studies to measure security and quantify its effects on the population. The main objective of this research is to demonstrate the effect of defense spending on societies’ human development capabilities. A panel data model is estimated in a sample of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries for the period from 2020 to 2022, where the Human Development Index is established as a function of per capita defense spending and the Societal Safety and Security indicator. The results demonstrate that an increase in defense budgets not only affects defense programs and security conditions but also enhances human development capabilities.

This systematic review investigates how patterns of civil–military relations (CMR) influence the interstate conflict and crisis engagement. Despite a proliferation of theories and methodological innovations, the field remains fragmented, with persistent gaps and conflicting empirical results. Examining 31 studies from diverse academic journals, the review maps trends in the use of CMR-related variables and synthesizes findings from 98 explanatory concepts associated with interstate conflict and crisis engagement, ultimately identifying eight key CMR factors. The analysis, drawing on sign-test results, reveals that while some CMR dynamics—such as militarism in autocracy, military influence in CMR, and structural coup-proofing mechanisms—show potential influence, no single factor emerges as a definitive or consensus determinant. This result underscores the urgent need for more integrated theoretical frameworks and a deeper exploration of causal mechanisms, offering clear priorities and directions for advancing future research in the field.

This article examines civil–military relations in Nigeria through an integrated application of civil–military relations theory and the Limited-Access Order (LAO) framework. Despite the formal institutionalization of democratic control since 1999, military effectiveness and accountability remain constrained by neopatrimonial politics, elite bargaining, and weak oversight. Drawing on 23 elite interviews and document analysis, the study shows that constitutional mechanisms for civilian control are undermined by politicized appointments, institutional fragmentation, and regional disparities in governance. By synthesizing normative theories of civilian oversight with a political-economy perspective, the article explains how authority is produced and negotiated within hybrid political orders. It argues that reforming Nigeria’s civil–military relations requires addressing both institutional weaknesses and structural incentives sustaining elite cohesion, which undermine institutions under the LAO. The findings advance comparative debates on democratic consolidation and security governance in postcolonial and limited-access contexts.

This article examines the ethnicization of the Nigerian Army between 1957 and 1966, tracing how recruitment reforms transformed it from a meritocratic institution into one fractured by competing loyalties. We distinguish three intersecting cleavages—ethnic, regional, and sociological (linked to educational and training pipelines)—to show how the introduction of a regionally based “Quota System” reshaped officer cohorts, lowered professional thresholds, and fostered resentment among rival groups. Archival records, parliamentary debates, and memoirs reveal how a policy framed as inclusive instead weakened corporateness and legitimized factional politics within the military. The result was an officer corps divided in identity, unequal in competence, and prone to intervention. By situating Nigeria within wider debates on nonmeritocratic recruitment and praetorianism, the article highlights how politicized personnel policies can erode military professionalism and destabilize fragile democracies.

Military ethics shape soldiers’ behavior both in war and peace. However, the relevance of ethics in defining military behaviors toward politics has received little attention recently, as several countries face renewed military interference in the political realm, particularly in Latin America. In this context, this article investigates the effectiveness of professional military ethics in preventing military politicization, with a focus on socio-politically polarized environments. It is argued that traditional military ethics are ineffective at inducing soldiers’ neutral and apolitical stance, particularly in circumstances of pressure and incentives to politicize. Through a qualitative study based on interviews with military officers and a comparative design of two cases (Chile and Brazil), the research offers a fresh perspective on the intersection of military ethics and politics. Ultimately, the findings suggest that professional military ethics are only effective in maintaining a military apolitical attitude if they incorporate relevant civic and democratic features.

Emergency response squads in Israel represent a unique mix between civilian volunteerism and military-style security functions, operating in communities exposed to persistent security threats. This study examined how members of Emergency Response Squads negotiated their professional identity, role ambiguity, and physical readiness within a framework that decreases the clarity of traditional civil–military boundaries. Using a mixed-methods design, we surveyed 21 squad members with the Hebrew version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ-S-H) and conducted semi-structured interviews to explore perceptions of organizational structure and readiness. Findings revealed a strong sense of community commitment but significant lacks in institutional support, standardized training, and physical fitness requirements. These shortages created tensions between the expectation of military-level performance and the voluntary nature of participation. We propose the Volunteer Readiness Integration Model, a conceptual framework linking community identity, organizational infrastructure, physical competence, and social resilience.

While combat trauma has widely been studied, the relationship between mental well-being and everyday military stress (MS) remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study aimed to identify distinct profiles of MS and psychological well-being (PWB) and examine their associations with psychosocial resources and health-related variables, using a sample of 500 Korean military personnel. The majority of the sample (58%) was characterized by high stress and average well-being, with 23% of the sample reporting low stress and high well-being and 18% of the sample reporting high stress and low well-being. Respondents with high stress and average well-being had more resources and better health than those with high stress and low well-being. These group differences are important for military practitioners and scholars to understand that high MS does not inevitably lead to poor mental health, and psychosocial resources can serve as resilience factors for mental well-being among Korean military personnel.

Existing research on geographic mobility and educational or career transitions has largely concentrated on voluntary moves or international migration, leaving limited attention to the sub-national mobility of children from military families. This article addresses this gap by examining the experiences of younger students who relocate frequently within national borders due to parental military service, drawing on qualitative research with these children and the educators who support them. Frequent relocations pose distinctive challenges, including navigating different education systems and coping with disrupted social networks. To mitigate these disruptions, children and schools often cultivate experiences of ‘familiarity’, reinforcing a shared military identity. While this identity can ease transitions, our findings reveal tensions for children moving to regions with minimal armed forces presence or for those who resist close association with their military background. By highlighting these nuanced dynamics, this study extends current understandings of mobility and education, offering insights into an underexplored population whose experiences complicate dominant narratives of geographic mobility.

Why do democratic militaries constrain force to protect enemy civilians? This study identifies an international media enforcement mechanism, arguing it operates as a default constraint that collapses under specific conditions. Bibliometric analysis of 57 publications reveals a 5.77-fold scholarly gap prioritizing casualty aversion over enemy civilian protection. Israeli and comparative democratic cases from 1987 to 2025 show how militaries transformed from treating media as peripheral to making international legitimacy central to doctrine. The mechanism’s breakdown or recovery depends on three variables: the nature of the perceived threat, domestic social resilience, and the hierarchy of international pressure. A multi-phase analysis of the 2023 to 2025 Gaza War reveals complex dynamics. While initial existential threat perceptions led to the collapse of traditional constraints, the mechanism’s recovery fluctuated, worsening in the final phase. When survival imperatives dominated, unprecedented domestic consensus insulated leaders from international criticism. The study concludes that the mechanism is powerful but conditional, fluctuating with threat perceptions and operational contexts.

Military modernization in post-conflict states is routinely expected to consolidate cohesion and democratic subordination. This article argues that, under conditions of institutional asymmetry and legal uncertainty, the same reforms can generate alienation among the officers most aligned with them. Drawing on a cross-sectional study of 295 Colombian Armed Forces officers using K-means clustering and semantic network analysis, we identify a phenomenon we term Enlightened Professional Dissonance. Civilian academic exposure was associated with stronger doctrinal adaptation, yet adaptation was positively related to commitment crisis and identity erosion. A dominant profile of “alienated modernizers” paired high adaptation with acute estrangement and narratives centered on legal vulnerability and perceived abandonment. The findings complicate linear professionalization theories, suggesting that modernization can redistribute risk downward, weakening institutional attachment in transitional democracies.

American policing is in the midst of a staffing crisis characterized by high rates of attrition fueled by job dissatisfaction and burnout. Organizations have responded in kind by recruiting individuals whose background characteristics could serve as an asset for police work, including those with higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI), a known predictor of a range of positive occupational outcomes. In the current study, we examine the sociodemographic correlates that predict EI, with an explicit focus on military veterans who are currently employed as police officers. The results of our study indicate that, in these agencies, veterans report higher EI than nonveterans and that specific sociodemographic characteristics are modestly associated with emotional competencies. These patterns suggest that veteran status may be one correlate of EI in policing and point to directions for future research on how emotional competencies relate to recruitment, retention, and occupational outcomes.

Between October 1, 1966 and December 31, 1971, a total of 341,127 men joined the military under lowered physical (9%) or mental test standards (91%). Called Project 100,000, this initiative was controversial from its first announcement and has been the subject of commentary for more than 50 years. In various discussions, Project 100,000 has been portrayed as a cynical method of meeting military needs without drafting middle-class youth, a dangerous experiment that harmed vulnerable people, and a successful employment program. This literature review explores the context and empirical research on Project 100,000. The conclusion is that Project 100,000 met some of its creators’ goals and fell short of others. Though it ended over half a century ago, Project 100,000 still provides valuable historical, theoretical, scientific, and societal lessons for both civilian and military leaders. A preprint version of this article is available at https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/rtazj

Does discrimination in the military erode institutional trust and reduce public support for defense spending and recruitment? We test this through a survey experiment (n = 2,442) examining Canadian public reactions to scenarios highlighting the Canadian Armed Forces’ inclusion challenges for First Nations, Métis and Inuit, Francophones, people of colour, LGBTQ2S+, and women. Findings reveal that discrimination scandals significantly erode public trust, reduce support for defense spending, and undermine willingness to recommend military recruitment. Using causal mediation analysis, we demonstrate that discrimination primarily operates through its effect on institutional trust rather than through direct pathways. Crucially, trust functions as a more complete mediator in recruitment decisions than in defense spending, indicating that personnel recruitment depends almost entirely on institutional confidence, while spending support reflects a more complex calculus. Maintaining public trust—particularly trust that the military reflects societal values of inclusion—is essential for sustaining public support necessary for military recruitment and resource mobilization.

The U.S. military has been described as a calling, an occupation, a way to get ahead in life, a warrior class, and a family tradition. This study explores whether there are civil–military or partisan divides over these descriptions, cleavages that could be important to the broader debates on the civil–military divide and partisan polarization. This article presents the results of a survey fielded to a nationally representative sample of American adults to test whether respondents agreed with these narratives about the military. The results of this exploratory research indicate that most veterans agree with all five descriptions of the military, whereas less than half of nonveterans agree with any of them. A larger share of Republicans than Democrats agreed that the military is a calling, warrior class, or family affair. Altogether, the results suggest that Americans are divided over how to describe the military.

This study examines the Nigerian military’s role in internal security operations, analysing the tension between achieving military objectives and adhering to international legal obligations. It addresses the central conflict of this balancing act: reconciling operational demands with compliance to international humanitarian law (IHL) and human rights norms. The study assesses how these legal frameworks constrain the Nigerian military’s internal security operations and influence their adherence to principles of restraint. While these norms are crucial, this study argues that internal security operations, especially those involving civilians, create significant compliance challenges that sometimes lead to failure. Drawing on a descriptive historical-legal analysis, this qualitative study utilises secondary data from peer-reviewed journals, government reports, and credible media sources. Findings reveal that established legal guidelines often struggle to keep pace with the complexities of internal conflicts, affecting military effectiveness and civil-military relations. Future research should explore adaptive strategies for legal approaches to better address the realities of complex internal security situations.

This article explores the lived experiences of transnational military wives who accompanied Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Uganda in the early 2000s. Drawing on feminist ethnographic research with 109 transnational military wives, this article interrogated how the women negotiate identity, violence, exclusion, and care in a context shaped by militarization and precarity. Framed through concepts of liminality and systemic (in)visibility, we examine the role of transnational military wives as survivors, collaborators, and peacemakers. We argue that Uganda’s militarized foreign policy inadvertently created transnational humanitarian and gendered protection crises. The article contributes to debates on gender, global security, and cross-border conflict by foregrounding the complex realities of militarized intimacy and structural abandonment.