Military policy

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The military policy , also as defense referred to is an organic component of the overall policy and part of the security policy . It encompasses the implementation of external protection of the state by military means and is influenced by the political interests of social groups (nations, states, groups of states), parties and other social institutions.

Military policy determines the fundamental goals that are aimed at the creation of the military organization, the preparation and deployment of forces and means of armed violence for national defense ( alliance defense ) or to achieve other political goals. Strategic studies in political science and peace research accompany the process of goal setting.

The basic elements of military policy are determined by the respective state authorities , depending on the form of government , and appear in the armed forces and other organs of national defense of a state or a military coalition.

In most states, these goals and the tasks derived from them are incorporated into a military doctrine , national security strategy / strategy of national security, defense policy guidelines, etc. a. composed and concretized in practical policy in close cooperation with foreign policy.

Concept history

The term military policy can be derived in the first part of the word from the early ancient origin of the collective term the military from Latin (from Latin militaris - 'soldier', 'related to military service ' and miles - soldier ). Even before the 18th century , the term “ military ” (borrowed from the French militaire ) was generally used to denote that form of social (social) activity in which people (groups) in states arm themselves in order to implement their political goals by force.

The last part of the word comes from " political " (borrowed from French politique ) from Latin polīticus (borrowed from ancient Greek Πολιτικά, Greek polīitikós, transformed to Greek polites , citizen , citizen of the state ). In the city-states of ancient Greece, the word denoted all those activities, objects and questions that affected the community - the polis. The word "politics" (Greek politiká ) can be found as the title of a major work by the ancient philosopher Aristotle and can be translated as "things that affect the city" or "political things".

The origin of the term military policy is closely linked to military affairs. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries , the term military was understood to mean the entire complex of armed power of a state, all topics relating to the armed units and soldiers themselves (the military, in particular the armed forces). In addition, there were consequently the legal framework ( military law , national and international law of war , military treaties and agreements) and military policy. The understanding has even been expanded to include military traditions and customs.

Features of military policy

Military policy is based on analysis and judgment

  • possible risks, dangers and threats to one´s own community (state, nation, group of states, allies);
  • the forces and means of the likely opponents, their military potential and presumed intentions in all spheres;
  • the chances of preventing the use of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical, biological);
  • the possibilities of preventing armed conflicts (wars) by political means, without armed violence;
  • all factors that can play a decisive role in the course and outcome of armed conflicts (wars);
  • the development prospects for weapon systems, technologies in cyberspace and equipment as well as the strategies for action derived from them;
  • the possibilities for military training of personnel reserves and, if necessary, the mobilization preparation of the state.

The political authority of the state determines the basic lines of military policy, which mainly focuses on national defense, i. H. external protection of the state (group of states) and international treaty obligations for foreign and security policy are directed.

The realities of the nuclear age call for a military policy that gives the highest priority to the prevention of nuclear war and continues to pursue nuclear arms limitation, arms control and disarmament.

The prevention of war, the containment of armed conflict and the prevention of political conflict are of the utmost importance. The replacement of the military means of force by the political instruments for conflict resolution is the subject of military policy.

The creation of systems of collective security (military-political alliances), supplemented by cooperative security systems (e.g. arms control), belongs to the range of tasks of military policy.

Examples of military-political documents

Defense Policy in the European Union

At the European level , in 1999 the decision to create a Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) as part of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) created in 1993 created the legal framework for building a common defense of the European Union .

The defense policy of the Federal Republic of Germany is subject to parliamentary control and is constitutionally regulated. The principles of defense policy are set out in the Defense Policy Guidelines , the Bundeswehr Concept and the White Paper :

  • Defense Policy Guidelines. (PDF; 2.0 MB) Protecting national interests - assuming international responsibility - shaping security together. Federal Ministry of Defense, May 27, 2011, accessed January 30, 2015 .
  • The White Book 2016. (PDF; 4.3 MB) On security policy and the future of the Bundeswehr. July 13, 2016, accessed August 20, 2019 .

United States Security Strategy

The United States National Security Strategy , en. National Security Strategy (NSS), is a report and a declaration of action by the federal government of the United States on the security policy of the country. The development of such a strategy has been mandatory for every government to Congress since 1986.

According to the fundamental doctrine of the United States Air Force , the purpose of the National Security Strategy is to guarantee the sovereignty and independence of the United States, with its underlying values ​​and institutions, intact.

Russian military policy

The following current documents are available on the military policy of the Russian Federation (as of June 2020):

The Foreign Policy Concept of the Russian Federation from December 2016 is used to support military policy in foreign policy .

The overarching national strategic concept is the national security strategy of December 2015, which summarizes the long-term national interests and strategic priorities with regard to foreign, security and domestic policy.

China's military policy

Since 1998, nine "white papers" have been published on the military policy of the People's Republic of China.

In July 2019, the Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China announced another white paper on military strategy under the title “China's National Defense in the New Age” and the text was made available in English. This is the second White Paper since President Xi Jinping took office more than six years ago and is available in an abbreviated (German) translation.

It succeeds the published (en.) And abridged (German) version of the 2015 White Paper on China's Military Strategy.

The 2019 White Paper has a special place for the official government foreign and security policy activities of China in the Asia-Pacific region. Reference should be made to the close connection with the changed political and strategic course determination by the leading Chinese party. (As of March 2020)

The German press echo emphasized that the tone in the 2019 White Paper was sharp. China is still considering invading Taiwan and accusing the US of destabilizing behavior on the international stage.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b See defense policy . In: Manfred G. Schmidt: Dictionary of politics. 3rd, revised and updated edition, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-520-40403-9 , p. 853 f.
  2. ↑ See military policy . In: Author collective of the military academy "Friedrich Engels" of the National People's Army a . a. (Ed.): Military Lexicon. 2nd edition, Berlin 1973, p. 247 f.
  3. ↑ See military policy. In: Collective of the Military Academy of the National People's Army "Friedrich Engels" (Ed.): German Military Lexicon. Berlin 1961, p. 390.
  4. ↑ See Friedrich Kluge: Etymological Dictionary. 23rd, extended edition, Berlin / New York 1999, p. 559.
  5. ↑ See political . In: Friedrich Kluge: Etymological dictionary. 23rd, extended edition, Berlin / New York 1999, p. 639.
  6. ↑ See Otto Waldschütz: Introduction to the Army. Multi-volume work, Vienna 1910–1913.
  7. ↑ See military policy. (Russian Военная политика). In: Military Encyclopedic Dictionary. (Russian Военный Энциклопедический Словарь [Wojenny Enziklopeditscheskij Slowar]). Moscow 1986, p. 136 f.
  8. ↑ See security policy. Manfred G. Schmidt: Dictionary of politics. 3rd, revised and updated edition, Stuttgart 2010, ISBN 978-3-520-40403-9 , p. 717.
  9. ↑ above: Air Force Basic Doctrine Document 1, 14 October 2011. Accessed September 1, 2019 ( Memento from February 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  10. ↑ See Military Doctrine of the Russian Federation (Precise Editing 12/2014), translation from Russian by Rainer Böhme. In: Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) e. V., DSS working papers, Dresden 2015, Issue 113, p. 10 ff. Available at URL: urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-209286 [1]
  11. ↑ See (Russian) Морская доктрина Российской Федерации. Naval Doctrine of the Russian Federation (July 2015). Confirmed by the President of the Russian Federation on July 26, 2015. Polling at URL: docs.cntd.ru .
  12. ↑ See full text of the document: Decree and Fundamentals ..., German translation from Russian by Rainer Böhme. In: Russia's Nuclear Deterrence Policy in the Early 2020s. DGKSP discussion papers, Dresden 2020, June, pp. 16–23. urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-710566 [2]
  13. ↑ See (Russian) decree of the President of November 30, 2016 № 640 as well as the concept in the Russian full text. In: URL kremlin.ru , accessed on August 14, 2019.
  14. ↑ See National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation (2015). Confirmed by Decree No. 68 of the President of the Russian Federation of December 31, 2015. Translation from Russian by Rainer Böhme. In: Dresdener Studiengemeinschaft Sicherheitsppolitik (DSS) i. L. (Ed.), DSS working papers, issue [117], Dresden 2016, special edition June, 54 pp. Urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-78763 [3] Russ. Original from URL: kremlin.ru , accessed on August 15, 2019.
  15. ↑ 2019 White Paper on China's Military Strategy , accessed October 20, 2019 at URL: http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-07/24/c_138253389.htm .
  16. ↑ See China's National Defense in the New Age. 2019 White Paper on China's Military Strategy. Translation from English and adaptation by Bernd Biedermann. Original: China`s National Defense in the New Era. In: China's National Defense in the Beginning of the 2020s. Series of publications DGKSP discussion papers, Dresden 2020, February, pp. 9–23. URL: urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-377674 [4] .
  17. ↑ 2015 White Paper on China's Military Strategy , accessed January 18, 2020 at URL: http://eng.mod.gov.cn/Press/2015-05/26/content_4586805.htm .
  18. ↑ See China's National Defense in the New Age. 2019 White Paper on China's Military Strategy. Translation from English and adaptation by Bernd Biedermann. Original: China`s National Defense in the New Era. In: China's National Defense in the Beginning of the 2020s. Series of publications DGKSP discussion papers, Dresden 2020, February, pp. 24–33. URL urn : nbn: de: bsz: 14-qucosa2-377674 [5]
  19. ↑ See e.g. B .:. White paper on military strategy published. In: RP-Online, July 28, 2019. URL: https://rp-online.de/politik/ausland/china-erwaegt-noch-immer-invasion-taiwans-weissbuch-zur-militaerischen-strategie-veroeffentlicht_aid-44569357  ; Accessed January 11, 2020.