Power, Place, and Militarism: Toward a Comparative Geographic Analysis of Militarization

The topics of militarism and militarization have acquired a position of prominence in geography, and the social sciences, in general, in recent years. This article begins by reviewing some of the major contributions to the study of war, peace, militarism, and militarization. Subsequently, it discusses three major strands of literature in geography and related fields: those of theories of place, cultural hegemony, and the ideological content of militarism. The interconnections between these bodies of literature are explored throughout the article. In summary, we posit that the ideology of militarism is best conceptualized as a form of cultural or ideological hegemony, the production of which relies on the social construction of places. To analyze the interacting processes of militarization and the construction of place, we argue for grounded studies of militarism and militarization and propose a place-based, comparative framework.