Military Governments essays

Military Governments essays Military government, as is evident from the name, refers to the administration of a country by the military. Such a government may be formed when a country conquers another country and establishes a military government or after an internal take-over of power by the military through a coup d'tat. While such governments are a rarity in developed countries, they are quite common in the third world countries. This paper takes a brief look at the major strengths and weaknesses of military governments. The basic role of the military is the defense of a country's borders and to protect it from foreign aggression. It is generally expected to operate under the control of the civilian government. However, in a number of third world countries with no established tradition of civilian or democratic rule, the military acquires a lot of muscle and begins to harbor political ambitions. Due to strict discipline and a hierarchical administrative structure, the military organization is often contemptuous of the "undisciplined" manner in which a civilian seems to work and usually considers the politicians as deceitful and corrupt. It is by nature suspicious of any widespread unrest or signs of threat to security of the country. With such a mind-set, it is easy for the military to justify the take-over of the government on the pretext of corruption and misrule by a civilian government and for the "greater national interest." Strengths The major strength of a military government is its highly hierarchical power structure, whereby a military dictator can take difficult and bold decisions in times of emergency situations. Military governments also have a more efficient mechanism of implementing their decisions; hence such a government is able to bring riots and other law and order situations under control quickly by the use of force and by ...