CAPITALIST COUNTRIES.
SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE
ARMIES OF THE YOUNG
NATIONAL STATES
p A sociological analysis of war as a socio-political phenomenon is indissoluble from an elucidation of the social nature and political purpose of the army. The army [187•1 is the main instrument of war, a special organisation of the state or of an oppressed class or a military force of an oppressed people that has risen against its foreign oppressors. It serves to implement the policies of some class by means of armed force. According to Engels it is “the organised body of armed men which a state maintains for purposes of offensive or defensive wars". [187•2
The social nature of the army, a basic organ of a state, is determined by the class nature of the state. A study of the purpose, the functions and the tasks of the army in general without a specific consideration of its political essence would be meaningless.
Notes
[187•1] The concept “army” has several meanings: first, the armed forces in general; second, the land forces as distinct from the other services, for example, the Navy and the Air Force; thirdly, the operational large unit including corps, divisions and other units. Where no indication is given to the contrary, the concept “army” is used in this book in the first meaning.
[187•2] The New American Cyclopaedia. Vol. II New York, 1858, p. 123.