Mutually implicated myths: the democratic control of the armed forces and militarism

In the post-war era, international organizations have increasingly promoted the democratic control of the armed forces (DCAF) in new and transitional states. As DCAF employs the language of accountability, rationality, and peace, the principle has an explicitly normative character. Utilizing Foucauldian theory, this chapter argues that the purportedly pacific nature of DCAF, however, is a potent policy myth which is subtly dependent upon a secondary myth – militarism. The chapter examines the implication of academics and policymakers in the construction and reification of these mutually-reinforcing myths. Overall, it is argued that the discourse of militarism identifies the valorization of violence by democratic societies as ‘deviant’ exceptions to the generally pacific nature of DCAF, normalizing the quotidian reliance of democracies upon the (potential) for political violence.