Merz, Trump and more: Why the world has started loving military so much

Across the world, the militaries are coming into prominence again: the United States just marked a massive parade with thousands of soldiers and dozens of vehicles, Germany is celebrating its first Veterans Day, European nations are revitalising their armed forces, and Pakistani military’s hold on the country is now stronger in many years after the conflict with India last month.

Many analysts say that another war is in the making in east Asia where China has been beefing up its military for years for what it calls the ‘reunification’ of Taiwan. China considers the self-ruled island of Taiwan as a breakaway province and is committed to merge it —forcefully if needed— with the mainland.

Such a scenario has developed at a time when wars and conflicts have picked up pace in recent years. At the moment, three major wars are going on in addition to many civil wars and internal conflicts: the Ukraine-Russia War in Europe, the Israel-Hamas War in the Gaza Strip, and the Israel-Iran War.

Here we look at what’s behind such renewed militarisation of the world and where the world appears to be headed.

Europe wakes up to Russian threat, US withdrawal

Germany is only one of the many European nations racing to boost their defences as the continent has woken up to the triple threats from Russian aggression, the withdrawal of the United States from the continent, and the newfound alliance between US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

In recent months, Germany has seen prominent changes: the country is holding a Veterans Day parade for the first time, has expanded support to Ukraine, and has amended the constitution to release massive sums for defence and infrastructure expenditure.

While France has long been a champion of strategic autonomy and has preferred a relatively independent path, it has now been joined by the likes of United Kingdom, Denmark, and Baltic states that are boosting defence spending and military preparedness to prepare for Russian aggression without relying on the United States. Notably, Denmark is facing twin threats as Trump has vowed to annex its Greenland island — forcefully if required.

Japan & Taiwan beef up defences as China flexes muscles

In eastern Asia, Japan and Taiwan are preparing to defend their territories from possible Chinese aggression.

China has been building its military for years and is today in a position where it can rival the United States at least in the Indo-Pacific theatre. As allies do not have assurance of US support under Trump, Japan, Taiwan, and others, who have faced the ire of China in recent years, are beefing up their defences.

For Japan, the rearmament is notable as the country is constitutionally pacifist and does not have armed forces but defensive forces.

Pakistan military loses war but firms up position

Even as India battered Pakistan and forced Field Marshal (then General) Asim Munir to seek a ceasefire, Pakistani military has now entrenched itself even strongly in the country. As Munir calls shots openly and the elected government bows to the military at every step, the militarisation of the society is even starker than North Korea.

That leaves India with few options other than to beef up preparedness. As a result, India has started to replenish its stocks and double down on indigenous procurements. India has sped up the military modernisation and procurement programmes, with a special focus on indigenisation. Last month, Indian indigenous platforms performed better than Pakistan’s ensemble of Chinese and Turkish platforms.

For better warfighting abilities, India is also going ahead with theatrisation of armed forces commands.

Cash-strapped Pakistan has, meanwhile, given the military a 20 per cent hike in the budget even as commoners have been slapped with new taxes, increase in existing taxes, and removal of tax exemptions, amid an austerity drive.

Meanwhile, US deploys military domestically

While Trump is withdrawing military from Europe and elsewhere, he is deploying soldiers inside the country against his own people.

While the federal deployment of National Guards in California by itself had outraged people, the deployment of US Marines further outraged people as it was armed soldiers were deployment domestically in a remarkable escalation.

Trump also celebrated his birthday with an unprecedented parade involving thousands of marching soldiers and several military vehicles. Critics slammed the spectacle and compared it to how dictators in North Korea, China, or Soviet Union held parades and where the distinction between the state and the head of the state was blurred.