Garrison state structure of Egypt and its implications for growth and development

Ever since Egypt’s independence in 1952, its military has enjoyed political leverage and patronage unparalleled to any other institution in the country. The domination of the military in the state’s civil apparatus can be deemed as a key factor that has undermined Egypt’s socio-economic growth and development. This paper, therefore, by employing Garrison State theory, formulated by Harold Laswell, aims to understand the ramifications of military domination on Egypt’s political economy. While examining its impact on the country’s macro-economy, the paper also examines the implication of military domination on Egypt’s socio-economic indicators, namely: health, education, income, and gender equality. Structuring the analysis on Amartya Sen’s schema of Development as Freedom, the paper concludes that diversification and democratization of the political structure are imperative to overcome the plight of underdevelopment in Egypt Keywords: Political Economy, Garrison State, Egypt, Military, Growth, Development, Freedom

Myanmar’s military and the garrison state: State-military relations in Myanmar and their influence in the [re]production of violence against minorities

The article examines the relationship between the state and military in Myanmar to understand the country’s policies regarding persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in the context of the Rohingya population of Arakan. The article applies the idea of the garrison state, a concept originally developed by Harold J Lasswell. It applies a process-tracing approach to understand the relations between the state and military of Myanmar, by examining primary documents and secondary literature on the subject. The article argues that Myanmar is a state which is compulsively concerned about perceived threats to its sovereignty. This real or imagined anxiety translates into cultural, social and economic attributes, and its policies to [re]produce violence against the Rohingya minorities of Arakan. These features endorse the idea that militarism is habitually developed by a garrison state, such as Myanmar, which is reflected in the policies of citizenship and the construction of minorities. Therefore, violence becomes a continuous tool that is applied by the state, particularly against the peripheral minorities and other marginalised groups.