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the armed forces of a STATE; pertaining to the armed forces or to WARFARE.

The Austrian sociologist Ludwig Gumplowitz (1838-1909) argued that military conquest was the origin both of the state and SOCIAL STRATIFICATION. Whether or not this view is accepted (and usually it is regarded as far too simple), it is clear the military play a crucial role in the maintenance of state power once this is established. Despite this, until recently sociological study of the military and of warfare has occupied only a relatively marginalized place within mainstream sociology. This neglect has been challenged recently by a number of theorists (e.g. MANN, 1983 and 1988). The argument is that in a world threatened with extinction by the military might of the two superpowers, and with MILITARISM today a more pervasive feature than in earlier societies, the study of warfare and the military ought to be more central. See also WARFARE, STRATEGIC THEORY.

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000

What does it mean when you dream about the military?

To see people in military uniforms of specific branches of the armed forces may be identifying with actual life experiences and memories if one has been in the military. Otherwise, the military in a dream may indicate rigid authoritarian and disciplinary methods that are being brought to bear upon the dreamer, or upon others by the dreamer. It may also suggest extreme emotional repression. If the dreamer is in a ship on the high seas, the dream may suggest sailing through emotional issues of divorce or other personal loss, bravely and dutifully.

References in periodicals archive ?
"North Korea is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the US," he said, adding that "We will take the toughest counteraction against the provocateurs in order to defend ourselves by powerful force of arms." On Saturday, the US warships - including the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, two guided-missile destroyers and a guided-missile cruiser - cancelled a trip to Australia and headed from Singapore to the waters off Korea, as part of the US response to North Korea's recent missile launches.
August 14, 2105 (KHARTOUM) - The government of South Sudan disclosed that the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has told a presidential envoy that he would support the rebel leader, Riek Machar, to assume power in the newborn state by force of arms.
There is no question of us laying down our arms." Sabri Ok, another member of the leadership, says that as a Leninist organization they are waging a war against colonialism and admits that this is only possible through force of arms; "We are an organization that knows full well how it took up arms against colonialism- It is impossible for us to lay down our arms while the reasons for our doing so still apply." People need to be well aware of all this.
The arrested militants who were referred to the alternate military magistrate were previously arrested on charges of forming an armed organization, performing acts of terrorism, kidnapping people and terrorizing them by force of arms, and possession of unlicensed military weapons and ammunition.
It was never returned to him but he was given a certificate signed by King George VI, which read: "In the years when our country was in mortal danger Leonard Gower Butterfield gave generously of his time and powers to make himself ready for her defence by force of arms and with his life if need be."
In an address he gave Sunday after performing Eid Al-Adha prayer in Al-Kurmok town, the Blue Nile State, President Al-Bashir pointed out that Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) did not obtain south Sudan by the force of arms, but through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), reminding with the aggression of South Sudan forces on Abyei area and the Armed Forces and their repulse by Sudan Armed Forces.
Berman, like the neocons, presumes that history must progress toward the liberal ideal--a progression that occasionally needs to be defended by force of arms.
The Bush administration's militaristic and sometime extreme response to real and perceived threats has made it a pariah in the Muslim world, where it has lost ability to exercise influence except by force of arms. Its open bias to Israel notwithstanding, the US no longer has the credibility it enjoyed before 9/11.
Claims that the president gave the Mongol tips on how to conquer the whole world through force of arms were quickly dismissed.
Runners-up are the Kurds who have neither desire nor intention to remain part of Iraq, and who will interpret the size of their vote as a mandate for autonomy leading to total independence - something neither we nor the US will allow as it will destablise both Iran and more importantly fellow NATO member and EU candidate Turkey, which in turn has repeatedly indicated that it is more than willing to suppress any outbreak Kurdish nationalism by force of arms.
His reforms, though long overdue, had been instituted by force of arms, setting Rome on a path toward despotism from which recovery was increasingly unlikely.
The American empire--and there can be few doubts that at this moment in history it merits this characterization--and its allies can surely demonstrate to the nations of the world a willingness to understand and accommodate those needs and not impose imperial will by force of arms. A complete disregard for consensus-building breeds marginalized players such as Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda and more like them waiting in the wings, not to mention suicidal insurgents in Iraq and any corner of the globe where American troops are garrisoned and corporate-persons plant their flags.