Host Department:
Political Science
Date: 03/06/2012
Time: 12:00PM - 1:30PM
Location: Eldersveld Room (5670 Haven Hall)
Description:
We provide the first systematic examination of the determinants of military mobilization over
the very long run. Focusing on a sample of thirteen great powers between 1600 and 2000
we argue that changes in transport and communications technology were the single most
important factor in both ushering in the era of the mass army and in leading to its eventual
demise. During the nineteenth century the development of the railroad made it possible for
the ?rst time to mobilize and feed armies numbering in the millions. During the late twentieth
century further advances in transport and communications technology made it possible to
deliver explosive force from a distance and with precision. This development has made mass
armies less relevant. We ?nd strong support for our technological interpretation using a new
data set that measures army size, population mobilization, and methods of recruitment from
the beginning of the seventeenth century. In so doing we also consider several other plausible
determinants of military mobilization. Contrary to what is so often suggested by political
scientists, we ?nd little evidence that the French Revolution and the invention of the concept
of ?the nation in arms?was associated with a substantial increase in levels of mobilization
across nations. Even for the French case alone, the magnitude of what is sometimes referred
to as the ?Napoleonic watershed?was smaller than what is often believed.
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