In its general concept, defense policy refers to “the framework that defines the trends and general outlines of military strategy. It acts as the communication link between the civilian and military aspects of the state, organizing and coordinating the relationship between various specialized policies of the state and the military force, its role, usage, and size, ultimately achieving the military-political objectives of the state.” In other words, defense policy is how the public policy of the state is implemented in the military domain.
There are various intellectual schools that define the concept of defense policy. One approach belongs to the Eastern school in security studies, which defines it synonymously with military policy. In contrast, the Western school considers it a space of intersection between the state’s general policy and its military policy, serving as the executive policies of the military strategy. The overlap between these two concepts may stem from their dual nature, which combines both military and political dimensions.
The Concept of Defense Policy
Numerous definitions of “defense policy” are provided in security literature to clarify its distinctiveness and differentiate it from other concepts, especially military policy and the concept of defense. Notable definitions include:
- Defense policy is “the strategy aimed at outlining and developing all means to ensure the preservation of national sovereignty. This policy is planned according to the will of the rulers who seek to confront every danger threatening the state and its vital interests.”
- Defense policy is “the framework that specifies the trends and general outlines of military strategy.”
- Defense policy is “the strategy defined by decision-makers for the use of force, which establishes the nature of the policies adopted with allies or enemies.”
- Defense policy acts as “the communication link between the civilian and military sectors of the state, organizing and coordinating relations between the various specialized policies of the state and the military force, its role, usage, and size to achieve the political-military objectives of the state.” In this sense, defense policy is the means through which the public policy of the state is implemented in the military area.
The Essential Elements of Defense Policy
Studying and understanding the defense policy of any state cannot be complete without recognizing the essential elements on which this policy is based:
Human Resources: In terms of defense policy, human resources refer to the armed forces, considering their size, distribution across the main branches, and formations, in addition to the recruitment policy practiced in the state. Regarding size, the study of defense policy is concerned with identifying the volume of regular and reserve military manpower in relation to the total population of the state being studied. As for the formation meaning, the state’s distribution of its armed forces across various arms is crucial for defense policy studies because it reflects the strategic needs of the state according to the objectives of its defense policy. Additionally, understanding the recruitment system in the studied state—whether regarding the age for mandatory enlistment, types of recruits, and other factors—is beneficial for analyzing its defense policy.
Military Spending: Military spending refers to the portion of state resources and capabilities allocated for military purposes. It includes direct defense spending (salaries and wages of military personnel, military industries, and arms procurement) and indirect defense spending (civil defense, equipment sales, military aid). Priorities in military spending are determined according to the goals defined by the state’s defense policy.
Armament Systems: The world is experiencing rapid technological advancements across various fields, and military life is one of the areas where this progress is most evident. Therefore, there is frequent mention of a technological revolution in military affairs, leading to continuous evolution of armament systems. Each state attempts to acquire systems that are strategically and economically suitable for it, making it essential to understand these systems to assess the coherence between the threats faced by defense policy and the goals set to counter these threats, and the weapons used to achieve these goals.
Military Relations: These refer to the study of the state’s relationships at both regional and international levels, examining whether these relationships are cooperative or conflictual. This study reflects the extent to which the state relies on its foreign relations to implement its defense policy objectives.
Military Balance: The military balance can be seen as a result of the previously mentioned elements of defense policy—human resources, armament systems, military spending, and military relations. These elements determine the shape of the military balance between the state whose defense policy is being analyzed and other states, whether at the regional or global level. A state’s attempt to alter the existing military balance may lead to modifications or changes in its defense policy by altering one or more of the previously mentioned elements.
The Concept of Military Policy
Military policy can be defined as “all actions taken by political or military leadership to achieve a long-term objective in time and space, whereby the temporal and spatial dimensions of the goal provide a level of stability and balance to military actions taken to achieve that goal.”
Several factors underpin military policy, which can be summarized as follows: the objective to be achieved, available resources, and the nature of the opposing entity.
Military policy approaches the concept of military strategy, which represents the highest degrees of military and procedural action. It refers to the strategy or policy that directs warfare (but does not define the goal of the war). It outlines the necessary plans to achieve the war’s objectives, guided by the principles of military doctrine. According to this conception, military strategy has three levels: the strategic level, the operational level, and the tactical level.
Thus, the concept of military policies, or militarism, ties both political and military thought together and is also connected to changes in international relations and the resulting conflicts at regional and international levels. Political science has not established theoretical foundations for a distinct study of what is termed “military policy.” Instead, it is examined within the context of the security studies of a given state or as part of its general policies. Military policy relates to national, regional, and global contexts (due to its connection to international relations) because its standards arise from the integration of political and military thought and also from the application of specialized political strategies defined by the state’s higher policy.
The Concept of Defense
Some literature equates the concept of defense with the concept of defense policy. Defense refers to the protection of armed forces and their coverage during war or engagement, thwarting any attack on them unless the state initiates an offensive. In all other cases, forces must be in a defensive posture to protect their personnel and equipment as much as possible. Defense, in this sense, requires several things, the most important being: not allowing all forces to engage simultaneously and avoiding exposing the engagement front to bombardment. It is crucial to maintain some forces in depth to either support engaged troops or withdraw the engagement to another area, and they may counterattack enemy infiltrators. Relying on defense through attack is seen as the real assurance for securing troops and undermining enemy incursions, which some military leaders refer to as proactive defense, as opposed to passive defense, which merely focuses on repelling and securing against enemy forces. Moreover, one must recognize that successful defense is a combination of striving to achieve the most critical objectives through the maximum deployment of forces and resources.
From this perspective, defensive warfare is, according to Clausewitz, “politically the war undertaken by the state in pursuit of independence, or to liberate its territory from occupation. Militarily, it is the war that the state prepares for to confront the enemy in the theater designated for this purpose.” Thus, defense, in its broad meaning, does not only imply waiting for the enemy to confront but also encompasses preparing and getting ready for confrontation upon the emergence of any intentions of attack from the enemy or upon acquiring new weapons and equipment. Generally, military experts agree that defense—successful defense—is merely the initial phase in the confrontation that ends with repelling the aggression, but it must then evolve into an offensive against the enemy to prevent the defense from failing.
Distinguishing Defense Policy from Military Policy
Through these elements of defense policy, it becomes clear how it differs from military policy; defense policy serves as the political entry point for studying military policy, while still encompassing both its military and political aspects. Defense policy outlines the steps taken to realize the state’s public policy in the military domain (which is expressed through military policy). Each forms one level of military strategy, and hence they are distinct.
Additionally, the concept of defense policy is different from the concept of defense itself; defense, in this regard, only manifests during actual military engagement or preparation for it, even if defense plans are continuously in place. In contrast, defense policy involves ongoing procedures to execute state interests as outlined by military policy, according to the objectives set by national security, regardless of whether there is actual engagement or not.
It can be asserted that national security represents the overall framework and broader objective of the state. When addressing security within its military dimension, military policy emerges to express the general objectives that must be pursued to achieve military security. Subsequently, we transition to the execution level, translating these general military objectives into actionable steps, starting with identifying threats, followed by the interim objectives to confront them and how to implement these objectives. This execution occurs via defense policy and its various elements.
