Praetorianism means excessive or abusive

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

influence of the

Armed Forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

in a country. The word comes from the Roman

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort f ...

, who became increasingly influential in the appointment of Roman emperors.

Daniel R. Headrick Daniel R. Headrick is an American historian and writer who specializes in the history of international relations, technology, and the environment. Biography Daniel R. Headrick was born on August 2, 1941, in Bay Shore, New York. He attended seco ...

, professor of History and Social Sciences at

Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a Private school, private university with campuses in Chicago and Schaumburg, Illinois, Schaumburg, Illinois. Founded in 1945, the university was named in honor of United States President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Frankli ...

, describes praetorianism as a type of

militarism Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

oriented to the interior life of a nation, often related to minor countries, that does not aspire to fight or win international wars, but instead to maintain its influence in the domestic political system, controlling decisions that could affect the interests of the military as a corporation, or supporting some particular political faction or party. In his book ''Political Order in Changing Societies'', the political scientist

Samuel P. Huntington Samuel Phillips Huntington (April 18, 1927December 24, 2008) was an American political scientist, adviser, and academic. He spent more than half a century at Harvard University, where he was director of Harvard's Center for International Affairs ...

uses the term praetorian to designate social orders in which political participation is high relative to their political institutionalization. A low ratio of institutionalization to participation, he argued, would then lead to political decay.

References

{{Politics-stub Political theories Militarism