b. ㉠ Armed Capacity

㉠ Armed Capacity

 

First, armed capacity refers to the ability to perform war and physically coerce others by force, which is the ability (power) to impose one's will on others^{[Def. 1.1]}. Basically, violence or force is the essence of armed capacity. Examples of such military capacities can be classified according to the three-level scale of political phenomena ^[Ch.2.15], as shown in the following table.

 

[Tab.3.12] Means of Acquiring Armed capacity and Its Political Effects

Phenome -nal Scale	Examples of Armed capacity	Means	Political Effects
㉠ Macro- Level	National Armies, Strategic Weapons	Ideological Context	Threat of Total War and Ethnic Annihilation
㉡ Middle- Level	Small Armed Forces, Police, Gangs	Organized Armed Activity	Social Unrest such as Riots and Terrorism
㉢ Micro- Level	Violence, Physical Force, Guns and Knives	Assault, Threatening Behavior	Threats to Personal (and Family) Safety

 

As shown in the table above, armed capacity is classified according to the scale of the phenomenon into "macro-level armed capacity," "middle-level armed capacity," and "micro-level armed capacity," which will be referred to as "macro-level armed force," "middle-level armed force," and "micro-level armed force," respectively.

 

 

Macro-level Armed Force

 

The macro-level armed force refers to large-scale armies, strategic weapons such as missiles and aircraft carriers, etc. The first appearance of strategically effective weapons may be considered to be the armies armed with metal weapons and armor that appeared in eastern Asia Minor around 1200 BC. To acquire armed force such as armies or strategic weapons, a political entity must persuade and cooperate with various people. The realistic means to obtain such cooperation is through the ideology of the time. What does it mean to obtain people's consent and cooperation through the ideology of the time? To obtain macro-level armed force, such as the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and the agreement of tens of millions of citizens for the use of strategic weapons, requires an ideology that can inspire contemporary people to unite around ideas such as protecting freedom, national survival, and labor liberation.

 

A typical example is the Crusades. The Crusades were "a specific expression of the religious aspect of chivalry" in which medieval European Christians, from 1095 to 1291, embarked on a war in the Levant with the fervor of reclaiming their holy sites from Muslim obstruction to their pilgrimage, "and those who die in battle are forgiven all the sins they committed in their lifetime." The beliefs and faith held by the Christians of the time are an example of the "ideology of the time" as a means of acquiring macro-level armed force. Of course, the Crusade movement contained elements of "political purposes and commercial interests" as lower-class peasants and marginalized nobles sought new opportunities, but the army was undoubtedly one with great religious passion."

 

The use of such macro-level armed force naturally leads to large-scale wars and destruction, and in canonical politics, the potential effects of such force are a more important consideration. The political effects of macro-level armed force include the terror of war and the threat of ethnic extinction. In other words, when the mobilization of armies and the use of strategic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles are mentioned, both political leaders and the general public feel fear or threat, leading to additional political choices.

 

 

Middle-level Armed Force

 

The middle-level armed capacity refers to the armed capacity of small groups. This includes the armed capacity of small armies below division level, police forces of a single city, or the armed capabilities of violent groups in a single region. Such middle-level armed capacity can be obtained through organized armed activities. If it is a police organization, it will increase the supply of firearms and weapons permitted by law and expand the workforce according to policy. If it is a mafia organization or anti-government organization, it will violate the current laws to obtain weapons and recruit members. Generally, this requires economic capacity.

 

The use of middle-level armed force can generate threats such as local wars, riots, and terrorism, and the resulting political effect is social unrest. Whether it is the spread of organized crime, the escalation of illegal demonstrations by radical labor unions, or attempted terrorist attacks, or even when the police force is increased to prevent such threats, it leads to an increase in social unrest and thus political change. For example, during the reign of Roman Emperor Nerva (96-98 CE), he was even trapped in his palace due to a public rebellion by the Praetorian Guard, and the armed Trajan, who was the governor of Upper Germany, was appointed as his successor. The so-called Zunftkampf, in which the guilds of artisans fought for independence from the domination of merchant guilds in the 13th century, was also intense in Germany, almost like a military demonstration, resulting in the independence of the guilds of artisans and their participation in the administration during the 13th to 14th centuries.

 

 

Micro-level Armed Force

 

Micro-level armed force refers to individual physical strength, the use of illegal weapons or violence by gangsters, and the will to use violence such as gang violence. The use of micro-level force is manifested as individual violence, small-scale group violence, violent crimes, threats, and intimidation. The means of obtaining micro-level armed force involve acquiring individual armaments, along with actual physical violence or intimidation. In the micro-level domain, violence or threats themselves often have the effect of increasing armed force. However, in the micro-level domain, the will to use violence or actual violence also leads to differences in capacity.

 

Once the possibility of micro-level armed force being used is known, the political effects of micro-level armed force used by the victimized side are threats to the safety of individuals or families. Those who are faced with guns, knives, and physical force of individuals or small groups will change their subsequent choices to protect their safety. On May 16, 1960, when Generals Park Chung-hee and Chang Do-young entered the Blue House, they waited for each other to draw their respective handguns, as the micro-level armed capacity could play an important role in the subsequent situation. In an environment where the military seized power, if Park was defenseless in front of the president, and Chang drew his gun and shot Park first, the subsequent political situation could have gone uncontrollably in a different direction.