The essay "Militaries and Revolutions,"" by Zoltan Barany tries to explain the various input factors that could successively lead to an accurate prediction of the militaries response for or against in regards to a civil revolution. The essay highlights a multitude of variables both internally and externally that could lead to military's decision whether to be in favor of or against a revolution against the status quo regime. The essay highlights critically four main category variables that are suggestive of the action or decision a military might make upon these bases, namely the military establishments' internal factors, the state, the society and finally the external environment.
Primarily, the internal factors of the military all encompass around the thesis of internal cohesion amongst the military itself. An amalgamated military is likely to act in unison whether be it for or against the regime. This cohesion can be fragmented by sundry dynamics like religion, an ethnocentric drift between the masses leading to a division of the various religions amidst the military, socio-political rifts, metamorphosis of opinions within the military can be caused by demographic factors like social class or education thus leading to cessation of unity within the forces. Another significant factor leading to discord in the military can be the division of military itself, be it the various branches of the forces like navy and air force due to their stereotypes or formation of a wholly separate elite force like Ghana's Nkrumah's Presidential Guard lucidly expressing the states distrust towards the forces and a need for equipoise of power. Seldom military's bearing towards the revolution is centered around the General's stance which is indeed affected by his autonomous powers to make decisions, unambiguous decisions given to and by the general lead to impervious military carriage (Fordham, 2004).
