The implications of war machines for modern state military institutions are multifaceted, reflecting the tension between the war machine's inherent exteriority and the state's efforts to appropriate and control it.
1. The State's Appropriation of the War Machine
Modern state military institutions are not natural extensions of the war machine but rather appropriations of it. The war machine, in its pure form, exists outside the state's sovereignty and law. When the state appropriates the war machine, it transforms it into a disciplined, hierarchical military organ. This process has several implications:
- Loss of Exteriority: The war machine's original characteristics—speed, secrecy, and fluidity—are subordinated to the state's needs, resulting in a loss of its pure exteriority.
- Discipline and Hierarchy: The state imposes discipline and hierarchy on the war machine, which originally operated through indiscipline, decentralized organization, and volatile honor.
2. Mistrust Between the State and Its Military Institutions
The appropriation of the war machine creates inherent mistrust between the state and its military institutions. This mistrust arises because the military institution inherits traces of the war machine's exteriority, which the state struggles to fully control. For example:
- Volatile Honor and Betrayal: The war machine's indiscipline and questioning of hierarchy persist within military institutions, leading to potential instability and challenges to state authority.
- Dual Role of the Military: The military institution serves the state but retains elements of the war machine's original nature, creating a dynamic of tension and potential conflict.
3. The War Machine's Irreducibility
Despite the state's efforts to appropriate and control the war machine, its irreducibility persists. This irreducibility manifests in various ways:
- Revolutionary Movements: The war machine's exteriority can re-emerge in revolutionary movements, guerrilla warfare, and other forms of decentralized conflict that challenge state power.
- Technological and Scientific Innovation: The war machine inspires innovations in technology and science, which the state often appropriates but cannot fully suppress. For instance, nomad science—characterized by fluidity and heterogeneity—continually exerts pressure on state science, leading to breakthroughs in fields like engineering and hydraulics.
4. Implications for Modern Warfare
Modern warfare reflects the tension between the war machine and the state apparatus:
- Hybrid Forms of Conflict: The rise of asymmetric warfare, guerrilla tactics, and cyber warfare demonstrates the persistence of war machine principles in modern conflict. These forms of warfare operate outside traditional state-controlled military structures, emphasizing decentralization, speed, and adaptability.
- Global Networks and Non-State Actors: The war machine's exteriority is evident in the activities of non-state actors, such as terrorist organizations and transnational criminal networks, which challenge state sovereignty and operate in fluid, decentralized ways.
5. Challenges to State Sovereignty
The war machine's exteriority poses ongoing challenges to state sovereignty:
- Decentralized Power Structures: The war machine's resistance to hierarchy and centralization undermines the state's ability to maintain control over its military institutions and broader security apparatus.
- Alternative Justice and Relations: The war machine introduces alternative forms of justice and social relations, such as becoming-animal and becoming-woman, which lie outside the state's binary distributions and laws.
6. The State's Dependence on the War Machine
While the state mistrusts the war machine, it also depends on it for survival and expansion:
- Military Innovation: The state relies on the war machine's capacity for innovation to develop new technologies and strategies for warfare.
- Expansion of State Power: The appropriation of the war machine enables the state to expand its power and influence, both domestically and internationally.
Conclusion
The relationship between war machines and modern state military institutions is one of appropriation, tension, and irreducibility. While the state seeks to control and discipline the war machine, its exteriority persists, challenging state sovereignty and inspiring new forms of conflict and innovation. This dynamic underscores the ongoing interplay between the war machine's transformative power and the state's efforts to maintain order and control.
