Glossary: praetorian
DEFINITION:
Praetorianism is a form of militarism in which the armed forces act as a corporate body to maintain control over government, actively intervening in politics to select or change the government. The ""ruler-type"" praetorian army rejects the existing social order for one based on modernization, industrialization, and rapid economic growth, as the Peruvian Army (Ejército Peruano--EP) did following its assumption of power in 1968. Political scientist Samuel Huntington describes a praetorian society as one in which social forces confront each other directly, with no institutions accepted as legitimate mediaries and, more importantly, no agreement existing among the groups as to an authoritative means for conflict resolution.