Demilitarisation - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 Definitions 2 See also 3 References Toggle the table of contents Demilitarisation 33 languages العربية Български Буряад Català Čeština Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français עברית Hrvatski Հայերեն Bahasa Indonesia Italiano 日本語 ქართული Қазақша 한국어 Кыргызча Latviešu Norsk bokmål Polski Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina Српски / srpski Türkçe Українська Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Reduction of state armed forces Part of a series onWar Outline Index History Prehistoric Ancient Post-classical Early modern Industrial Modern Military Organization Command and control Defense ministry Reserves Ranks Branches: Army Navy Air force Marines Coast guard Border guard Special forces Cyber force Space force Specialties: Staff Engineers Intel Recon Medical Police Diving Pilot Land units: Infantry Armor Cavalry Artillery Special forces Signal corps Naval units: Warships Submarines Aircraft carriers Landing craft Auxiliary ships Air units: Fighters Bombers Command Close air support Electronic-warfare Reconnaissance Combat systems: Fire-control system Fire-control radar Director (military) Combat information center Sonar Radar Historical: Ship gun fire-control Gun data computer 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Deterrence Disaster response Gray-zone Gunboat diplomacy Humanitarian aid Law enforcement Low-intensity conflict Military engineering Peacekeeping Peacebuilding Peace through strength Show of force Culture Awards and decorations Battle cry Warrior War film Military science fiction War novel Anti-war movement Foot drill War song Psychology Uniform Wargame Militarization / Militarism Antimilitarism Camp follower Related Women in war War resister War studies Horses in warfare Wartime sexual violence Fifth column Mercenary Pacifism Privateer Private military company Soldiers are murderers Category v t e Demilitarisation or demilitarization may mean the reduction of the armed forces of a state or other political entity; it is the opposite of militarisation in many respects.[1] For instance, the demilitarisation of Northern Ireland entailed the reduction of British security and military apparatuses.[2] Demilitarisation in this sense is usually the result of a peace treaty ending a war or a major conflict. The principle is distinguished from demobilisation, which refers to the drastic voluntary reduction in the size of a victorious army. Definitions[edit] Demilitarisation was a policy in a number of countries after both world wars. In the aftermath of World War I, the United Kingdom greatly reduced its military strength, which is also referred to as disarmament. The resulting position of British military weakness during the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany was among the causes that led to the policy of appeasement.[3] The conversion of a military or paramilitary force into a civilian one is also called demilitarisation. For example, the Italian Polizia di Stato demilitarised in 1981, and the Austrian Gendarmerie merged with the national police, making up a new civilian body. Demilitarisation can also refer to the policies employed by Allied forces during the occupation of Japan and Germany after World War II.[4] The Japanese and German militaries were re-badged to disassociate them from their recent war history, but were kept active and reinforced to help the allies face the new Soviet threat, which had become evident as World War II ended and the Cold War began. Demilitarisation can also refer to the reduction of one or more types of weapons or weapons systems (See Arms Control) or the removal of combat equipment from a warship (See Japanese battleship Hiei). A demilitarised zone is a specific area, such as a buffer zone between nations previously engaged in armed conflict, where military persons, equipment or activities are forbidden. This can also include areas designated during conflicts in which nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or personnel. The demilitarised zone is also free from all activities that assist the war efforts of any of the belligerents.[5] Generally, this zone is protected from attack and many countries forbid their troops from targeting because it would constitute a grave breach or a serious war crime that would likely warrant the institution of criminal proceedings.[6] In the case, however, of the Korean Demilitarised Zone, of the areas beyond the demilitarized strip that separates both sides, are heavily militarized. Examples of demilitarisation include: The Treaty of Versailles barred post–World War I Germany from having an air force, armoured vehicles, and certain types of naval vessels. In addition, it established a demilitarised zone in the Rhineland. The massive reductions of military personnel in the Allied countries, following World War I. The Demobilisation of the British Armed Forces after World War II The Washington Naval Treaty The Chemical Weapons Convention The abolition of the army of Costa Rica on December 1, 1948, by President Jose Figueres.[7] See also[edit] Antimilitarism Anti-war movement Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution Conference of the Committee on Disarmament Corpus separatum (Jerusalem) Counter-recruitment Decommissioning in Northern Ireland De-escalation Demilitarized zone Denazification Disarmament as Humanitarian Action Disarmament in Somalia Disarmament Insight Disarmament of Libya Disarmament, demobilization and reintegration Disarmament Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament Japan Self-Defense Forces Korean Demilitarized Zone List of sovereign states without armed forces Militarization Occupation of Japan Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone Washington Naval Conference of 1921–22 References[edit] ↑ Frauke Lachenmann; Rüdiger Wolfrum (2017). The Law of Armed Conflict and the Use of Force: The Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 327–. ISBN 978-0-19-878462-3. ↑ Spencer, Graham (2008). The State of Loyalism in Northern Ireland. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 148. ISBN 978-1-349-54224-6. ↑ Rudman, Stella (2011). Lloyd George and the Appeasement of Germany, 1919-1945. Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. p. 192. ISBN 978-1-4438-2657-0. ↑ Haller, Oliver, Destroying Weapons of Coal, Air and Water: A Critical Evaluation of the American Policy of German Industrial Demilitarization 1945 – 1952 (Philipps-Universität Marburg: Marburg, 2006). ↑ Djukić, Dražan; Pons, Niccolò (2018). A Companion to International Humanitarian Law. Leiden, Netherlands: BRILL Nijhoff. p. 201. ISBN 978-90-04-34200-2. ↑ Henckaerts, Jean-Marie; Doswald-Beck, Louise; Alvermann, Carolin (2005). Customary International Humanitarian Law. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 691. ISBN 978-0-521-83937-2. ↑ Bird, Leonard. 1984. Costa Rica: The Unarmed Democracy. London: Sheppard Press, pp. 89–93 Authority control databases National United States odzbrojení</span"}]]}'Czech Republic IsraelOther Yale LUX Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Demilitarisation&oldid=1316458298" Categories: Arms control Military disbanding and disarmament Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata This page was last edited on 12 October 2025, at 16:02 (UTC). Page was rendered with Parsoid. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. 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