The loyalty bred among the military inclines them to close ranks, insulating themselves from outside criticism. The militaries of members of the UN Security Council also refuse to accept accountability. For Britain, one recalls the difficulty of investigating summary executions of Argentines who surrendered in the Falklands War and various incidents in Northern Ireland. NATO governments are indignant at the suggestion that there is a case to answer over the 1999 bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Militarisation hardens divisions between social or ethnic groups, inculcates a culture based on suspicion of the Other and heightens intolerance.
Military morale depends on group identity, usually defined against an external enemy.
Most armies are fed stereotypical images of their potential enemy as in some way sub-human, monstrous or criminal. To put the population on a war footing or to support a high level of military preparation often requires a sustained propaganda campaign demonising the Other. Militarisation distorts social priorities by appropriating resources for military rather than social needs. This has been well documented at the state level by Ruth Leger Sivard's statistical compendium World Military and Social Expenditures. It also happens at the non-state level in territories controlled by guerrillas.