The tendency to fight elections looking back to the past is accentuated after war when a party's identification with the war effort often weighs more heavily than any policies for the future. Militarisation permits an army or armies to usurp social responsibilities, restricting civil participation and insisting on obedience to its chain of command. Civil wars do not pit only armies against each other but the social systems administered by those armies. While destroying many aspects of 'normal' civil administration, an army or a warlord may assume responsibilities for their 'own' people, taking over institutions and granting or withholding access to resources according to a person's or family's loyalty or compliance. This pertains in fields as basic as food distribution, welfare and healthcare.
Militarisation inclines people to resort to violence more readily instead of discussion.
Once people have crossed the threshold to carry out acts of violence in one situation, it becomes easier to turn to violence elsewhere. Political violence is common after civil war, with victors falling out with each other and political intimidation of critics. However, the propensity for violence is accentuated more generally, often leading to an increase in armed crime and usually leading to an increase in both the incidence and the severity of domestic violence. Militarisation channels social or personal frustration into violence. Specifically, the resentment of those defeated in one war can be channelled into a permanent hostility, demanding military retaliation.