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Authoritarian regimes use them to intimidate. Democracies use them to commemorate. Military parades are a great show and a powerful message.
In a few days, the streets of Washington will be the hosts of one of his. The occasion, at least officially, is the 250th anniversary of the United States Army. It also turns out to be the 79th birthday of President Trump.
The reasons for the countries that organize these parades may vary, but all events tend to share a common visual vocabulary.
This is what to look for.
Iconic configuration
From Tiananmen Plaza to the Arc del Triunfo, many military parades take place in the context of the most recognizable reference points of a country, often national identity and history symbols. That increases the visual and emotional impact.
It can also indicate that military power is deeply intertwined with the tissue of the nation and reinforces a sense of unity among its people.
“Definitely, there is a deep meaning for these places: they must evoke and symbolize military triumphs and national sovereignty preserved in wars and paid with enormous sacrifices,” said Leon Aron, main member of the American Enterprise Institute, a tank of thought.
Buckingham Palace, London
Kim Il Sung Square, Pyongyang
The parade in Washington on June 14 will begin in the Pentagon and will go to the National Shopping Center, approving the visualization position of Mr. Trump in Constituted Avenue, according to army officials.
Senator Jack Reed from Rhode Island, a Democrat who was once president of the Armed Services Committee, said in May that if Trump were not in power, the celebrations of the Army anniversary would probably have been much more modest and have taken place in Fort Myer in Arlington, Va.
“But this is Trump,” he said.
Strategic seat graphics
Military parades also offer a perfect photograph for leaders who want to show the world who their allies are.
In Russia, President Vladimir V. Putin has long invited foreign leaders to attend the Annual Victory Day Parade in Moscow. But after Russia invaded Ukraine and the West moved to isolate him, the guests of honor of Mr. Putin acquired a huge meaning.
“When the regime completely trusts its legitimacy, the loyalty of people and their armed forces … You do not need this type of exhibition,” said Dr. Aron, “you need to show it, I think, more shows that there is a problem of legitimacy.”
Putin is just just inviting foreign leaders to their parades. The objective, in part, is to project greatness.
“That is why NFL likes celebrities in the Super Bowl,” said Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Non -Proliferation Project of Eastern Asia at the Institute of International Studies of Middlebury.
French leaders have made an art. From Emmanuel Macron to Nicolas Sarkozy, they often invite foreign leaders prominent to their military parades, especially those who wish to court.
Narendra Modi, India and Mr. Macron
Paul Biya, Cameroon and Mr. Sarkozy
Mr. Sarkozy and Hosni Mubarak, Egypt
During Mr. Trump’s first mandate, President Emmanuel Macron invited him to the Bastille Day Parade in 2017, hoping to maintain dialogue after the US leader took the United States out of the Paris climate agreement.
Trump returned home feeling well with the French: “He is a great guy,” he said about Mr. Macron, and about the army parades. So good that one of his wanted, he said.
That time, the pentagon could deter it. This year is another story.
Power screens
Military parades are, above all, a sample of power, and no one can understand that better than the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The parades are a rare window in a famous closed country, and an opportunity for the regime to show their most advanced weapons to the adversaries. For years, Mr. Kim has used them to let the world know to what extent its nuclear program has advanced.
First showcase of an ICBM of North Korea
Presentation of submarine drones with nuclear capacity
Some experts believe that North Korea has paraded trucks with empty missile silos or Non -functional equipment. But in the world of propaganda, that really doesn’t matter.
“These parades often parade fiction rather than the fact,” said John Spencer, president of Urban Warfare Studies in the Modern War Institute. “It can have obsolete tanks, soldiers without training and failed logistics, but the image is what matters. In fear societies, perception is power.”
While Mr. Kim often likes to show his latest military advances, China causes an impression through volume.
His 2019 National Day Parade extended by Miles along the avenue in front of Tiananmen Square. It presented more than 500 pieces of military equipment, including tanks, ICBM and hypersonic drones.
It is an unmistakable message, destined in part to Taiwan, in which Beijing has designs, and its sponsor, United States, said Scott Kennedy, main advisor to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That is intended to flash red lights for the rest of the world, including its adversaries, about China’s capabilities,” Kennedy said.
Intimidating choreography
The soldiers of soldiers marching with a perfect synchronization are a distinctive seal of each military parade.
The message is not subtle: these are disciplined, well -trained and ready to defend their homeland. For citizens at home, it causes pride; For possible adversaries abroad, you can pause.
Some countries incorporate acrobatic actions of soldiers, showing specialized skills.
Indian soldiers who perform acrobatics
French paratroopers ready to start their performance
Many countries lead to the skies for their parades, surprising the crowds with high steps of well coordinated aircraft.
Given the surprising show of air exhibitions, it is not surprising that the Pentagon has organized that about 50 helicopters participate in the parade in Washington.
Faces of power
Sometimes, it’s not just a country that projects force into a parade.
In some military parades, especially those organized by authoritarian regimes, a political leader is in charge and the center. Parade participants carry posters, floats and banners with the image of the leader. These are visual symbols of loyalty destined to glorify the leader and suggest that the force of the nation is inseparable from the personal authority of the leader.
Unlike some authoritarian leaders, Mr. Putin does not have his face in banners or posters during military parades. Opt for a more subtle exhibition of loyalty: the orange and black tape.
Known as the San Jorge tape, it has been used for a long time to honor war veterans, but more recently it has become a symbol of support for the foreign policy of Mr. Putin: his war in Ukraine.
Mr. .. Teodoro ORDINARY ORDINARY OBANG.
The government of Mr. Putin uses the Z as a symbol of support for war in Ukraine.
Western democracies generally prevent the glorification of their leaders. The absence of their images in the parades means the separation of military and political power.
It remains to be seen how the parade will develop in Washington, but Kennedy, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, believes that Trump can be looking for a personal impulse.
“It is possible that he hopes that, in some way, the respect of the people for the army and their abilities will be infected,” Kennedy said.
