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Civilian Control of the Military
Michael C. Desch
The Changing Security Environment
The Johns Hopkins University Press
June 2010
On Sale: June 23, 2010
200 pages ISBN: 0801866391 EAN: 9780801866395 Trade Size
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Non-Fiction
The end of the Cold War brought widespread optimism about
the future of civil-military relations. But as Michael Desch
argues in this thought-provoking challenge to Harold
Lasswell's famous "garrison state" thesis, the truth is that
civilian authorities have not been able to exert greater
control over military policies and decision making. In
wartime, civil authorities cannot help but pay close
attention to military matters. In times of peace, however,
civilian leaders are less interested in military affairs—and
therefore often surrender them to the military. Focusing on a wide range of times and places, Desch begins
with a look at changes in U.S. civil-military relations
since the end of the Cold War. He then turns to the former
Soviet Union, explaining why it was easier for civilians to
control the Soviet military than its present-day Russian
successor. He examines the Hindenburg-Ludendorff
dictatorship in World War I Germany, Japan during the
interwar era, and France's role in the Algerian crisis.
Finally, he explores the changing domestic security
environment and civil-military relations in South America.
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