Civil-military relations Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

One of the greatest security challenges confronting the Nigerian state after the Civil War is the current insurgency campaign led by the Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awatiwal-Jihad popularly known as Boko Haram in the North East of Nigeria. This reign of terror continues to generate tensions and deepen existing mistrust between civilians and the military on the one hand and while on the other hand constituting security threats for security operatives in the region and in Nigeria at large. The situation in the North East is further compounded by other security challenges in other parts of the country involving other non-state armed and unarmed groups. These crises collectively pose threats to the peace and stability of the Nigerian state. Sadly, a common approach by the Federal Government of Nigeria to addressing these security challenges is the deployment of the military and other security agents to internal conflict and conflict-prone areas, which is progressively becoming a norm in Nigeria. The paper highlights the practicalities, opportunities, challenges and lessons learned in implementing a civil military relations project in Nigeria drawing extensively from field experiences. It further examines military approaches to civil military relations in Nigeria. While the challenges of civil military relations in Nigeria is deeply rooted in history, the paper recommends that positive civil military relations as a key approach and strategy to be deployed by all stakeholders particularly the Military in restoring trust amongst crisis affected communities and for improving the overall architecture of national security in Nigeria.

- by Ruth Olofin
- •
- Accountability, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency(COIN), Nigeria, Civil-military relations

Presentation and new research (2017)

Most quarters of the Allied camp greeted the fall of Tobruk on 21 June 1942 with incredulity. The epitome of a heroic defence conducted the year before had now deteriorated into a military debacle, resulting in thousands of Allied soldiers sent ‘into the bag’. The enormity of the defeat, at first greeted in muted fashion by a stunned press, soon turned into outrage at yet another Allied military fiasco. The British and South African papers began to demand answers from politicians and military leaders for this shocking and unexpected catastrophe. The press, normally sensitive to maintaining positive home front morale, discarded their wartime cosseting approach and embarked on a quest to find a scapegoat. Those captured at Tobruk were equally outraged that their freedom had been traded cheaply with hardly a fight. To many of these prisoners of war, the blame for their ignominious surrender rested squarely with the fortress commander, Major General HB Klopper. It was of little consequence to those now languishing behind the wire that the reasons for defeat were much more intricate and went beyond the performance of one man. This article examines a selection of representative press reports in the weeks immediately preceding and following the rout, and the oral reminiscences of former prisoners-of-war taken at Tobruk, which together, have contributed towards an enduring memory of the so-called Tobruk ‘debacle’.

- by David Brock Katz and +1
- •
- History, Military History, Military Science, Strategy (Military Science)

AKP hükümetini devirmek amaçlı, 15 Temmuz 2016 Askeri Darbe kalkışması ve kaos yaratma eyleminin, yapan askerlerin çoğunluğunun Fethullah Gülen cemaati üyesi olması nedeniyle yurt dışı istihbarat örgütleri tarafından desteklenen bir örtülü operasyon olup olmadığı bu makalenin ana konusudur. Makalede Gülen cemaati, bir siyasi örtülü operasyonlar kapsamında yaratılmış, ülke yönetimini ele geçirerek, Türk devletinin yeniden inşa edilmesi ve dış politika uygulamalarında, Yurt dışı devletlerin çıkarlarına uygun olarak hareket etmesini sağlayacak siyasi bir araç olarak görülmektedir. Bu görüşten yola çıkarak 17-25 Aralık 2015 ve 15 Temmuz 2016 Askeri Darbe Kalkışması da bu örtülü faaliyetlerin devamı olarak sayılmaktadır.
Makale de öncelikle örtülü operasyon kavramı açıklandıktan sonra, Fethullah Gülen cemaatine değinilecektir. Cemaatin lideri, örgütlenme yapısı, uygulama geçirmek istediği amaçlar ve bu amaçlarla paralellik taşıyan Yurt dışı devletlerin ulusal politikaları arasındaki benzerliklere değinilecektir. Yurt dışı devletler olarak öncelikle ABD, İsrail sonrasında İngiltere ve Almanya temel alınmaktadır. Ancak ABD’den ikamet izni alarak, cemaatini buradan yöneten lideri Gülen nedeniyle ABD ve İsrail daha önemli ülkelerdir.

- by Aşkın Sökmen
- •
- Intelligence, Military and Politics, Civil-military relations

Endorsements by retired flag and general officers are now a fixture of the presidential election cycle. However, their motivations are unclear. Retired flag officers might endorse with material, purposive, or solidarity motives. We evaluate these motivations with a new data set of 1,340 endorsements by 1,041 endorsers between 2004 and 2016 matched with campaign contributions. We find that campaign contributions, service in the Navy, and retiring as a higher ranked officer are all associated with an increased likelihood of endorsing. We conclude that about 10 retired flag officers participate to improve their material situation, 193 seek to advance their ideological preferences, and the remainder participate to demonstrate solidarity with their peers or acquaintances. These findings provide new insight into endorser motivations and civil-military relations.

Are Americans aware and concerned about White nationalism in the U.S. Military? Our large and demographically representative survey suggests that while most Americans suspect at least some presence of White nationalism in the military, many do not view it as a serious problem; particularly self-identified conservatives and respondents who hold highly favorable views toward military service members. However, in a between-/ within-subjects experiment embedded in our survey, we show that providing information about the issue of White nationalism in the U.S. Military increases the public's overall concern about White nationalism in the U.S. Military.

This paper provides a comparative analysis and qualitative assessment of the Czech document called “The Long Term Perspective for Defence 2030”. It outlines a set of criteria and provides a matrix for the measurement to place these documents into boundaries of hierarchy and typology of mission, vision, strategy, conception and plan. It compares the document with 11 other foreign documents. This research sample was analysed in two areas: 1) the purpose and nature of the documents, and 2) the contents of the documents. The Czech document differs from the set of analysed documents in its nature - purpose as well as contents. Its title expresses the ambition to streamline the development of building the system of national defence and the contents cover primarily the development of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. It has a broader nature and according to the selected method of evaluation, it is rather a strategy. The degree of detail in its individual sections differs significantly. The obtained results of comparative analysis reflect different national approaches to preparing strategic documents in the purpose, concept, contents and place in the hierarchy of strategic documents. At the end, the paper outlines several recommendations and suggestions for the document´s amendment, to be prepared as “The Long Term Perspective for Defence 2035”.

- by Libor Frank
- •
- Civil-military relations, Strategy, Security and Defence Studies
- by Evan A Laksmana and +1
- •
- Civil-military relations, Ilmu Politik, Militer dan Politik, Indonesian Military
- by Vojtěch Kessler
- •
- History, Military History, Biographical Methods, First World War

Having explored in the first two parts of this series the abstract concepts of national and maritime strategy, identifying the dangers and challenges with the formulation and application of each, and the problematic chain of historical evidence, focus will now move towards an analysis and evaluation of current strategy, applying knowledge and theory to ascertain the aptness of the UK's stated ways

The paper offers analysis of the discourses on the Great War (World War I) and of the practices of the culture of remembrance in interwar Lithuania. The research addresses the scope and the nature of literary fiction dealing with the theme of the Great War in interwar Lithuania (with the focus on the literary merits of translated works by foreign authors and of those by local authors, the ‘upsurge’ of and changes in the fiction on war), and the significance of the war to the public at large; the research also expands on the practices of the commemoration of the Great War and on the maintenance of military cemeteries in interwar Lithuania. On the one hand, literature on war in interwar Lithuania was an object of analysis, while, on the other hand, it represented a field of publishing industry with the works by foreign authors translated and local authors published. The Great War was a landmark event for a whole generation. It changed people’s lives and attitudes to war, and opened up new horizons for war fiction. Multitudes of young gifted people had to spend several years at the front because of universal conscription. Later they wrote books often based on their own experience, or even their diaries, that became literary classics. In Lithuania translated works came first: the publication of the novel
All Quiet on the Western Front can be considered a turning point that was followed by the works of Lithuanian authors. In a sense, the 1930s were a time of a breakthrough for the literature on the subject of the Great War in Lithuania. Certain episodes of the Great War, such as its outbreak and causes, the German occupation, and the military actions reflecting the war experience of the Lithuanians (1914 in East Prussia, the battle of Augustów in 1915, and the fall of Kaunas Fortress)
were actualised in interwar Lithuania. Such a situation stemmed from geographical and national reasons: the said operations took place on the ‘Lithuanian lands’ with numerous involvement of the Lithuanians. There were controversial judgements on the war: on the one hand, it had caused heavy casualties and immense material losses leading to moral decay and changes in the heretofore familiar mode of life and mindset. On the other hand, the war ‘woke up’ the Lithuanian nation and created
conditions for the restoration of the Lithuanian state, which was straightforwardly referred to as a true miracle and was thought impossible were it not for the Great War (followed by the fall of three European empires). The casualties of the Great War therefore came to be seen as a sacrifice on the ‘altar of freedom’ of Lithuania and this
claim was further reinforced by the fact that a great number of Lithuanian soldiers took part in the Great War serving in the armies of other countries (in particular those of Russia, Germany, and the United States) and many of them perished on various fronts.

- by Vytautas Jokubauskas
- •
- History, Military History, Military Science, War Studies

The present paper will investigate pardon letters or “lettres de rémission” granted to soldiers by the Valois dukes of Burgundy from 1386 to 1482. During this period, the chancery records contain 885 remission letters by which the prince granted his pardon to individuals who committed a crime and petitioned for mercy. This large amount of documents includes more than 15 percent of pardons granted to petitioners who served or had served the dukes in their armies. In the narrative parts of their letters, these soldiers insisted on their military pasts as a good reason to be pardoned. The purpose of this paper is to study the contents of these military pardons to underline how they contributed to shape a collective military identity in the Burgundian State. Following the works of Christopher Allmand, according to whom fifteenth-century leaders undertook to transform their soldiers into professional State agents, I will argue that military pardons were used by the dukes of Burgundy as a tool of social disciplining. Because they granted a large amount of pardons to their soldiers who affirmed their military identity in their petitions, the dukes promoted the military service as a motive to be forgiven. And because they only forgave simple homicides and refused to pardon typical war crimes such as pillage, rape, or even desertion, they indicated which kind of behaviour was worthy for the good Burgundian soldier, and which one was not.

- by Quentin Verreycken
- •
- History, Strategy (Military Science), Self and Identity, Medieval History

This article is a response to Anthony King’s ‘‘Women Warriors: Female Accession
to Ground Combat.’’ King rightly asserts that the accession of women to combat
roles is a notable historical departure in warfighting. He critiques Brownson’s
conceptual ideal of ‘‘equivalency’’ as a potentially profound force of transformation
of gender relations in the military. While conceptually progressive, he errs in framing
the potential transformation within the concept of ‘‘patriarchy.’’ Further, King is
unable to recast binary gendered language to acknowledge fully the concept of
‘‘kinship.’’ For females to maximally succeed in the military, and particularly in
combat roles, patriarchy as the defining explanation for male–female interaction
must be discarded and the enabling concepts of equivalency and kinship must be
embraced. The continued strength of military organizations and the individuals
within them emerges from the reciprocity of these two concepts.

Das Landwehrstammregiment 54 stellte wohl im Rahmen der Raumverteidigung von 1979 bis 1994 das stärkste Landwehrregiment des österreichischen Bundesheeres auf, das bei allen Übungen und Einsätzen diese Aufgaben auch exzellent, mit dem Militärkommando Steiermark als vorgesetzte Dienststelle, wahrgenommen hat. Zum Gedenken an seine ehemaligen Soldaten und zur Aufrechterhaltung einer gerechten Tradition seien hier alle Truppenzeitungen veröffentlicht, um dieser Pflicht halbwegs gerecht zu werden!

- by Reinhard Stradner
- •
- Military History, Military and Politics, Civil-military relations

Despite consistent downsizing, over the past two decades the armed forces of the industrial democracies have seen a huge growth in Special Operations Forces (SOF). Through increasing numbers of personnel and more frequent deployments, SOF units have wielded considerable influence in conflicts around the world, with senior SOF officers having led major strategic operations. This increased presence and unprecedented expansion for SOF is largely a result of the 'new' kinds of conflicts that have emerged in the 21st century. At the same time, even with this high profile in the military, policy and media and popular cultural arenas, there is relatively little social scientific research on SOF. This volume aims to fill this gap by providing a series of studies and analyses of SOF across the globe, since the end of World War II. Analysing SOF at the micro, mezzo and macro levels provides broad and diverse insights. Moreover, the volume deals with new issues raised by the use of such forces that include emerging modes of civilian control, innovative organizational forms and the special psychological characteristics necessitated by SOF operatives. It concludes with a discussion of a question which continues to be debated in today's militaries: what makes SOF 'special'? Filling a clear gap in the literature, this book will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, civil military relations, irregular warfare, security studies, and International Relations. Find Rare and Collectible Books Discover rare, signed and first edition books on AbeBooks, an Amazon Company. Learn More on AbeBooks.com.

- by Kobi Michael and +2
- •
- Special Operations And Low Intensity Conflict, Strategy (Military Science), Social Sciences, Sociology of the Military

Expectations regarding the protection of cultural heritage – both in host countries and in Brussels – seem excessively high and somewhat detached from capabilities. Since CSDP missions are now almost exclusively small to medium-sized training and advisory missions and no longer major military operations, their focus will likely have to prioritise prevention and anti-smuggling rather than physical protection.

- by Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and +1
- •
- Iraqi History, European Union, Civil-military relations, Common Security and Defense Policy

What are the core issues behind the recent protests? How are Algeria's complex political dynamics playing out with regards to the ongoing protests? What is the significance of Algeria to the wider region? What role do regional and international players have in the most recent developments? What are the possible outcomes of the political situation leading up to and after the April presidential elections?

- by Tarek Cherkaoui
- •
- North Africa Studies, Democracy, Middle East Politics, Civil-military relations

Genezy obrony totalnej (total defence) należy szukać u klasyków myśli wojskowej. Carl von Clauzewitz poświęcił uwagę możliwości zaangażowania ludności cywilnej w wojnę prowadzoną przez państwo, odnotowując, że jest to potencjał, który należy umiejętnie wykorzystać. Kluczowym założeniem koncepcji obrony totalnej jest szybka i powszechna mobilizacja ludności zdolnej do walki w przypadku zaistnienia zagrożenia wojną.

Für Amerikaner und Westeuropäer war der Kalte Krieg nur am Rande ein bewaffneter Konflikt und mehr als eine reine Auseinandersetzung zwischen den zwei großen Ideologien Kommunismus und liberaler Kapitalismus. Er beeinflusste Gesellschaft, Wissenschaft und Kultur in den westlichen Staaten in ganz erheblichem Maße: Der Rüstungswettlauf war einerseits Projektionsfläche tiefgreifender Ängste vor einem atomaren Holocaust. Andererseits sollte diese Angst durch Planung und Verwissenschaftlichung in kollektive Sicherheit transformiert werden. In diesem Sinne versteht der vorliegende Band den Kalten Krieg als ‚Krieg der Imaginationen‘ (Mary Kaldor). Er führt Beiträge von Militär-, Sozial- und Ideenhistorikern in einer sozialen Ideengeschichte zusammen und bereichert unser Wissen über eines der am tiefsten einschneidenden Phänomene des 20. Jahrhunderts um wichtige, bislang aber vernachlässigte Facetten.

- by Patrick Bernhard
- •
- Military History, Cultural History, History of Education, Cold War and Culture

Women serve in diverse roles in the 21st century militaries of the world. They are no longer banned from combat. The presence of women on the battlefield has raised religious arguments and considerations. What role do religious arguments play in the discussion regarding women's military service? Using media, internal publications, as well as academic articles, the current paper examined this question in the context of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF): a conscription-based military that conscripts both men and women, religious and secular, for both combat and noncombat postings. Using the case of the pilot program in the IDF attempting to integrate women in the Israeli tank corps, as well as gauging the way religious men view this change, the paper argues that religious considerations serve the same purpose as functional considerations and can be amplified or lessened, as needed.

The Singaporean polity has created the ‘militarized civilian’. This policy phenomenon beckons the question: how is this cross-fertilization carried out in Singapore’s civil-military relations? Militarization is in the first sense meant to inculcate a calibrated dual personality within the civilian whereby being an effective soldier requires indulging in simulated military suffering as a badge of pride; at the same time, the citizen soldier has to believe that military and civilian values are perfectly interchangeable and contribute equally to the maintenance of peace. In a second sense, militarization is equally about permanently ritualizing sacrifices for a communitarian defence. We argue that while mostly successful, militarization also produces the tension arising from the need to appear pugnaciously vigilant while avoiding the casualties that must logically arise from heightened simulated combat. This tension is explained through two dimensions of on-going crises: the parameters of a politically dramatized National Service ritual; and the constant propaganda of geopolitical dangers threatening the Republic.

- by ALAN CHONG and +1
- •
- Civil-military relations, Singapore Politics, Military Conscription

Essay in memory of Martin Edmonds and Richard Holmes.

מטרתו של מאמר זה היא לפרק את זהותו של "החייל הקרבי" לזהויות הנבדלות זו מזו בערכים, בלבוש, בשפה ועוד – הבדלים אשר משקפים את ההבניה האתנו-מעמדית בצבא הישראלי. לשם כך אתמקד בשתי הזהויות האתניות המרכזיות בחברה הישראלית – המזרחית והאשכנזית. במאמר אנסה לעמוד על האופן שבו נבנות ומעוצבות זהויות אלה בקרב חיילים קרביים באמצעות ניתוח הפרקטיקות והפרשנויות של החיילים עצמם. כמו כן אבחן את חלקו של הממסד בתהליך הזה, אשר לא רק שאינו תורם למחיקתה של הזהות והשייכות האתנית, אלא אף מחזק את הזהויות הקיימות בחברה האזרחית.

- by Holger Albrecht and +2
- •
- Public Opinion (Political Science), Survey Research, Civil-military relations, Tunisia
- by Biljana Vankovska
- •
- Yugoslavia, Democracy, Civil-military relations, Military

In the article are analyzed some aspects of strategic communication of Russia in Latin America. Special attention is given to key messages of the leadership of Russia to the countries of the region, the practice of public diplomacy, competitive advantages and possible risks of strategic communication and its interpretation by political circles and the analytical centers of the USA.

Несмотря на заметный экономический, политический и моральный упадок США, эта страна продолжает играть роль ведущей силы в мировой экономике и международных отношениях и стремится не допустить дальнейшего ослабления своей мощи. Важное место отводится при этом стратегической коммуникации. Автор ста-
тьи, опираясь на методы компаративного анализа, ставит задачей проследить роль иэффективность стратегическjq коммуникации Соединенных Штатов в отстаивании своих геополитических интересов.

The security apparatus of the Islamic Republic of Iran-that is the combination of those institutions and organizations that are responsible for internal and external security including matters of national defense and intelligence-differs slightly from other authoritarian regimes as it combines revolutionary and state institutions. Hence forces like the army and police are balanced by ideological units like the Corps of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Corps), the revolutionary committees and irregular forces (Hezbollahis). The result is a cohabitation of a numerically strong but technologically obsolete conscript army and police force with an overlapping network of intelligence and paramilitary forces. Limited military capacities are compensated with anti-imperialist revolutionary rhetorics. Hence the US remains enemy no: 1 notwithstanding the completion of the nuclear agreement (JCPOA Joint Common Plan of Action) with the E3+3. Until now, US-Iranian alignements of interests in the region (the stabilization of Iraq, the fight against the Islamic State) were not sufficiently substanciated to result in strategic reassessment. National Security is largely defined as regime security. As commander-in-chief the Supreme Leader appoints the higher echelons of military commanders, some of them on suggestion of the president. Parliamentary oversight of the armed and security forces is ensured as all ministers including the ministers of defence, intelligence and interior must be confirmed by parliament. By law the minister of intelligence must be a cleric occassionally the ministry of Interior too has been led by clerics. Political oversight and ideological indoctrination are the responsibilities of the representatives of the Supreme Leader who are present at all echelons and ideological and political offices. The latter are responsible for the obligatory ideological review of all public servants (gozinesh). Additionally in all private and public organizations and institutions the establishment of security offices (daftar-e herasat) is mandatory. In military organizations protection and intelligence organizations or offices (daftar/sazeman-e hefazat va ettelaat), function as intelligence and counter-intel force. In the army, these units exist in addition to the staff positions responsible for military intelligence and security. The Corps' protection and intelligence organization (sazeman-e hefazat va ettelaat SHE) has developped an organizational and political life of its own; at the Law Enforcement Forces (police NAJA) a similar SHE exercises the functions of internal audit and state police. Additional surveillance units are the parastatal Basij and the irregular Hezbollahis. The latter act as moral police but proofed difficult to control. Since 1992, they are organized in a private umbrella organization called Ansar-e Hezbollah, whose influence the Ruhani government tries to curb. Coordination and separation of responsibilities is regulated by a number of laws. The main strategic decision making body is the "Higher National Security Council HNSR" chaired by the President. In HNSR key ministers and military commanders are represented. Sensitive security policy decisions are taken in the informal " Council of the heads of the three powers " (legislative/head of parliament, executive/president and judicial/head of justice). Matters of internal security are taken in the "State Security Council" headed by the Interior Minister. Conflicts of competence exist between the Ministry of Interior, the Corps, the Ministry of Intelligence and the Corps' intelligence service SHE. The development of the Iranian intelligence services is not yet complete it is a unification of most departments of the old SAVAK with revolutionary forces. According to the law the

- by Walter Posch
- •
- Military History, Military Intelligence, Strategy (Military Science), Intelligence

The Philippines is affected both by climate change and general hostility and insecurity, specifically Mindanao. This situation makes civilian relief agencies operate in proximity to the military. Typhoon Haiyan experience brought changes... more

- by Lea Ivy Manzanero
- •
- Civil-military relations

This paper proposes and illustrates a framework for analysis of the recent events in Middle Eastern and North African countries (the so-called Arab Spring) by bringing into dialogue recent theoretical advances in democratization theory with the comparative-historical literature on the political development of the MENA region. We advocate two analytical shifts from conventional approaches in the analysis of the Arab Spring: first, reconsider the temporalities of democratization processes; second, focus on struggles over specific institutional arenas rather than over the regime as a whole. The former recommendation draws attention both to the strategies used by key actors in the political, economic, and civil society spheres, and to the historical legacies that built the influence and resources of these actors over time. The latter allows us to consider the institutional safeguards for old elites that are likely to be included in the post-authoritarian regimes emerging in the region. Even though some of these safeguards are clearly anti-democratic, historical examples show that they do not necessarily preclude democratization. Indeed, in some cases, their introduction might be necessary to achieve democratic openings in other arenas. We illustrate these theoretical points with reference to the case of Egypt.

The article provides the analysis of utilisation of sports for the purpose of military training of riflemen in Lithuania in the interwar period by highlighting the idea of significance of athletics and practical activities of riflemen. Athletics was considered a part of military training in the interwar years; therefore, the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union actively promoted sporting activities by integrating athletics into military instruction programmes and choosing relevant sporting activities for that purpose. The idea of training the body and mind through sports was brought forward emphasizing that a conscious Lithuanian nation, physically and mentally strong, would be capable of resisting any external threats. A person engaged in sports would not only develop a physical strength but also acquire certain skills necessary for armed defence and, consequently, determination and self-confidence. Sports were seen as a form of representation and a field for competition of nations and states.

- by Vytautas Jokubauskas
- •
- History, Military History, Military Science, Strategy (Military Science)

Recent research by the author (Charney 2017 and 2020, forthcoming) on the precolonial Myanmar army has emphasized the importance of villagers and village ways of combat in larger campaigns that that are normally understood through depictions in the chronicles that are heavily formulaic and court-scopic. Beneath the veneer of ordered and obedient soldiery, however, was a chronic tension between the court, its generals, and ministers, on the one hand, who sought to regulate the limits of warfare in line with a royal imaginary predicated on beneficent rulership, Buddhist values, and the establishment of universal harmony with the behaviour of local commanders and village warriors, on the other, who dealt with the weak administrative structures that required obedience through spectacular displays of violence and pre-existing ways of waging local wars in rural Myanmar. The present paper examines the ways in which the Myanmar court attempted to set the limits of war and the impact of the removal of the king at the end of the Third Anglo-Myanmar War in November 1885 as a crucial moderating influence, and the introduction of a more unlimited colonial approach to war and violence. It is argued that there is an existing model for limiting violence in warfare that is not an imposition of the West but has emerged entirely within the Myanmar-Buddhist historical experience.

From January 15, 1966 when the overzealous demarche of the hotheaded Majors ushered in a watershed in the contours of the Nigerian political environment, the military has aggressively cleaved onto power with a plethora of sanctimonious justifications. Since the first putsch, the immaculate praetorians have overtly "guarded" with a well engineered structure which has culminated in them engendering three realms (1979-1983; 1993; 1999-present) of either outright military "guardianship" or control through a coterie of "retired" military politicians, recently punned as "repentant democrats". This work focuses on the elements of military influences and control over the central government in the Fourth Republic. Utilizing secondary data, the work argues that the military, through its veteran club, has not just exercised overwhelming influence on the post-1999 Nigeria, but has also become a receptacle of the "philosopher kings" who either rule or decide who "rules". The work concludes that the malicious process that characterized the 1999 transition to civilian rule was crafted to entrench the pontifications of the military veterans and their perpetual relevance, but, at the expense of genuine democratization, good governance, and active youth participation and assertiveness in politics. The work therefore calls for the dismantling of the "civilian-military estates" and its analog and insidious structures which have over the years, bred under-governance while impeding altruistic and innovative political culture.

- by Charles E Ekpo and +1
- •
- Democratization, Civil-military relations, Democracy and Good Governance, The Military in Politics

This study presents a state of the art of the civil-military relations (CMR) in a global level and establishes a parallel with the Colombian case. It identifies three conceptual axis that correspond to three historical periods, which are –at the same time- directly related with the waves of democratization proposed by S. Huntington. The study, then, pinpoints the most important trends of the actual debate about the topic and relates them with the Colombian sociopolitical dynamics.

- by Juan David Abella Osorio and +1
- •
- Colombia, Military and Politics, Civil-military relations, Fuerzas Armadas
- by Mervyn Tano
- •
- Colonialism, Military and Politics, Civil-military relations

"Postface au rapport: La gestion de la diversité ethnique dans les armées. Le cas du Royaume-Uni, des Etats-Unis, de la Belgique et des Pays-Bas, par Anaïs Reding, Matt Bassford, Claire Celia, Kristin Weed, Emmanuel Hassan (Rand Europe),... more

"Postface au rapport:
La gestion de la diversité ethnique dans les armées. Le cas du Royaume-Uni, des Etats-Unis, de la Belgique et des Pays-Bas, par Anaïs Reding, Matt Bassford, Claire Celia, Kristin Weed, Emmanuel Hassan (Rand Europe), 2012"

- by Irène Eulriet
- •
- Sociology, Social Theory, Sociology of Culture, Cultural Policy

The personnel structure and recruitment of armed forces represent
major elements of civil-military relations and civilian control.
Particularly crucial is the moment of shift from one type of recruitment
to another and the factors that facilitate or impede it. The
focus of this paper is the case of the Russian Federation during
the Medvedev presidency, when renewed efforts were made to cut
back conscription in favor of a professional contract-based force.
Despite crucial incidents, such as the 2008 Russian-Georgian War
that spelled out once more the prevailing inertia of the Russian conscript-
based army, military elites have been opposed to a change of
the status quo. By analyzing exemplary ideational discourses based
on the discursive institutional approach, factors will be elaborated
that explain what continues to impede the shift to contract-based
recruitment in Russia. In the light of the latest hostilities between
Russia and NATO, the prospect of this shift has receded even further
into the distance.