Post-Cold War Theory of Civil-Military Relations and Military Professionalism Cover Image

Posthladnoratovske teorije civilno-vojnih odnosa i vojni profesionalizam
Post-Cold War Theory of Civil-Military Relations and Military Professionalism

Author(s): Tomislav Smerić
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Institut društvenih znanosti Ivo Pilar

Summary/Abstract: The paper deals with the status of military professionalism as a key element of the mechanism of establishing civilian control of armed forces in the context of post-cold war theories of civil-military relations. After reviewing the basic elements of the critique of "classical" Huntington's and Janowitz's theories, some of the "new" theories are presented: "concordance theory", "agency theory", "new institutionalist approach", "the mission model" and "the theory of shared responsibility". The role of military professionalism in forming the model of democratic control of armed forces in European "new democracies" is also examined. The analysis suggests that despite the efforts to overcome relying on the concept of military professionalism in recent civil-military relations theories in the West, the concept maintains its relevance in the context of studying, but also in forming civil- -military relations in postcommunist countries.

  • Issue Year: 14/2005
  • Issue No: 80
  • Page Range: 1015-1036
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Croatian