The Complexity of Civilian-Military Relations

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Civil –Military Relations Civil military relations can be understood as ‘two hands on the sword.’ The civilian hand determines the timing to draw out the sword from its sheath and the military hand carries out the civilian government’s order to put the sword in combat. Civil military partnership is shared between the civilian government and the military establishment in order to run the state affairs. The paper examines the complexities of civil-military relationships from the past till to date. Further, it interprets the viewpoints of authors: Peter D. Feaver in his article, ‘Armed Forces & Society’ and Marybeth P. Ulrich’s article ‘The Runaway General’. Authors’ interpretations signify how far the US is fair in treatment of civil-military relations. In the end, the paper suggests ways to coordinate relations between armed forces and civilian government. I agree to the interpretations of Marybeth Ulrich. She is vocal in civil-military relations. She supports a balance in civil military decisions, placing the civilian government on the driving seat. But I disagree with Feaver over the point of the agency theory. My perception is that there should be coordination between the civil and military relations. Both civilian executives and military personnel are needed for state’s safety and wellbeing of the people. Any deviation in decision making during the peace time and the war time is jeopardous to the state. I advocate that no one is superior or inferior. They are like strings on the lyre to work equally. Peter D. Feaver proposes ambitiously a new theory that treats civil-military relations as a principal-agent relationship. Here, a principal is the government and agent is a military man, capable of carrying out the duty. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ated that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would be the chief advisor to the government on military matters, but it did not dictate that the political leaders actually would take his advice or even listen to his opinion. Logic indicates that quashing the advice of military experts is detrimental to national security. The information the military supplies to the civilian leadership is important to shaping military capabilities and establishing civilian leadership. For operations that involve the application of force, military advice is vital and is in the national interest for civilian leaders. As the United States leads the world into the 21st Century, military leaders must gain and maintain the trust of the American President and the Secretary of Defense in order for their advice to be considered towards the goal of maximizing the security of the nation.

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