What is Controlled by Civilian Control of the Military? Control of the Military vs. Control of Militarization

Abstract

This article addresses a gap in the scholarly literature. Students of militarism do not link the propensity to use force to the broader issue of what type of civilian control may restrain the use of force. Similarly, even students of civilian control who acknowledge that civilian control and military restraint do not necessarily go hand in hand have not questioned the extent to which we should decouple the two different processes as different modes of control rather than different effects of control. A revised conceptualization of civilian control is therefore offered that distinguishes between two modes of civilian control over military affairs: control of the military, which concerns itself primarily with the military organization, and control of militarization, which draws on the political discourse in which the citizenry plays an active and autonomous role aimed at subjecting the decision to use force to a deliberative process that addresses its legitimacy.

Saying no to military service – obligation, killing and inequality as experienced problems in conscription-based military in Finland

“…The relevant issues in civil-military relations are civilian and state control of the AF. A revised conceptualization of civilian control has distinguished between two modes of civilian control over military affairs: control of the military and control of militarization (Levy 2016). It may also be control from within, when the soldiers or combatants take some form of control of military actions, deployment or policies framing military operations (Levy 2017).…”

Concordance Civil–Military Relations in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

“…The military in most democracies is an important tool of statehood; however, the prestige of the military rests upon the approval of the general society (Young, 2006). The armed forces is embedded and at the same time insulated from the society, especially in democratic societies (Levy, 2016). However, civilian control of the military is often limited to the relations between elected civilians and generals.…”

“…However, civilian control of the military is often limited to the relations between elected civilians and generals. This relationship is often viewed mostly through the formal institutional mechanisms and informal relations that influence the manner in which policy makers make use of the military (Levy, 2016). Civil control of the military including the way civilians and the general public views and monitors the military is an important factor in fostering healthy civil–military relations.…”

O doméstico e o internacional como discurso normativo: a legitimação do uso da força

“…Da mesma forma, podemos destacar o trabalho de Levy (2014). O autor, preocupado com a restrição do uso da força e a predisposição de um Estado para lidar com problemas internacionais através da ação militar, defende que o argumento segundo o qual o maior controle civil sobre as forças armadas reduziria a propensão ao uso da força, mostrou-se falso quando se observa a relação entre os civis e os militares nas democracias pós-Guerra Fria.…”