Veena Kukreja. Civil-Military Relations in South Asia: Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. New Delhi: Sage Publications. 1991. 257 pp. Bibliography + Index. Price: Rs 260 (Hardbound).

1992 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-105
Author(s):  
Ziaul Haque
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
New Delhi ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
Modern Times ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

A quite large number of developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which are today characterised by chronic underdevelopment, general social retardation, slow social mobility, and political instability became highly prone to military interventions in politics in their initial phases of decolonization soon after World War II. These military interventions in the fragile civil polities and stagnant economies, termed by some scholars as the coup zone, are justified and legitimised on various pretexts of modernisation, democratisation, and reform; which means that the military seeks to fill the institutional vacuum when the overall civil administration of the country breaks down as a consequence of the rivalry for pelf and power between various ruling classes. Thus, the military has emerged as the most powerful institution in these countries. Some social revolutions of modern times, in China in 1949, for example, and in Cuba in 1959, were caused by endemic military interventions in the civil society.

scholarly journals Evolution of Civil-Military Relations in Bangladesh: A Comparative Study in the Context of Developing Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 514-529
Author(s):  
Akkas Ahamed ◽  
Md. Sayedur Rahman ◽  
Nur Hossain
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
World War ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Developed World

Although Civil-military relations have historically been recognized as a subject of study in the developed world, it has become a subject of study in the region since World War II due to military intervention in newly independent Third World countries. Although the country became independent on the basis of Civil-Military relations in the war of liberation of Bangladesh in 1971, the relations did not last long. Civil-Military relations have been the subject of renewed research in Bangladesh since the establishment of the military-backed government on 1/11, 2007. The study discusses the historical context of Civil-Military relations, the nature of Civil-Military relations in Bangladesh, various activities under military rule, and political leadership. The roles of the military in the formation of the country have been analyzed. The limitations of Bangladesh's Civil-Military relations have been discussed on the basis of the experiences gained through personal interviews of high-ranking Civil-Military members and general public. In this study has been described on the civil-military relations in the light of developing countries which have been under military rule for several decades during the 1950s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Therefore in carrying out this study, the civil-military relations in other developing countries and Bangladesh have been analyzed to understand the comparative aspects of civil-military relations at both local and global level. In addition, guidelines have been given on what should be the military-civil relations in the Political System of Bangladesh.

The Brazilian Army and the Problem of Mission, 1939–1964

1980 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D. McCann
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
World War ◽  
Institutional Perspective ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Politics ◽  
Post War ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Revolution

On 1 April 1980, Brazil concluded sixteen years of military-dominated government. While political scientists have taken the lead in examining the origins and methods of the regime in terms of civil-military relations, the role of the military in society, and what might be called military politics, historians have lagged behind in providing analysis from an institutional perspective.1 While the Revolution of 1964 might have occurred even if Brazil had never entered World War II, the Brazilian army's involvement in that conflict and its readjustments to the post-war situation gave shape and substance to that revolution.

Italy: The Military in Politics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Labanca
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Italian History ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Established Democracies ◽  
The Military

The Italian case is virtually nonexistent in almost all the best general works on military intervention in politics, but understanding the Italian case could add much to the academic debate as the debate seems to be again investigating the role of the military in established democracies. The most important key to understanding the story of Italian civil–military relations is not military professionalism. Rather, a specific feature of these cases could lay in the reduced strength of the different players (the military, the civilians). These widespread and common weaknesses end up being a continuity along all Italian history: the first years of Risorgimento and Liberal Italy, fascism, the advent of the Republic and democracy after the end of World War II, and even in the post-Cold War decades. Because of this continuity, the work of historians could be most useful for political scientists. What is interesting is that whether the Italian military was strong or weak, it almost always managed to have its demands met by influencing, penetrating, and conditioning the political system. Almost always, the military did not need to intervene directly. And this is another reason to better understand this case without the influence of old, biased national stereotypes and as studied by Italian scholars but ignored in its subtleties by international scholarship.

Synergy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozan O. Varol
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Viable Alternative ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Military Interventions ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military ◽  
Emerging Democracy ◽  
Real Chance

Balanced civil-military relations emerge from synergy. In this case synergy refers to civilians setting aside their ideological differences, working together to build credible democratic institutions, and constructing a viable alternative to military rule. If the civilians themselves are divided on the future democratic trajectory of the nation or the military’s exit from politics, the military may more easily exploit these divisions. Instead of trying for a quick power grab, civilians in an emerging democracy must shun any antidemocratic alternatives, including military interventions, to political rule. The more effective the civilian politicians are in constructing a stable, robust democracy, the less likely power vacuums and military interventions will occur. If political parties have a real chance to compete and win in the electoral marketplace, they are more likely to play the democratic game rather than violate its rules and resort to tanks and guns to oust their opponents.

After World War II: Germany, Japan, and Hungary

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltan Barany
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
World War ◽  
New West ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Military Politics ◽  
Military Relations

This chapter examines the democratization of civil–military relations in two former fascist dictatorships, postwar Germany and Japan, whose armies had destroyed and terrorized large swathes of the surrounding territory. The creation of lasting democratic regimes on the ashes of these dictatorships stands as the signal achievement of democracy promotion. An important part of this process was the building of the new West German and Japanese armed forces. On the other hand, Hungary after World War II illustrates the trajectory of military politics in numerous European states where domestic political forces were defeated by the Soviet Union and its native communist puppets. The chapter then considers the evolution of Hungarian civil–military relations from the end of the war until the March 1953 death of Joseph Stalin, which is a suitable point to mark the consolidation of the Soviet-controlled communist regime and the completion of the armed forces' transformation.

The Soldier and the Changing State

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltan Barany
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Political Change ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
The State ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

This is the first book to systematically explore, on a global scale, civil–military relations in democratizing and changing states. Looking at how armies supportive of democracy are built, the book argues that the military is the most important institution that states maintain, for without military elites who support democratic governance, democracy cannot be consolidated. The book also demonstrates that building democratic armies is the quintessential task of newly democratizing regimes. But how do democratic armies come about? What conditions encourage or impede democratic civil–military relations? And how can the state ensure the allegiance of its soldiers? The book examines the experiences of developing countries and the armed forces in the context of major political change in six specific settings: in the wake of war and civil war, after military and communist regimes, and following colonialism and unification/apartheid. It evaluates the army-building and democratization experiences of twenty-seven countries and explains which predemocratic settings are most conducive to creating a military that will support democracy. Highlighting important factors and suggesting which reforms can be expected to work and fail in different environments, the book offers practical policy recommendations to state-builders and democratizers.

Civil-Military Relations in Developing Countries

1989 ◽  
Vol 45 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 154-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veena Kukreja
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Political System ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
The Other ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Civil Military Relations ◽  
The World ◽  
Military Relations ◽  
The Military

Students of civil-military relations, particularly those in the developing countries, admit having to work on myopic assumptions, meagre data, sloppy conceptualization and inelegant explanations. The relative newness of this area of studies could be one reason for this. The study of civil-military relations in the narrow sense referring mainly to military coups and interventions, has attained importance after World War II. But the study of civil-military relations in the broader perspective of multiplicity of relationships between military men, institutions and interests, on the one hand, and diverse and often conflicting non-military organizations and political personages and interests on the other, has begun to draw academic interest only in the last two decades or so. In the twentieth century, the armed forces, being an universal and integral part of a nation's political system, no longer remain completely aloof from politics in any nation. If politics is concerned, in David Easton's celebrated words, with the authoritative allocation of values and power within a society, the military as a vital institution in the polity can hardly be wished out of participatory bounds, at least for legitimate influence as an institutional interest group with a stake in the political decision-making. The varying roles the military may play in politics range from minimal legitimate influence by means of recognized channels inherent in their position and responsibilities within the political system to the other extreme of total displacement of the civilian government in the forms of illegitimate overt military intervention in politics. This paper seeks to attempt an overview of the existing scholarship on civil-military relations; second, it examines civil-military relations in the world with special reference to major political systems of the world; third, it surveys the literature on civil-military relations in general, and finally, it attempts to develop a general, complex, and hopefully fruitful causal model for analyzing the dynamics of civil-military relations; exploring implications for future research on civil-military relations.

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