Synopses & Reviews
Review
The problem of civil-military relations is of critical importance in American affairs... Huntington establishes his basic propositions, formulates his theoretical framework, and analyzes historical and contemporary developments in the United States and abroad with skill and insight. The clarity and precision with which the book moves forward make it a delight to read. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Review
The book contains many insights about both America and its soldiers, and the thought behind many of its conclusions is hard and clean... It also disposes of a number of prejudices about the military that still clog the policy process... Here is a book to make one think. American Political Science Review
Synopsis
In a classic work, Samuel P. Huntington challenges most of the old assumptions and ideas on the role of the military in society. Stressing the value of the military outlook for American national policy, Huntington has performed the distinctive task of developing a general theory of civil-military relations and subjecting it to rigorous historical analysis.
About the Author
Samuel P. Huntingtonwas Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, <>Harvard University, and the author of Political Order in Changing Societies.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: National Security and Civil–Military Relations
- Part I: Military Institutions and the State: Theoretical and Historical Perspectives
- 1. Officership as a Profession
- Professionalism and the Military
- The Concept of Profession
- The Military Profession
- 2. The Rise of the Military Profession in Western Society
- A New Social Type
- Mercenary and Aristocratic Officership
- Eighteenth-Century Aristocratic Institutions
- Preprofessional Meals: The Military Craft and the Natural Genius
- The Origins of Professionalism
- The Emergence of Professional Institutions, 1800–1875
- European Professionalism: General Upton’s Summary, 1875
- Formulation of the Professional Ethic: The Autonomy and Sub-Ordination of War In Clausewitz’s Vom Kriege
- 3. The Military Mind: Conservative Realism of the Professional Military Ethic
- The Meaning of the Military Mind
- The Professional Military Ethic
- 4. Power, Professionalism, and Ideology: Civil–Military Relations in Theory
- The Varieties of Civilian Control
- The Two Levels of Civil–Military Relations
- The Equilibrium of Objective Civilian Control
- The Patterns of Civil–Military Relations
- 5. Germany and Japan: Civil–Military Relations in Practice
- The German and Japanese Patterns
- Germany: The Tragedy of Professional Militarism
- Japan: The Continuity of Political Militarism
- Part II: Military Power in America: The Historical Experience, 1789–1940
- 6. The Ideological Constant: The Liberal Society versus Military Professionalism
- The Historical Constants of American Civil–Military Relations
- The Prevalence of Liberalism in the United States
- The Liberal Approach to Military Affairs
- The Military Hero in Liberal Politics
- 7. The Structural Constant: The Conservative Constitution versus Civilian Control
- The Constitutional Absence of Objective Civilian Control
- The Framers and Civilian Control
- The Militia Clauses and Military Federalism: The Empire within an Empire
- The Separation of Powers: Dual Control over the National Forces
- The Commander in Chief Clause: The Political–Military Hierarchy
- Civilian Control and Constitutional Government
- 8. The Roots of the American Military Tradition before the Civil War
- The Three Strands of American Militarism
- The Failure of Federalism: Hamilton’s Abortive Professionalism
- Technicism
- Popularism
- Professionalism
- 9. The Creation of the American Military Profession
- The Dominance of Business Pacifism: Industrialism versus Militarism
- Years of Isolation: The Dark and the Bright
- The Creative Core: Sherman, Upton, Luce
- The Institutions of Professionalism
- The Making of the American Military Mind
- 10. The Failure of the Neo-Hamiltonian Compromise, 1890–1920
- The Nature of Neo-Hamiltonianism
- Mahan And Wood: The Tragedy of the Military Publicist
- The Abortive Identification With Society, 1918–1925
- 11. The Constancy of Interwar Civil–Military Relations
- Business-Reform Hostility and Military Professionalism
- Reform Liberalism: The Pragmatic Usages of Militarism
- Military Institutions
- The American Military Ethic, 1920–1941
- 12. World War II: The Alchemy of Power
- Civil–Military Relations in Total War
- Military Authority and Influence in Grand Strategy
- The Military Adjustment to Wartime Power
- Civil–Military Relations in Economic Mobilization
- The Fruits of Harmony and Acrimony
- Part III: The Crisis of American Civil–Military Relations, 1940–1955
- 13. Civil–Military Relations in the Postwar Decade
- The Alternatives of Civil–Military Relations
- Postwar Perspectives on Civil–Military Relations
- Military Influence in American Society
- 14. The Political Roles of the Joint Chiefs
- Political Roles: Substantive and Advocatory
- The Joint Chiefs in the Truman Administration
- The Korean War: The Generals, the Troops, and the Public
- The Joint Chiefs in the First Two Years of the Eisenhower Administration
- Conclusion
- 15. The Separation of Powers and Cold War Defense
- The Impact of the Separation of Powers
- The Separation of Powers versus the Separation of Functions
- The Separation of Powers versus Military Professionalism
- The Separation of Powers versus Strategic Monism
- 16. Departmental Structure of Civil–Military Relations
- The Organization Problems of the Postwar Decade
- The Joint Chiefs of Staff: Legal Form and Political Reality
- The Comptroller: Superego of the Department of Defense
- The Role of the Secretary
- The Needs of the Office
- 17. Toward a New Equilibrium
- The Requisite for Security
- Changes in the Ideological Environment
- Conservatism and Security
- The Worth of the Military Ideal
- Notes
- Index