The Soldier and the Changing State : Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas

Zoltan Barany

ISBN 10: 0691137692 / ISBN 13: 9780691137698

Published by Princeton University Press Sep 2012, 2012

About this Item

Neuware - 'The Soldier and the Changing State is the single most ambitious and complete analysis on civil-military relations in democratizing states. Barany examines a variety of country case studies, ranging from transition experiences after dictatorships and communist regimes to postwar and postcolonial nations. This is an extremely important contribution to the understanding of the relationship between the role of the military and the government in diverse transition situations.'--Narcís Serra, chairman of the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals and former Spanish Minister of Defense.

Seller Inventory # 9780691137698

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Soldier and the Changing State : Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas
• Publisher: Princeton University Press Sep 2012
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691137692
• ISBN 13: 9780691137698
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 233W x 154H x 32D millimeters 233 millimeters width by 154 millimeters height by 32 millimeters depth
• Weight: 683 grams

About this title

Synopsis

The Soldier and the Changing State 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, Zoltan Barany argues that the military is the most important institution that states maintain, for without military elites who support democratic governance, democracy cannot be consolidated. Barany 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?


Barany 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. He 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, he offers practical policy recommendations to state-builders and democratizers.

About the Author

Zoltan Barany is the Frank C. Erwin, Jr., Centennial Professor of Government at the University of Texas and the author of Democratic Breakdown and the Decline of the Russian Military (Princeton).