Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Civil-Military Relations))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2007. / Thesis Advisor(s): Karen Guttieri. "March 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103). Also available in print.

Traditional analyses of operational effectiveness often lack consideration of civil-military relations. However, in operations with complex and ambitious political aims, such as democratization, stabilization and reconstruction, economic development, and respect for human rights, taking a comprehensive approach (the co-ordination of military, diplomatic, and development efforts) is essential. The creation of the Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan aimed to essentially operationalize the comprehensive approach but was largely viewed as ineffective. The aim of this thesis is to increase the understanding of why the comprehensive approach in PRTs failed to live up to its potential and increase operational effectiveness through a comparative case study of US and Canada PRTs. As often is the case with complex peace operations, the mandates given to both military and civilian leaders are usually broad with little detail and thus are open for interpretation. As such, leadership has significant leeway as to how to conduct the operation, and many leaders have different ways of doing everyday things based on their own dispositions. The current theorizing of civil-military relations largely relies on rationalist and positivist assumptions which cannot readily capture the everyday experiences and dispositions of interveners and are less than insightful when it comes to describing and explaining the nuances of civil-military relations. By using a practice theory lens (specifically Bourdieu’s concepts of habitus, field, capital, and hysteresis), allows one to move away from models of actions based on realist assumptions and analyze civil-military relations as the result of different processes, practices, and systems of knowledge. The principal argument of this thesis is that because the habitus of the US and Canada were so misaligned with the field, actual operationalization (or embodiment) of the comprehensive approach was very sporadic and was largely dependent on leadership personality, which negatively effected effectiveness. Without understanding the systems of knowledge and sense-making (the habitus) that underlie decision-making processes one cannot assume that leadership will change its everyday practices to better embody the comprehensive approach. Without this understanding, it is necessary to put in place standard practices, such as training and clearer mandates, to help mitigate hysteresis (or the lag between generating practices that are in line with the new conditions).

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published_or_final_version / Asian Studies / Master / Master of Arts

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Since 1989 the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have undergone an unprecedented transition from communism to democracy. Establishment of democratic control of armed forces is an inseparable part of the process of consolidation of democracy. The purpose of this thesis is to define those factors that influence democratization of civil-military relations in post-communist countries in the process of transition to democracy. My argument is that countries develop democratic control of armed forces in different ways and with different time boundaries, until the end state is achieved. The democratization of civil-military relations depends on capability of the country in transition to effectively establish (by which I mean to build and put into effect) institutions for democratic control of the military. In evaluating development of the democratization of civil-military relations the post-communist countries of Hungary and Bulgaria are studied in detail with particular attention to the process of establishment, development, and interrelation of institutional arrangements. In this aspect historical legacy, international context and path of transition can help or obstruct the process of development of institutions for democratic control of armed forces. / Lieutenant Colonel, Bulgarian Air Force

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This thesis examines civil-military relations during the critical moments of the Czechoslovak history, particularly during the deep political and societal crises in 1938, 1948, 1968, and 1989. Such a method offers an opportunity to analyze civilian control of the military under a situation when the civil-military relations are in deep crisis. By concluding that even under such conditions there were stable civil-military relations in former Czechoslovakia, this thesis affirms the theory of military professionalism as a crucial factor in civil-military relations, as presented by Samuel P. Huntington. Thus, the study of civil-military relations in crises of the Czechoslovak history provides an exceptional opportunity to test the Huntington's model of the equilibrium of objective civilian control in the circumstances of profound societal disturbances. In accordance with the Huntington's theory of stable civil-military relations, this thesis attests that a strong military professionalism, typified by the bonds of traditions, obedience, and patriotic loyalty, plays crucial role in determining stability of civil-military relations, i.e. an objective civilian control of the military. Subsequently, by following this reasoning this thesis also justifies assumption of permanently stable civil-military relations in Czechia, because it intentionally concentrates only on the continuum of the Czechoslovak and the Czech civil-military relations. / Lieutenant Colonel, Czech Air Force

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Since 1989 the study of democratic civil military relations has undergone a revival of the formation of new theory. These concepts deal with civilian control of armed forces at a national level. Since after the end of the Cold War, the European employment of military forces within a multinational framework became a regularity, it is now pertinent to ask whether and how these concepts fit at the international level. The construction of Europe and the rise of new security challenges raises the issue of democratic civil military relations in the European Union. The present thesis analyses classical and new theories of civil military relations and applies these to the current issue of security policy and the formation of strategy for a supra-national European Union. / Lieutenant Colonel, Austrian Army

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Denver, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. in National Security Affairs)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Donald Abenheim, Hans Eberhard Peters. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-126). Also available online.