Civilian-Military Relations

Some of the top defense experts and thinkers offer their thoughts on what issues they’d like to see addressed and what questions they’d like to see asked at retired Gen. Lloyd…

Even if retired Gen. Lloyd Austin handles the job of defense secretary perfectly, his nomination alone still has long-term consequences, eroding the norm of civilian control by…

Civilian control of the military is an essential part of our constitutional fabric, but that doesn’t mean that recently retired officers are inevitably inappropriate defense…

Any other challenge will be exponentially harder to address as long as authoritarian leaders and the militarized systems that support them have free rein.

Issues at stake include militarization of law enforcement, civilian casualties, military base renaming, arms transfers, and more.

Will the military, having violated democratic norms, work with a civilian-led government to bring the country back to rule of law and peaceful development?

Military experience should not be a litmus test for a senior civilian position in the Defense Department, but it should not be a disqualifier either.

Military leaders have principled options to address a legally questionable political decision while maintaining the rule of law and civilian control.

There are several reasons to reject blanket assertions that military service acts as a general qualifier for running or contributing to national security affairs in non-military…

The units are at last coming under much-needed pressure from Baghdad to adhere to the rule of law. The international coalition can support that effort.

Can a change of perspective dislodge the assumed inevitability of an enduring democracy?

It will be important to identify the pathways for Myanmar to comply within a governmental system that gives its military extensive autonomy, while not allowing it to hide behind…