1. The Democratic Control Of Armed Forces
- Author:
- Rudolf Joo
- Publication Date:
- 02-1996
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Union Institute for Security Studies
- Abstract:
- Political control of armed forces is not a problem that has confronted only liberal democracies of the twentieth century. Even less is it an issue challenging only the democratizing societies of Central and Eastern Europe in the l990s. The crucial dilemma -- that a separate armed body established in order to protect a society might pose a threat to that same society -- goes back to antiquity. The ever-relevant question of who guards the guards was a central issue in Plato's dialogue The Republic, written about 2,500 years ago. Plato, in presenting what he considered to be the right order of society, described the military state as a deviation. Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire were both confronted with the dilemma `sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?' The question has remained the same over the centuries, but as armed forces and society have changed, the nature of the problem has also changed.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, Democratization, and Government
- Political Geography:
- Eastern Europe and Greece