Overseen or Overlooked?: Legislators, Armed Forces, and Democratic Accountability (1)

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Synopsis
"War is too important to be left to the generals," declared French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau over a century ago. But which civilians, exactly, play the most important roles in controlling the armed forces? When civilian control is studied, the focus is typically on those in the upper echelons of the executive branch: presidents, prime ministers, or defense secretaries. Yet, because civilians in the executive may be tempted to hide problems or use the military in controversial ways, researchers must extend Clemenceau's dictum: if war is too important to be left to the generals, civilian control is too important to leave with the executive. This book aims to understand the similarities and differences among the world's democracies regarding the role of legislatures in democratic civil-military relations. Drawing on over a dozen cases from across the globe, the authors examine how most legislatures face capability and motivational impediments to conducting truly robust oversight and propose realistic reforms to strengthen military accountability to elected officials and the public—the heart of the civil-military relationship.
Copyright:
2025

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
360 Pages
ISBN-13:
9781503643802
Related ISBNs:
9781503643420
Publisher:
Stanford University Press
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
David Paul Auerswald, Philippe Lagassé, and Stephen Michael Saideman.
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
Military, Nonfiction, Politics and Government
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

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