Armed Servants: Agency, Oversight, and Civil-Military Relations - Essay Example

We will examine one aspect; the relation between the military and government. It puts more interest in the development of the normative theory of civil-military relations compared to those theories that explain the historical development of civil-military relations. There is no connection between the two developments as the latter applies to mature democracies. Secondly, in explaining whether the military elites or civilians are in command, it puts less concerned unlike when elaborating a normative theory that assists us in understanding how civil-military relations protect and sustain values of democracy.

In mature democracies, this issue should not be at the center of a normative theory about civil-military relations. In such nations, one should not expect that the rule of the civilian would be overthrown by the military. To maintain a military that protects and sustains democratic values is a major theoretical problem for these countries. The following values are at risk; as a method of resolving conflicts, the reliance on coercion, as opposed to persuasion and reason, should be minimized. Secondly, the institutionalization of respect for and sovereignty of people who live within a democratic jurisdiction and for this to succeed, political, social rights, and civil rights should be established.

The development and execution of public policy, requires that accountability and transparency be imposed.