Integrating Project Seminar (395-0-20)

Instructors

Jennifer Lin

Meeting Info

Lunt Hall 102: Wed 1:00PM - 3:50PM

Overview of class

Course title: Civil Military Relations in Democratic Societies

Democracies around the world require a military to defend their people, values and interests from enemies abroad and within. They require a military to help advance the national interest abroad. However, they also need a military that will not seek to undermine the freedoms and will of the people that make democratic governance possible. In other words, the military must be subordinate to elected leaders and not seek to build a coup. Civil-Military Relations describes the connections that civilian policymakers have with their country's armed forces. It is the boundaries between diplomacy and war. Civilians and their elected leaders should focus on making foreign policy while the military should focus on how to best defend the state. When in good balance, proper relations sustain a democracy as the will of the people, reflected through their elected leaders, prevail. When in poor balance, military leaders can overtake the government in the form of a coup. In this course, we will think about the role of a military in a democratic government and how democracies use their militaries to advance their interests abroad. In addition, we will think about how civilian leaders and military officers ought to interact with one another to sustain a democracy. Finally, students will apply the current theories and debates in civil-military relations to develop a research project of personal interest. By the end of the course, students will be able to contribute to discussions in the literature through asking and answering questions of their own. They will also be able to become critical consumers of academic literature and be able to communicate their findings to a general audience.

Class Attributes

Attendance at 1st class mandatory