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The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations
In a classic work, Samuel P. Huntington challenges most of the old assumptions and ideas on the role of the military in society. Stressing the value of the military outlook for American national policy, Huntington has performed the distinctive task of developing a general theory of civil military relations and subjecting it to rigorous historical analysis."
Paperback, 560 pages
Published
September 15th 1981
by Belknap Press
(first published December 1957)
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Read it for class, a real slog. Huntington's main point is that there's a major conflict throughout American history between our liberal, anti-militarist culture and the imperatives of military professionalism. According to Huntington's version of military professionalism, the military is supposed to be completely divorced from politics and is only supposed to advise the president on purely military questions and then carry out his orders. If this works, the state has achieved objective civilian
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A dry arduous read, but well worth it in the end. This one is a scholarly account with relevance not only in the American context but for civil military relations in other modern democracies as well. Unlike its better known sibling, this creation of Huntington's is very well researched, nuanced and sticks to facts...
This is a classic book on civil-military relations. I had read excerpts in grad school, but wanted to finish the whole book. I was left with a lot to chew on. The historical examples of the National Guard interfering in politics at the national level was very interesting to me from a personal standpoint.
This book absolutely transformed my understand of the American military and military professionalism in American history. This is a literary work I will return to time and time again.
A must read for any military professional.
Very conceptual. 9/10
This one was good but kindof on the dry side. I did enjoy the comparisons of the German General Staff and the staffs of the Napoleonic era. You would have to do lots of reading on the military systems of England, Prussia, Germany, and ours before picking this one up.
It does discuss some of the history behind creating the single Department of Defense which is interesting.
Overall, four stars.
It does discuss some of the history behind creating the single Department of Defense which is interesting.
Overall, four stars.
Before Huntington went off the deep end. While overly simple today, the Soldier and the State was a defining book of theory and methodology within the topic of civil-military relationships.
good book
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Samuel Phillips Huntington was an American political scientist who gained prominence through his "Clash of Civilizations"(1993, 1996) thesis of a new post-Cold War world order. Previously, his academic reputation had rested on his analysis of the relationship between the military and the civil government, his investigation of coups d'etat and for his more recent analysis of threats posed to the U.
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