Changing Military Doctrine: Presidents and Military Power in Fifth Republic France, 1958-2000

by Sten Rynning

Overview

As Rynning shows, armed forces have a natural interest in shaping military doctrine according to their resources, doctrinal traditions, as well as their assessment of the international environment. However, armed forces are also the instrument of policy-makers who are in charge of national security. Using civil-military relations in France from 1958 to the present as a case study, he shows when policy-makers are capable of controlling military doctrine as well as the means armed forces rely on to influence doctrine.

Some scholars argue that policy-makers can control military doctrine only when the international environment is threatening—a situation granting them added decision-making authority. Others argue that such control ultimately depends on the degree of domestic political disagreement/consensus. With access to most of the leading military personnel and policy-makers of the era, Rynning provides an analysis that will be instructive to scholars as well as policy-makers and military leaders concerned with contemporary civil-military relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275972868
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	10/30/2001
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)

About the Author

STEN RYNNING is a Research Fellow with the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute, a Lecturer with the Institute of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, and a Research Fellow with the NATO Europe-Atlantic Partnership Council./e Dr. Rynning has published extensively in scholarly jourbanals.

Table of Contents

Preface
International Power, Politics, and Military Doctrine
From Clash to Innovation
Political Boomerang
Engineering a Coalition for Change
From Crisis to Innovation
Conclusion
Index