ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses civil–military relations as they relate to defence studies, beginning with competing theories of how relations between a government and its military should be ordered. Much of these debates have focused on established democracies, but the chapter also touches on emerging democracies and non-democratic states. Two case studies, on Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Afghanistan and NGO–military relations, highlight field-level experiences of civil–military relations. In the conclusion, three challenges to future civil–military relations are identified: changes in civilian societies and how they are reflected in the military, the role of the media and public perception, and the civil–military gap and how it can be managed.
