ABSTRACT
This chapter explores civil–military relations from the perspective of special operations forces (SOF) in the American context. It begins with a modified framework connecting a more rigorous exploration of civilian calculations of political risk, which subsume military risk. The chapter argues that a modified civil–military relations theory is necessary given the unique place SOF occupy in the national security apparatus. Working and monitoring problem–the 'unintended acceleration' of SOF ahead of policymaker preferences–comprises the fundamental problematique of SOF civil–military relations. Scholarship on civil–military relations in the United States is recent relative to the age of the Republic. The chapter explains why SOF is sufficiently different and outside existing evaluative frameworks due to their specific attributes. Civilian control over SOF is a function of the degree of political risk associated with their activities. SOF is long overdue for more and more varied academic treatment, particularly by social scientists.
