ABSTRACT
Specialists in civil-military relations are always looking for the "optimal" form of interaction between civilians and the uniformed military. This chapter argues that the optimal form is one of "shared relationship" between senior civilian officials and senior military officers. Such a relationship assumes a number of conditions: Senior military officers in a mature, institutionalized, stable polity accept civilian control. Of all of America's post-World War II presidents, no one played a more negative role in American civil-military relations than President Lyndon B. Johnson. Like Trudeau, he made no secret of his contempt for the military, believing that most of them were "arrogant" and that they were contemptuous of new ideas. Looking at the Canadian experience, it appears that it is only in recent years, beginning with Brian Mulroney, but really developing under Paul Martin, and now continuing under Stephen Harper, that there has been increasing respect for military culture.
