ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines some important theoretical concerns that should be taken into account when thinking about civil-military interaction in general. Paramount considerations include context, the politics of security, and the roles of legitimacy, authority and obligation. Much of the theorization of civil military relations focuses on the democratic control of armed forces as an aspect of security sector development and reform. Work is has also been done regarding the civil-military relationship between foreign militaries, humanitarian agencies, development organizations, government ministries and the local populations to whom they are ideally meant to provide security. Civil-military interaction has been analysed in particular in relation to performance measurement, complexity and coherence. The chapter argues that understanding civil-military interaction in light of security is crucial to understanding the relevance and role of civil-military activities and functions such as Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) during all different types of operations.
