Civil-Military Relations: Concepts and
Issues
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Why Study Civil-Military Relations
Theory?
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Understand the military's role in society, and
help the military live up to that role
Reinforce military values and military
professionalism
Help civilians live up to their social
responsibilities
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
What is Civil-Military Relations
Theory About?
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Normative theory – How should militaries relate
to civilians and civilian leadership? What is the
proper role of the military?
Empirical theory – How do militaries relate to
civilians? Can we predict when civilian-military
friction will happen?
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
The Domestic CMR Landscape:
Institutions and Stakeholders
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
The Domestic CMR Landscape:
Institutions and Stakeholders
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President (Chief Executive)
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Parliament (including Select Committees)
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Ministry of Defence
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Civil Society Organizations
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Media
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Corporations
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Police
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Private security companies
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
The International CMR Landscape:
Institutions and Stakeholders
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21 November, 2011
Intergovernmental
organizations (e.g., ECOWAS,
UN)
Other militaries (and their
civilian stakeholders)
Non-governmental
organizations
International media
International legal bodies (e.g.,
ICC)
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
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Civilians in AoO
The CMR Landscape: Legal
Frameworks
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Ghana constitution
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Armed Forces Act (Act 105)
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Security and Intelligence Agencies Act (Act
526)
ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good
Governance
Constitutive Act of the African Union
International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Law of
Armed Conflict (LoAC), and Human Rights Law
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Major CMR Theories
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Separation – civilians and military operate in
separate “spheres,” and have different values
Convergence/concordance – military and
civilians are part of same society, work best
together when they agree on values
Post-modern – military is no longer an
“institution,” members of military have many
social identities at once
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Normative CMR
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“Coups are bad.” Is that
all?
Militaries must advise on
security policy – what are
the limits?
Civilian control vs. civil
control – who should be the
military's masters?
Can the military defend
both the democratic state
and democratic values?
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Military Values and Civilian Values
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What are military values? Are there specific
“military values” in our time?
How are they different from and similar to
civilian values?
What military values support democracy?
Which ones may be at odds with it?
Are the values of the GAF affected by Ghana's
place in the world?
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Helping Civilians
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Civilian oversight can be hard!
Understanding and bridging with civilian values
– military have been civilians, but not always
vice versa
Assisting with technical knowledge – limits of
advice?
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces
Questions/Comments
Photo Credits:
Header/Slide 5: Government of Ghana
Slide 1: US Army Africa (Creative Commons)
Slide 6: Chris Herwig/United Nations
Slide 9: Wikimedia Commons
21 November, 2011
Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces