The Military Transition

by Narcís Serra , Translated by Peter Bush

• ISBN13: 9780521133449
• ISBN10: 0521133440
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-03-15
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

Civilian control of the armed forces is crucial for any country hoping to achieve a successful democratic transition. In this remarkable book, Narcís Serra, Spanish Minister of Defence between 1982 and 1991, explains the steps necessary to reduce the powers of armed forces during the process of a democratic transition. Spain's military reform proved a fundamental and necessary element for the consolidation of Spanish democracy and is often viewed as a paradigm case for the transition to democracy. Drawing on this example, Serra outlines a simple model of the process and conditions necessary to any democratic military reform. He argues that progress in military transition must include legal and institutional reforms, changes to the military career structure and doctrine, and control of conflict levels.

Author Biography

Narcs Serra is currently President of the Barcelona Center for International Studies (CIDOB) and the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internationals (IBEI). He is a former Mayor of Barcelona, Spanish Minister of Defence and Vice-president of the Spanish Government.

Table of Contents

List of figures and tables	p. vi
Introduction	p. 1
The study of the transition to democracy	p. 7
Democratic transition and the armed forces: military autonomy	p. 23
What is military reform?	p. 39
The component parts of military reform	p. 66
Transition and military reform in Spain	p. 90
Consolidation and military reform in Spain	p. 148
Controlling the armed forces in the stage of democratic persistence: the debate in the United States over the last ten years	p. 202
Conclusions	p. 238
Bibliography	p. 248
Index	p. 259
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