The Warrior State How Military Organization Structures Politics [Paperback]

Putting into question the conventional view that the military is detrimental to democratic development, Dolman provides a multifaceted examination of the institutional incentives of the military and its relations with civilian authorities. Drawing on classical political theory, a wide range of historical examples, and statistical findings, The Warrior State argues that the military can facilitate democracy as the result of specific norms and conditions that focus on individual action. Ironically, this may be best inculcated through a focus on the offensive, precisely the military doctrine commonly seen as most likely to result in international conflict. The paradox of offensive strategies possibly increasing international conflict while also enhancing democracy, which is supposed to decrease such conflict, from a core of this provocative book.Arms and States: Introduction The Authoritarian Bargain and the Democratic Moment The Socio-Political Effects of Military Organization Proto-States: Athens and Sparta Early Modern Warfare: Swiss, Dutch, and French Military Reforms and the Transition to Democracy Military Organization and the Prusso-German State Post-Cold War Implications and the American Military Conclusions

The Warrior State now stands as the definitive treatment of civil-military relations and politics. Through case studies that range from antiquity to modern times, the book answers time-honored questions about military structure and war, democracy and the liberal state. The case studies reveal that the military can influence political development through both war and other mechanisms. This well-written book brings out the nuances about military organization and politics on the basis of evidence gathered from places and times as diverse as ancient Athens and Sparta, early republics in Europe, the Prusso-German state and the contemporary United States. In sum, The Warrior State should be required reading for those with interests in international relatls¢