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The West German Bundeswehr has been controversial since its founding in 1955. While civil-military relations have generally been favorable, few social scientists have studied the armed forces, apart from studies sponsored by the armed forces themselves. However, growing attention is being given to military sociology. Bibliographies & dictionaries have been compiled, & the history of the Bundeswehr has begun to be written. There is also a growing interest in peace research & strategic studies which has led to some concern with military issues. The economic significance of the Bundeswehr is also being studied, as are its organization, social structure, & ideology. The willingness of the Bundeswehr to be studied is improving, & universities are beginning to give more attention to military matters. W. H. Stoddard.

The ascendance of military authority in Brazil in 1964 is analyzed as a process built on legal & institutional norms, & as a result of problems that had plagued the previous parliamentary system. These problems included: (1) economic stagnation & inflation; (2) chaos & inefficiency; (3) a general view of politicians as corrupt; & (4) fear of communism & leftist control of government. The economic decline, which began in 1962, reversed trends of healthy economic growth that had persisted since WWII. This change was blamed on corrupt politicians rather than on inefficiency; Brazilians thought less about social justice & equity than about corruption, as separate surveys taken at the time show. Of the Rs in one survey, 80% thought the majority of politicians dishonest. Although legislative function has been performed by the executive sector of government since 1968, legislative & judicial sectors are present to lend a legally required semblance of democratic form. 11 Tables. D. Dunseath.

The traditional policy of Prussian armed forces was to recruit officers, & especially higher ranking officers, predominantly from the nobility. At present, however, the West German army has experienced the virtually total replacement of the nobility by the middle classes. Middle class officers in the old officer corps came solely from wealthy landlords' & upper level civil servants' families. Later, officers came to be recruited from officer families. At present, however, this closure of recruitment no longer exists. Education is highly valued in the present officer corps, & has contributed significantly to the capacity of military careers to offer social mobility. 6 Tables. W. H. Stoddard.

US security policy, including arms control & disarmament, needs a new guiding rationale. Fundamental changes in the external & internal environment have made it appear that security policy would have to operate on the following four assumptions: (1) threats, allies, & adversaries have been multiplied; (2) there exists a disparity between greater absolute military power at the disposal of the US & greater relative impotence in using it influentially abroad; (3) US & international security, economic, & political regime interests are worldwide yet divisible; & (4) a divided domestic consensus persists as the shaky basis from which to project US military power to shape the international environment in ways congenial to frequently conflicting US preferences. Modified HA.

Various tendencies in nineteenth-century European military thought, in combination with United States wealth in manpower & resources, united from the United States Civil War onward to divert United States thought about military strategy from several tentative, early directions & to focus that thought on mobilization of overwhelming power to annihilate enemy armed forces & resources as the most expeditious war strategy. An examination of United States military writings & curricular materials from military schools in the early twentieth century indicates that observation of World War I reinforced this focus of United States strategic thought: United States soldiers interpreted World War I as indicating that efforts toward deceptive maneuvers in war are futile; that the power with superior resources should straightforwardly attack its enemies on broad fronts; & that costly battle is an inescapable means of destroying the enemy's forces & achieving victory. By World War II, United States strategic thought had become fixed in an unimaginative, inflexible reliance on superior wealth of resources. AA.

The military in modern democratic societies involved in international conflict must be educated not only in the use of force, but also in peacemaking & conflict resolution. An effort to educate Israeli military officers in the process of peacemaking in the Arab-Israeli conflict is described. Its basic characteristics are presented, as well as an evaluation of its actual & potential effects. Use of this technique in the Israeli army showed that it contributed to increased understanding of the policies & motives of the other side, demonstrated the complex processes of negotiations & decision making in conflicts, sensitized officers to new linkages between power & diplomacy, & changed the attitudes of several officers. 4 Tables. Modified HA.

In the spring of 1976, a sixty-five-item questionnaire was distributed probing the issues related to the unionization of US military personnel. A total of 938 randomly selected US Air Force officers & enlisted personnel completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire contained biographic & nonbiographic questions. The majority of nonbiographic items were presented as positive or negative statements & accompanied by seven-point Likert scales. The primary analysis centers upon who is most likely to join a military union. Overall, 33% of the Rs expressed positive intent about joining a union, 31% were undecided, & 36% stated they would not join. Stepwise, multiple linear regressions were performed. Five predictor variables explained almost 70% of the variance in the responses to the criterion variable. The military member who is most likely to join a military union would: (1) believe that a military union will have no effect, or a positive effect, on the ability of the Air Force to perform its mission, (2) perceive a need for third-party representation in dealings with the Air Force, (3) believe that a military union could solve problems which an individual, on his own, could not, (4) believe that a military union could improve working conditions, & (5) believe that a military union would not impair supervisor-subordinate relations. Tabular displays are presented summarizing R replies to significant biographic & attitudinal items. Rs reported significant dissatisfaction with economic & benefits issues & they perceived that unions could effectively intercede with the Congress & military leadership on their behalf. Unionization of the US military is still a number of years in the future, if it occurs at all. A more likely development would be the formation of a highly patriotic & activist organization which aggressively pursues national-defense issues & champions the cause of military personnel. 8 Tables. Modified AA.

In 1976, C. Moskos reformulated the concept of the military by citing a shift from professionalism to occupation. Such semantic misusage is incorrect, as the concept of profession continues to apply to the military today. Although it is undergoing a period of long-term transformation, involving cleavages in the officer corps & discontent in some other sectors, such ferment does not imply an actual change in concept; "some of the discontent may well be legitimate & require political solutions." Measures of skills, self-regulation, & corporate cohesion, do not guarantee professional competence; there are many levels of professionalism. The move toward increased contractual relations between the officer & the state need not threaten professional affiliations & group cohesion. Transformation does not imply reformulation; in the same sense that adaptation does not portend extinction. T. Babitsky.