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Potential impacts of the declining number of national leaders with military experience, and increasing centralization of military power; advocates changes in the recruitment and education of military and civilian leaders; US.

▪ Abstract  Who will guard the guardians? Political scientists since Plato have sought to answer this, the central question of the civil-military relations subfield. Although civil-military relations is a very broad subject, encompassing the entire range of relationships between the military and civilian society at every level, the field largely focuses on the control or direction of the military by the highest civilian authorities in nation-states. This essay surveys political science's contribution to our understanding of civil-military relations, providing a rough taxonomy for cataloguing the field and discussing the recent renaissance in the literature as well as fruitful avenues for future research. The essay focuses on theoretical developments, slighting (for reasons of space) the many case studies and empirical treatments that have also made important contributions to our knowledge.

Recent years have seen a transformation in Turkish civil-military relations -- away from the traditional picture of weak elected officials overseen by a strong military, to one of a strengthened civilian government and a military with decreased influence. This article explores the questions of how this transformation has occurred, whether it will last, and what it indicates about prospects for democratic consolidation in Turkey. It includes suggestions for ensuring the institutionalization of these changes, and discusses possible stumbling blocks to further advancement. Adapted from the source document.

Ethiopia's imperial regime was overthrown by a coalition of civilian and military forces. However, civil-military relations deteriorated when civilian groups demanded a democratically elected government, to which the military was unwilling to concede. The ruling military council's (PMAC) reluctance to share power with civilians, whom they distrust, and the failure of civilian groups to present a united front against the PMAC led to their demise. A military oligarchy headed by Mengistu has consolidated its power and outmaneuvered civilian opposition by militarizing the society and the bureaucracy, and by controlling urban and peasant associations. Civil-military relations in Ethiopia have thus evolved from a period during imperial rule when the armed forces were small and excluded from politics to one (in 1974) of active civil-military cooperation, to the current situation-in which the military wields unprecedented political power-with no prospects for a democratic government.

'Civil-Military Relations in Israel' by Yehuda Ben Meir is reviewed.

Investigates the reasons underlying military intervention in the political life of Turkey during the past 35 years, focusing on opposition of the military to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and growing power of Islamic political parties. Includes the coups d'état of 1960, 1971, and 1980 and the military's role in dissolution of the Islamist Welfare Party in Jan. 1998 and banning of former Prime Minister Erbakan from participation in politics for the next five years.

Rasmussen reviews 'Civil-Military Relations and Democracy' edited by Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner and 'U.S. Civil-Military Relations: In Crisis or Transition?' edited by Don M. Snider and Miranda A. Carlton-Carew.