The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (Belknap Press) [Paperback]

Samuel P. Huntington (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

The problem of civil-military relations is of critical importance in American affairs...Huntington establishes his basic propositions, formulates his theoretical framework, and analyzes historical and contemporary developments in the United States and abroad with skill and insight. The clarity and precision with which the book moves forward make it a delight to read. (Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science )

The book contains many insights about both America and its soldiers, and the thought behind many of its conclusions is hard and clean...It also disposes of a number of prejudices about the military that still clog the policy process...Here is a book to make one think. (American Political Science Review )

About the Author

Samuel P. Huntington was Clarence Dillon Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University, and the author of Political Order in Changing Societies.

Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press (September 15, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674817362
• ISBN-13: 978-0674817364
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #228,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book ever written on civil-military relations, August 8, 2002

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (Belknap Press) (Paperback)

At the time of its original publication in 1957, Samuel Huntington's The Soldier and the State reflected a new age in American history--the Cold War era. Huntington, a young Harvard professor of government, focused on policy problems concerning civilian direction of the military under the terms of the Cold War. Basically, he contended that traditional American liberalism was outdated and in fact had begun to pose a national security danger. Until this era, the absence of an overt military threat to American security allowed for a policy of civilian control of the military compatible with liberal democratic values. Traditionally, liberal solutions to domestic problems had likewise been applied to military problems, frequently resulting in failure.

Huntington offered a theoretical framework for modern civil-military relations. He insisted that liberalism was fundamentally opposed to the proper military ethic; the application of subjective civilian control over the military actually aimed at weakening military professionalism, which was viewed as a threat to democracy, liberalism, and American values. The Cold War, though, required America to keep a large national army during peace time; the army could not return to its traditionally subordinate role. There was perpetual tension between the demands of national security and the values of American liberalism: either American security must be compromised or the influence of liberalism weakened. Only a conservative environment allowed for equilibrium between political influence and the military professionalism that ensured national security. This balance could only be achieved, Huntington argued, by objective civilian control of the military. By maintaining independent spheres of power, with no fusion of civil and military control, national security goals could be maximized with a minimum sacrifice of social values. Objective civilian control allowed for the proper growth of military professionalism while keeping the military a subordinate tool of state policy. The fulcrum of civil-military relations was the relation of the officer corps to the state.

Huntington was successful in presenting the military as inherently conservative and unwarlike. The military prepared for war but never sought such engagement. Huntington encapsulated the premise of the military mindset as conservative realism. This mindset "holds that war is the instrument of politics, that the military are the servants of the statesman, and that civilian control is essential to military professionalism." This military ethic contrasted with the stereotype of the military as dangerously warlike. A weakness of the book is Huntington's description of military trends between the Civil War and the Great War. Huntington argued that the officer corps remained isolated during this period, allowing it to develop a professionalism free of civilian interference. This isolation theory has been largely disproved by pointing to the military's involvement in putting down labor strikes, relations between officers and the business community, etc. This defect should not detract from the importance of this book as a virgin exploration into a comprehensive history of the American military tradition. With its conservative thesis, it remains in my mind the seminal work on civil-military relations.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Definitive Work on Civil-Military Relations, October 18, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (Belknap Press) (Paperback)

Though growing dated in many ways, Huntington's 1950's history of the development of US civil-military relations is extremely instructive to both civilian and military readers alike. Huntington uses a comparisons with the German and Japanese pre-WWII experiences to contrast the American, as well as to develop his own theory as to what the ideal form of civil-military relations should be. Huntington's book should be a must-read, even in its dated form, for anyone who could possibly exercise political influence that could result in military action.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seminal Treatise on the role of the Military in society, March 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (Belknap Press) (Paperback)

Incisive and remarkably relevant. Huntington delves into the role of the military in shaping and protecting a society. A MUST read for anyone who is in, or deals with the military.