THE CIVIL-MILITARY PROBLEMATIQUE - HUNTINGTON, JANOWITZ, AND THE QUESTION OF CIVILIAN CONTROL

The alleged crisis in American civil-military relations has revived a long-standing theoretical debate about the determinants of civilian co ntrol. So far, the debate has followed Lines of analysis laid by the o riginal dispute between Samuel Huntington and Morris Janowitz. Viewed from a post-Cold War perspective, however, neither model is attractive . In this article, I define the basic problematique both the Huntingto nian and Janowitzean theories attempt to explain: how to reconcile a m ilitary strong enough to do anything the civilians ask them to with a military subordinate enough to do only what civilians authorize them t o do. Next I critically evaluate and call into question the continued validity of key propositions of each theory and especially their relia nce on ''professionalism.'' The article concludes with a brief summary of the criteria that should guide the development of a new theory of civilian control.