SOLDIERS, STATES, AND STRUCTURES - THE END OF THE COLD-WAR AND WEAKENING US CIVILIAN CONTROL

While there is no ''crisis'' in U.S. post-Cold War civil-military rela tions, it seems clear that the United States is now experiencing a wea kening in civilian control of the military, at least compared with the Cold War. In a previous article, I argued that militaries with primar ily external missions were more amenable to civilian control than mili taries with internal missions. This article looks in more detail at ho w variation in international and domestic threats affects the strength of civilian control of the military relations as well as the role tha t military doctrine plays in strengthening or weakening civilian contr ol in structurally indeterminate threat environments. My argument is t hat in structurally indeterminate threat environments, externally orie nted military doctrines are necessary, but not sufficient, conditions for civilian control of the military.