Congress and Civil-Military Relations - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626161852 ISBN 13: 9781626161856

Publisher: Georgetown University Press, 2015

Synopsis

While the president is the commander-in-chief, Congress plays a very significant and under appreciated role in US civil-military relations, the relationship between the armed forces and the civilian leadership that commands it. Indeed, we cannot understand civil-military relations in the United States without an appreciation of Congress. The ebbs and flows in US civil-military relations depend in part on congressional use of four main tools available to provide direction to the military. These include the selection of military officers, determining how much authority is delegated to the military, oversight of the military, and establishing incentives for appropriate military behavior. Congress sets the military's budget, influences military policy by calling officers to testify, sets or changes personnel policy, and approves or rejects a host of initiatives from officer promotion to base closures. This unique book will help readers better understand the role of Congress in military affairs and national and international security policy.

About this title

Review

Delivers a helpful overview of the evolution of congressional influence in the armed forces.

--MCU Journal

An excellent, comprehensive study of the relationship between Congress and the US military and, in the process, the powers of the legislative branch in foreign affairs. It is impressive to experience the breadth of topics covered as a collection of well qualified scholars examine historical and contemporary issues in a detailed manner without being so reliant on jargon that only a policy wonk would understand the material. The most important contribution of the book is the topic itself--scholars and the general public tend to place such an emphasis on the president's role as commander-in-chief that congressional powers to regulate the military are mostly an afterthought or a footnote rather than the essential constitutional authority they are.

--Choice

About the Author

Colton C. Campbell is a professor of national security strategy at the National War College, National Defense University. His books include the co-edited volume Congress and the Politics of National Security. David P. Auerswald is a professor of strategy and policy at the National War College. His books include the coauthored NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone.

About this edition

• Publisher: Georgetown University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1626161852
• ISBN 13: 9781626161856
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 238
• Editor: Campbell Colton C., Auerswald David P.