21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Civil-Military Relations: Concepts and Issues

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Why Study Civil-Military Relations Theory?

Understand the military's role in society, and help the military live up to that role

Reinforce military values and military professionalism

Help civilians live up to their social responsibilities

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

What is Civil-Military Relations Theory About?

Normative theory – How should militaries relate to civilians and civilian leadership? What is the proper role of the military?

Empirical theory – How do militaries relate to civilians? Can we predict when civilian-military friction will happen?

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

The Domestic CMR Landscape: Institutions and Stakeholders

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

The Domestic CMR Landscape: Institutions and Stakeholders

President (Chief Executive) Parliament (including Select Committees) Ministry of Defence Civil Society Organizations Media Corporations Police Private security companies

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

The International CMR Landscape: Institutions and Stakeholders

Intergovernmental organizations (e.g., ECOWAS, UN)

Other militaries (and their civilian stakeholders)

Non-governmental organizations International media International legal bodies (e.g.,

ICC) Civilians in AoO

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

The CMR Landscape: Legal Frameworks

Ghana constitution Armed Forces Act (Act 105) Security and Intelligence Agencies Act (Act

526) ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good

Governance Constitutive Act of the African Union International Humanitarian Law (IHL), Law of

Armed Conflict (LoAC), and Human Rights Law

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Major CMR Theories

Separation – civilians and military operate in separate “spheres,” and have different values

Convergence/concordance – military and civilians are part of same society, work best together when they agree on values

Post-modern – military is no longer an “institution,” members of military have many social identities at once

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Normative CMR

“Coups are bad.” Is that all?

Militaries must advise on security policy – what are the limits?

Civilian control vs. civil control – who should be the military's masters?

Can the military defend both the democratic state and democratic values?

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Military Values and Civilian Values

What are military values? Are there specific “military values” in our time?

How are they different from and similar to civilian values?

What military values support democracy? Which ones may be at odds with it?

Are the values of the GAF affected by Ghana's place in the world?

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Helping Civilians

Civilian oversight can be hard! Understanding and bridging with civilian values

– military have been civilians, but not always vice versa

Assisting with technical knowledge – limits of advice?

21 November, 2011 Presentation by Daniel H. Levine to the Ghana Armed Forces

Questions/Comments

Photo Credits:

Header/Slide 5: Government of Ghana

Slide 1: US Army Africa (Creative Commons)

Slide 6: Chris Herwig/United Nations

Slide 9: Wikimedia Commons