Democratic Control Over the Armed Forces

The study on democratic control over the armed forces elaborates on perceptions of the respondents in 13 countries on interaction between democratically elected political power and the military. The views of the civilian and military students are similar on many issues that relate to the role of the military in society. There are also some differences in their opinion. Civilian students are more open towards public statements and the public influence of the military than the military students, who seem to be socialised in subordinate position towards the public, and who understood the military professionalism in terms of professional autonomy. This difference is a result of the professional socialisation and correlates with the professional culture of different occupational and professional groups.