How do theories of civil-military relations help us understand actual civil-military relations?

As Jorgensen’s (2010) discussion suggests, a theory of civil-military relations can function as a helpful guide for conducting research on actual civil-military relations. It can function as a device for interpreting data on actual civil-military relations, helping us understand the symbolic dimensions of this data, and put it into perspective. Also, Jorgensen argues that theories of civil-military relations can lead us to question our personal views on actual civil-military relations, and force us to see that there are different ways of seeing the same actual civil-military relations. In addition, a theory of civil-military relations helps us to determine which data on actual civil-military relations is important for our purposes and which data is not, thus functioning as a simplifying device. Also, according to Jorgensen, a theory of civil-military relations helps us identify existing aspects of the actual civil-military relations, suggests how we can know about them, as well as telling us what we should ‘make of them.’ 

Cox (1981) divides all theories into ‘problem-solving theories’ and ‘critical theories.’ A problem-solving theory starts with the assumption of permanence of the institutions and social and power relations that exist in the world, and then proceeds to analyze any phenomena of interest which are known to be constantly changing. Hence, a problem-solving theory of civil-military relations would reduce the statement, about a particular aspect of actual civil-military relations, to a limited number of variables which can be analyzed fairly closely and precisely; and hence, would allow us to deduce laws or regularities about the workings of actual civil-military relations.

On the other hand, according to Cox’s dichotomy, a critical theory of civil-military relations, would not take the institutions and social and power relations, inherent in actual civil-military relations, for granted, and would instead concern itself with their origins, as well as ways in which they may be changing and how they may be changing. Moreover, a critical theory of civil-military relations would construct a larger picture of the whole, of which the particular aspect of actual civil-military relations analyzed by the problem-solving theory is just one component.

   

References

Cox, R. W. (1981). “Social Forces, States and World Orders: Beyond International Relations Theory.” Millennium, 10(2):126-155.  Available at http://bit.ly/1t8NEnG.

Jorgensen, K. E. (2010). “Why Theorize International Relations?” In: K. E. Jorgensen, International Relations Theory: A New Introduction (pp. 6-32). Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan.