To what extent do existing theories of civil-military relations apply in states with particular historical, ideological, social, and cultural contexts?

Western theories of civil-military relations seem to apply quite well to Malawi during its first decade of independence. However, quite likely, this is a result of heavy British influence prior to independence, as well as the fact that the military of the newly independent Malawi was not much different from the colonial military. In fact, all senior officers of the ‘new’ army were still of white, British ancestry (Mandiza, 2002). Either way, the military of the newly independent Malawi remained politically neutral, even in the face of political turmoil (Mandiza, 2002), since it apparently desired to continue to follow British traditions and be under objective civilian control (Huntington, 1957). However, the first president of the newly independent Malawi, surnamed Banda, had trouble dealing with his political opponents, and desired political support from some kind of a paramilitary organization that would be able to use violence or threat of violence in support of his political goals (Mandiza, 2002). So, he created the Malawi Young Pioneers (MYP).  The MYP was a heavily politicized organization, with strong paramilitary functions. It was subordinate to the president alone. “Its main purpose was to ensure that everyone conformed to party policy” (Mandiza, 2002). Thus, the MYP can be said to have been a type of a national military organization, shaped almost exclusively by a societal imperative, and subject to purely subjective civilian control (Huntington, 1957). Consequently, the MYP had a lot in common with Hitler’s SS. After all, the SS was also a heavily politicized, paramilitary organization, aimed at enforcing the will of the Nazi party (Wegner, 1990). And just like the MYP, the SS was also given official status and expanded, out of dissatisfaction with the political position of the official state military, which initially did not wish to participate in politics, and later became opposed to adventurous, aggressive foreign policies pursued by the Nazi government (Huntington, 1957).

The early, post-colonial situation in the neighbouring Mozambique also poses no problems for Western theories of civil-military relations. The military of post-colonial Mozambique was exactly the same organization that earlier constituted the armed wing of the liberation movement (i.e. the war of independence that led to the end of colonial rule). Similar to Malawi, the early, post-colonial government of Mozambique desired political support from an organization capable of using violence or threats of violence on its behalf (Macaringue, 2002). However, Mozambique’s post-colonial military, despite having strong political commitments during the war of independence, apparently had little interest in political involvement. Consequently, the government decided to forcibly shape the military by a societal imperative, and bring it under subjective civilian control. This was done by a “combination of penetration by the party, political education and the provision of substantial resources” (Macaringue, 2002). Not surprisingly, the Nazi government used very similar tactics (in addition to others) to convert the uncooperative German military to the Nazi point of view and make them more obedient in executing Nazi policies (Huntington, 1957).   

References

Huntington, S. P. (1957). The Soldier and the State: The Theory and Politics of Civil-Military Relations (pp. 1-4, 80-97, 98-141). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Macaringue, P. (2002). “Civil-military relations in post-Cold War Mozambique.” In: R. Williams, G. Cawthra & D. Abrahams (eds.), Ourselves to Know: Civil-Military Relations and Defence Transformation in Southern Africa (pp. 137-151). Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies. Available at: https://www.issafrica.org/pubs/Books/OurselvesToKnow/Macaringue.pdf.

Mandiza, E. I. (2002). “Civil-military relations in Malawi: An historical perspective.” In: R. Williams, G. Cawthra & D. Abrahams (eds.), Ourselves to Know: Civil-Military Relations and Defence Transformation in Southern Africa (pp. 107-134). Pretoria: Institute for Security Studies. Available at: https://www.issafrica.org/pubs/Books/OurselvesToKnow/Mandiza.pdf.  

Wegner, B. (1990). The Waffen-SS: Organization, ideology, and function. Oxford: Blackwell.