Time Schedule:
Elizabeth L. Kier
POL S 430
Seattle Campus
Explores issues of civil-military relations in the United States including debates about the garrison state hypothesis; military advice on the use of force; the civil-military "gap"; and issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the military.
Class description
Description: Protecting a democracy from foreign threats demands the creation of a powerful military. Yet the creation of a powerful military can challenge the values that a democracy represents. How do -- and how should -- democracies manage the relationship between the civilians and the military? Mismanagement of civil-military relations can -- at its worse -- result in an ineffective military force or prompt a military coup. In exploring civilian and military perspectives, this course will address numerous issues in U.S. civil military relations including the garrison state hypothesis, the draft versus an all-volunteer force, and the recent "crisis" in civil-military relations. The course will also examine issues of race, gender, and sexual orientation in the military. U.S. civil-military relations will be the focus of the course, but students can use their papers to explore issues of civil-military relations in other democracies.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Recommended preparation
Text: Reader; Huntington, The Soldier and the State; Mershon and Schlossman, Foxholes and Color Lines: Desegregating the U. S. Armed Forces.
Class assignments and grading
Two exams, research paper, and class participation.
