Armed Forces and Society: a Framework for Analysis

Abstract

Armed forces and societies in central and eastern Europe have undergone dramatic changes since the collapse of communism, with important implications for military-society relations. Communism in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe produced a particular model of military-society relations.1 For four decades after the Second World War, all the countries of the region had large armed forces based on conscription. As a result, almost all adult males experienced military service. The military also received a relatively large share of state resources — significantly higher in percentage terms than in the West. As a result communist societies and economies were often highly militarised. The physical presence of uniformed personnel throughout society and the symbolic and economic significance of the armed forces within the socio-political system were striking features of communism throughout central and eastern Europe. The main official justification for the armed forces in the communist states was one focused around external threat. This took a variety of different forms including the capitalist West, fascism during the 1930s and 1940s, and the Soviet Union itself for Yugoslavia after 1948 and Romania from the mid-1960s.