Democratic Control of the Military in Postcommunist Europe: Guarding the Guards by A. Cottey T. Edmunds A. Forster (review)

Abstract

778 SEER, 8i, 4, 2003 the key dividing line within Polish politics. Although the authors themselves acknowledge that there are 'possible signs that this cleavage may be growing shallower'(p. i i 6) thispoint is not reallyfullyexplored or developed. It is also a shame that although the authors repeatedly stressthe (correct) point that one can only understand the Polish present by understandingthe past the linkage to currentthemes in the historicalchaptersoften tends to be implied ratherthan drawnout explicitly. Forexample, the argumentthat 'the differential treatment meted out by the partitioning powers left enduring markson Poland'sregional political cultures'(p. I 7) is undoubtedly true but left as an intriguing possibility rather than being elaborated upon and illustratedwith specificexamples. Having said that, most of the authors' insights into contemporary Polish politics are very well grounded and highly informative. Their analysisof the comparative strength of the Communist successor SLD is particularly interesting. The former Communists' strength is, they argue, rooted in the fact that they failed to assure firm and fast institutional guarantees for themselves. This vulnerabilitymeant that 'the only effectiveprotection could be found in unity and mutual support - in maintaining and strengthening political organisations to represent their interests' (pp. 93-94). They also correctly note that the ex-Communists' extraordinaryculture of self-discipline or, as they put it, the fact that 'in the SLD, conflictstakeplace behind closed doors' (p. I I9) has (until recently, at least) marked them out from their opponents in the post-Solidaritycamp. At the same time, the book also contains valuable pointers to understanding the (much less well researched) concomitant weaknessof the Polishright,which they argue,was rooted in the fact that it turned out to be more divided and more ideological than, and equally corruptibleas, the left. Unfortunately, for all its qualitiesand the authors'extremelywell informed analysis, this book lacks a clear overall organizing theme and is mainly a surveyof some of the key issuesand trends.This is exemplifiedby the fact that it ends rather abruptly with the conclusion consisting of just the final paragraphof the last chapter:too little to reallypull all the threads together. This is a shame because it means that the book remains a very good textbook rather than the more seminal 'breakthrough'book that these authors are clearlycapable of writing. Sussex European Institute A. A. SZCZERBIAK University ofSussex Cottey, A., Edmunds, T. and Forster,A. (eds).Democratic Control oftheMilitay in Postcommunist Europe.Guarding the Guards.One Europe or Several? Palgrave,Basingstoke,and New York, 2002. Xii + 273 pp. Notes. Index. [47.50. 'MORE than a decade of postcommunist transition has taught us that the degree of democratic control over the militaryis an indispensablecriterionfor judging the progressof militaryreform'(p. I 29). So loan Mircea Pascubegins his chapter on Romanian defence reform. He could have just as easily REVIEWS 779 concluded that the degree of democratic control over the military is an indispensablecriterionforjudging the progressof democracy as a whole. The last ten years have witnessed the publication of a wealth of texts claiming to analyse the democratic transition of East Central Europe. Few of these have ever been anything more than partial in extent. All too often such texts concentrate only on elements of democratization; rarely do they succeed in demonstrating how seemingly disparate areas of social life are in fact finely woven together. Change in one sector may well have a profound effect on another and on the democratic experiment as a whole. Although the principal focusof Guarding theGuards ison militaryreformandtheassertionof democratic civilian control over the armed forces, the book does not eschew discussionof wider societal change. Each of the contributing authors is at pains to demonstrate how changes to the constitutional and legal framework, the reform, stabilization and growth of the economy, changes in social attitudes, and the establishmentof 'democraticsecuritypolicy communities'(p. 37)have contributedto the reformof the militarysector.As a result,the readergainsan understandingnot only of militaryreformbut alsoof societiesin transition. Andrew Cottey, Timothy Edmunds and Anthony Forsterestablish a very clear analyticalframeworkthrough which leading academics and practioners can offertheirinsightsinto the progressof militaryreformin Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia , Russia and Ukraine. While each case is 'unique', it is possible to identify certain parallels in terms of approach and attitudes...