Samuel Huntington, a world-renowned American political scientist. The "clash of civilizations" theory he put forward has influenced the whole world. Through his writings, we are able to think more deeply about how and how the world works. To understand the world today, Huntington's writings are indispensable.
Nowadays, when people think of Huntington, they can't help but mention his magnum opus, The Clash of Civilizations. In fact, he has also written many more important books, such as the one I want to recommend todayThe Military and the State:Theory and Politics of Military-Government Relations, a classic that cannot be avoided by understanding the relationship between military and government - not many people have heard this book, and even fewer have read this book;It has been out of print for many years, and now it is exclusively resurrected, in small quantities, and it is especially worth collecting.
As we all know, there are many military-led and military-led countries in the world today, which are usually poor and chaotic, lost in the process of transformation into modern states. Normal countries are countries with armies, and these countries are countries with armies. This kind of relationship between the army and the army is a major root cause of these countries.
In traditional societies, there have always been two extremes: if the army is not controlled, the country will soon fall into secession and chaos, such as ancient Rome and Ottomans;If civilian officials intervene excessively in the army, the army will be exhausted and lose its combat effectiveness, such as the Song and Ming dynasties.
In modern society, the imbalance in military-political relations has directly led to two world wars and numerous international conflicts. Although some large unified countries are temporarily prosperous and stable, they are very easy to degenerate into a similar state once their economies regress.
Objectively speaking, Western countries are not without these dangers. Huntington's "The Soldier and the State" was written for this purpose, and the content of this book is very hardcore, about the military and the** relationship. There are very few books on this kind of topic, and it is even more rare to be able to write about it thoroughly.
In the book "The Military and the State", Huntington proposed a new model for achieving a balance between the military and the government through a historical and comparative investigation of the relationship between ancient and modern times and multiple governments--the realization of civilian control with "military professionalism".
There are two main ways to achieve this goal:
The first is objective specialization, cultivating an organized,The instrumental army makes soldiers and officers spontaneously obey the leadership;
The first is subjective specialization, through the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the first is the highest priorityorganization, class access, and other means, vigorously expand the authority of civilian officials, and tightly control the army.
This model not only guarantees the combat effectiveness of the army, but also eliminates the possibility of military dictatorship and military autonomy through the organization and autonomy of the section. The more professional and responsible the officer corps, the more it will have a sense of honor in political neutrality and the more it will be able to defend the sovereignty of the country and the life, property and freedom of its citizens.
Nowadays, Western democracies are increasingly able to distinguish the relationship between the military and the first, largely thanks to Huntington's theoretical contributions. "The Military and the State" is a first-class work on the relationship between military and government. Scholars in the industry have praised it:
Wang Xiangsui, professor of Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics:The book is a classic work on the study of military-government relations. Ensuring the balance of power through civilian control – Huntington's insight into the relationship between the military and the state is unique and thought-provoking.
Su Li, "Changjiang Scholar" Distinguished Professor of the Ministry of Education:By understanding the relationship between the military and the government from the perspective of constitutionalism and expanding the horizon of constitutional studies from the perspective of the relationship between military and government, Huntington challenges a blind spot in the study of constitutional law in modern Western political science. This is an important translation that fills a gap in scholarship.
"The Soldier and the Country" has been out of print for many years, and we know itBook value, jointly with Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, exclusive resurrection of this book。Click on the product card below to collect it with one click: