Development of democratic civilian control of the military in transition period of some neighboring countries

Abstract

In defining and establishing civil-military relations in the countries of immediate environment, certain fundamental principles apply. Usually, three basic principles or policies are emphasized: the supremacy of civilian authorities over the military ones; respect for the professional competence of the military, and non-involvement of the military in the politics and the politics in the military competences. It is evident that reshaping of democratic civil-military relations and their management still represent a challenge for the neighboring countries. Armed and paramilitary forces, police force, border guards, and other security structures remain important factors in many states. Most often, they behave as 'states inside a state', burdening scarce governmental resources, slowing down democratization process, and increasing a possibility of internal and international conflicts. The reform of the military is a part of security sector transformation started in former socialist countries with transition from authoritarian towards democratic order. Democratic control of the military as a specific institute of the society is a complex process, because it cuts into sensitive issues of defense that is kept secret by all governments under the pretext of safeguarding the national interests. The paper comes to a conclusion that the strategic goals of the defense system reform are: building of efficient and economically sustainable defense system; building of modern, professional and efficient military; Euro-Atlantic integration; and democratic and civilian control of the military and other defense forces. All these activities may be implemented through strategic-doctrinal, normativelegal, and organizational-functional spheres.

Pri definisanju i uspostavljanju civilno-vojnih odnosa u zemljama u neposrednom okruženju važe određeni fundamentalni principi. Obično se tu potenciraju tri osnovna principa ili načela: supremacija civilne nad vojnom vlašću, uvažavanje profesionalne kompetencije vojske i nemešanje vojske u politiku i politike u nadležnosti vojske. Evidentno je da preobražaj demokratskih civilno-vojnih odnosa i upravljanje njima i dalje predstavlja veliki izazov za zemlje u okruženju. Oružane i paravojne snage, policija, graničari i druge bezbednosne strukture ostaju važni činioci u mnogim državama. One se najčešće ponašaju kao 'države unutar države', opterećuju oskudna državna sredstva, usporavaju demokratizaciju i povećavaju verovatnoću unutrašnjih ili međunarodnih sukoba. Reforma vojske predstavlja deo transformacije sektora bezbednosti pokrenute u bivšim socijalističkim zemljama pri prelasku od autoritarnog ka demokratskom poretku. Demokratska kontrola vojske, kao specifične institucije sistema, jeste složen proces, jer zadire u osetljivo pitanje odbrane, koje sve vlade teže da zadrže u sferi tajnosti, pod izgovorom očuvanja nacionalnih interesa. U radu je zaključeno da su strateški ciljevi reforme sistema odbrane: izgradnja efikasnog i ekonomski održivog sistema odbrane, izgradnja moderne, profesionalne i efikasne vojske, evroatlantska integracija i demokratska i civilna kontrola vojske i ostalih snaga odbrane. Sve te aktivnosti mogu se realizovati kroz: strateško-doktrinarnu, normativno-pravnu i organizaciono-funkcionalnu sferu.