Civil-military relations have traditionally been examined within military
authoritarian frameworks, but recent shifts in focus toward democratic contexts
have revealed important questions about the role of military professionalism in
shaping civilian control. This study investigates how military professionalism
influences civilian control and political participation in democratic states.
Drawing on Huntington’s and Stepan’s theories, we examine two dimensions of
professionalism: expertise and corporateness. Using a mixed-methods approach, we
combine quantitative analysis with in-depth case studies of South Korea and France.
Our findings demonstrate that expertise generally strengthens civilian control by
clarifying boundaries between military and political roles, while corporateness
tends to increase military expansion into political spheres. These results highlight
the evolving and complex nature of civil-military relations in democracies,
underscoring the need for nuanced strategies to maintain effective civilian oversight.
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