Description
Book SynopsisManaging the Military is a pioneering analysis of the power of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that sheds new light on civil-military relations in the United States. Using detailed case studies of debates over defense budgets, Sharon K. Weiner examines when and how the JCS chairman opposes civilian defense policy preferences.
Trade ReviewA superb look at the power of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs in the modern era, including the much-overlooked role service chiefs play in constraining the chairman. Sharon K. Weiner challenges some of the conventional wisdom on the legacy of Goldwater-Nichols in this must-read for defense officials and elected leaders alike. -- Heidi A. Urben, author of
Party, Politics, and the Post-9/11 ArmySharon Weiner’s
Managing the Military carefully and thoughtfully traces the development of a key actor in the making of U.S. national security policy—the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Replete with illustrations of the politics endemic to civil-military relations in the United States, this book is sure to attract significant interest from scholars and practitioners alike. -- Risa Brooks, author of
Shaping Strategy: The Civil-Military Politics of Strategic AssessmentIn this remarkable book, Weiner provides a splendid study of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the political power that he wields. This is an excellent contribution to the study of U.S. civil-military relations. -- Mackubin Thomas Owens, author of
U.S. Civil-Military Relations After 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military BargainThis innovative book reveals the evolution of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that has allowed the chairman to accrue more control and argues that such an alteration could possibly turn civil-military relations on its head, with the chairman leading on policy matters and civilians deferring for both structural and political reasons. -- William A. Taylor, author of
Military Service and American Democracy: From World War II to the Iraq and Afghanistan WarsThis book will be of immense appeal to scholars and policy-makers worried about the growing politicization of the armed forces and the erosion of civilian control. While there is excellent work being produced on the societal roots of these trends, Weiner’s compelling account sheds invaluable light on the institutional side of the same coin. * International Affairs *
Table of ContentsList of Abbreviations
1. Structure, Politics, and Influence
2. The Chairman and Jointness
3. The Origins of Norms for the Joint Chiefs of Staff
4. Creating a Stronger Chairman
5. Leaving the Cold War Behind
6. Transformation
7. Sequestration
8. The Chairman, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Civil-Military Relations
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
