Military Legitimacy: Might and Right in the New Millennium
Subtitle: Might and Right in the New Millennium
Edition: 1 edition
Publisher: Routledge
Published: February 1, 1996
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 208
ISBN-13: 9780714646244
Subjects: Anthropology; Central government policies; International relations; Warfare & Defence; Military Sociology; History; Archaeology / Anthropology; History: American; USA; Political Freedom & Security - International Secur; Anthropology - Cultural; Political Science / International Security; Political Science : Political Freedom & Security - International Secur; Social Science / Anthropology / Cultural; Command of troops; Military - General; Sociology, Military
Description: Military legitimacy concerns the delicate balance between might and right. It begins with the law - operational law (OPLAW) and the law of war (LAW) - but it goes beyond the law to its moral underpinnings. Moral and cultural standards in the area of operations must be respected to ensure legitimacy.

Personal and national values provide the framework for military decision making. The potential conflict between civilian and military perceptions of these values represents a continuing threat to military legitimacy because, in a democracy, public support is both a requirement and a measure of such legitimacy.

This book provides an overview of the concept of legitimacy as it applies to military operations, especially in peacetime. It is argued that legitimacy was hardly an issue during the Cold War as it was defined in terms of combatting the Soviet threat. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and diminishing defence resources, there must be a new under-standing of military legitimacy and its relationship to new strategies.

The diplomat-warrior personifies legitimacy in peacetime and is an effective means of filling the gap between the limits of diplomacy and conventional military operations.