2025/01/01 by Heidi A. Urben · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Gender, Security, and Conflict #Military History and Strategy #Military and Defense Studies
paper · pdf · doi:10.1162/daed.a.957
openalex publication_date 2025/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/11/20 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Scholars of civil-military relations have long written of the dangers associated with politicizing the U.S. military. Efforts to draw the military into partisan politics ultimately serve to degrade civilian control of the armed forces, the military's long-standing norm of nonpartisanship, the public's trust and confidence in the military, and even democracy itself. In recent years, these concerns have become more pronounced and more urgent as civilian political leaders and their surrogates have sought to drag the military deeper into partisan political fights, especially during campaigns and elections. This essay explores the drivers of the politicization of the military and the role civilian political leaders, the military, and the American public play in it. It also examines the implications for democratic governance and why efforts to push back against the politicization of the military can often backfire. The essay concludes with a look at solutions to counter the politicization of the military.