International studies, Vol. III No. 1, 2003.
Review article
Professional Army - Advantages and Disadvantages
Tomo Radičević
; Doctor of Political Science, Head, Defense Policy and Planning Department, Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia
Abstract
Creation of a fully professional army presents a very complex issue that requires previous systematic analysis and expert and political discussion. The analysis which ought to precede the decision on professionalization can be set on three levels: 1) a general analysis of certain aspects of professionalization; 2) an intersection and dynamic analysis of relation between the most significant variables and factors from different fields; and 3) a "situation analysis'' adjusted to specific conditions of a certain state. The most important advantages of professional army are: greater operative confidence and efficiency, interoperability with ally armies, better establishment of a number of military features important for the entire national military capability, better adjustment to the nature of military organization and internal relations imposed by functional reasons, and less contradiction between declared civil rights and freedoms and their restrictions which stem legally from the very nature of military organization. Its most important disadvantages are: reduction of "strategic depth of defence", weakening of cohesion of armed units because of rotation of cadre on individual basis, Iimitation of function of education and transfer of social values to citizens, greater possibility of creation of a special military caste, weaker representation of a society regarding social stratification and regional structure and, in principle, greater expensiveness. Decision of professionalization falls exclusively within the national competence and there is no external political conditioning or pressure regarding this. General level of analysis shows that it should depend mostly on valorization of certain variables from the military-strategic and economic field of analysis. Even though certain general models of intersection and dynamic analysis can be formed, there is no "formula" on the basis of which decision on professionalization can be valorized with precision in any actual state. Therefore the so-called "situation approach" should be defined and applied which implies identification of components/variables important for the interests of a certain nation and their bringing into an adequate rational relation.
Keywords
army; professionalization; NATO; Republic of Croatia
Hrčak ID:
289951
URI
Publication date:
15.4.2003.
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