Command: Individual or Collective? A Review of Anthony King's Command: The Twenty-First-Century General(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019)

摘要

The word command comes from the Latin 'mandare', meaning to commit or entrust, from which we also get 'mandate'. The prefix 'con' gave it extra force. This meaning was sustained in French and eventually reached England around 1300. The verb 'to command' led to the noun 'command', which was from the start synonymous with an order. A command was an order that came with special authority and must be obeyed. Contemporary dictionary definitions still point to authoritative orders. Orders to be obeyed without question came from God or a sovereign. Those ordered might have inner doubts and uncertainties but the orders must still be followed without question and followed well. Disobedience carried a risk of divine or corporeal punishment not only because of the importance of the order but also the nature of the authority. The right to command came down from the sovereign to ministers, generals and admirals. To challenge a command therefore was to challenge not only the wisdom of a particular instruction but also a whole structure of authority. Commanders could be removed from above but not from below. Once orders were routinely disobeyed authority was lost and could lead to mutiny at a low level or coups at a high.