Civilian Putsch of 2018: Debunking the Myth of a Civil-Military Leadership Rift

摘要

Does a dangerous rift actually exist between the United States' military and civil governmental leadership. A considerable group of influential/ elite academics believe that such a gap exists and suggest that it pose a dangerous threat to our very Republic. The alleged rift resulted from the following: divergence of cultures, 'republicanization' of the officer corps, increased military involvement in domestic affairs (i.e. drug interdiction, disaster relief), the cultural clash between the military leadership and the Clinton administration and the strengthening of the military via the Goldwater- Nichols Act, etc, The selfsame proponents of the civil-military rift have set forth a series of safeguards and recommendations to reduce the threat they perceive from the 'large,' post-Cold War US military force. This research project differs with the supposition that an alleged civil-military governmental leadership gap is a threat to the republic or with the 'safeguards' recommended reducing the likelihood of domestic military intervention in the national government. The findings of this project suggest that both the direction of contemporary US military culture and the recommendations of the academia, who fear the increased' influence of the military have made the threat of a putsch more likely than a military coup.