To think Dr. Devereaux would be posted on arr/NL. Seems fitting enough, and I do recommend his blog.
This particular piece was quite interesting, though my unfamiliarity with the american context in-person does limit how much I could really comment. Still, the basic notion of a breakdown of the foundational bargain of military loyalty to civilian oversight is something I could not dispute and would find dearly concerning, were I an american citizen.
Edit: To be clear, *it’s still disconcerting*; it’s the United States Armed Forces, for goodness’ sake. It would be more so if I happened to live there, though.
bigwang123 on
I wonder what the future holds for American civ-mil relations. The recent deployment of the National Guard to [Los Angeles is somewhat unpopular](https://today.yougov.com/topics/travel/survey-results/daily/2025/06/10/50147/3) (although in a reflection of the highly partisan nature of American politics, most Republicans approve), and I wonder if the DC deployment will create the same reaction. We’re only 1 year into the second Trump administration, will we see popular pressure forcing political leadership to back off its attempts at bringing the military into domestic politics? Without the excuse of the 250th birthday of the United States Army, will we see another military parade next year? Will Democrats recalibrate their approach to civ-mil relations? Can they even do so without coming across as being against the last trusted institution in America?
I hate to say it but at the time it seemed so boring – civilian control of the military seemed like such a settled and simple thing. His class on extremism was much more fun.
But now as I age, do more research on past militaries and conflicts, and obviously see the America we’re living in now, it seems much more important and I’m pretty chilled by what I see.
meonpeon on
Very good article about civil military relations. I feel that the relationship will survive the current administration, but I acknowledge that the relationship is all I’ve known, and I’m probably taking it for granted.
4 Comments
Huh…
To think Dr. Devereaux would be posted on arr/NL. Seems fitting enough, and I do recommend his blog.
This particular piece was quite interesting, though my unfamiliarity with the american context in-person does limit how much I could really comment. Still, the basic notion of a breakdown of the foundational bargain of military loyalty to civilian oversight is something I could not dispute and would find dearly concerning, were I an american citizen.
Edit: To be clear, *it’s still disconcerting*; it’s the United States Armed Forces, for goodness’ sake. It would be more so if I happened to live there, though.
I wonder what the future holds for American civ-mil relations. The recent deployment of the National Guard to [Los Angeles is somewhat unpopular](https://today.yougov.com/topics/travel/survey-results/daily/2025/06/10/50147/3) (although in a reflection of the highly partisan nature of American politics, most Republicans approve), and I wonder if the DC deployment will create the same reaction. We’re only 1 year into the second Trump administration, will we see popular pressure forcing political leadership to back off its attempts at bringing the military into domestic politics? Without the excuse of the 250th birthday of the United States Army, will we see another military parade next year? Will Democrats recalibrate their approach to civ-mil relations? Can they even do so without coming across as being against the last trusted institution in America?
In college I was fortunate enough to take a class focused on Civil Military Relations with the great Captain John Allen Williams (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Allen_Williams)
I hate to say it but at the time it seemed so boring – civilian control of the military seemed like such a settled and simple thing. His class on extremism was much more fun.
But now as I age, do more research on past militaries and conflicts, and obviously see the America we’re living in now, it seems much more important and I’m pretty chilled by what I see.
Very good article about civil military relations. I feel that the relationship will survive the current administration, but I acknowledge that the relationship is all I’ve known, and I’m probably taking it for granted.