Building an army in a democracy in Hungary and Poland

Abstract

This thesis presents a refined treatise of civil military relations and military professionalism which provides civilian and military personnel engaged in the reform process in Hungary and Poland with insights into the ongoing struggle to institutionalize the ideal of the democratic citizen soldier and democratic military professionalism. Infusing democratic military professionalism and the ideal of the citizen soldier throughout the ranks of the Hungarian Defense Forces (HDF) and the Polish Armed Forces (PAF) will help ensure that Hungary and Poland make a complete transition to democracy and achieve 'human interoperability' with NATO. As Hungary and Poland democratize, they must create mechanisms of democratic political (civilian) control of the military, introduce society and the military to the concept of the democratic citizen soldier; and institutionalize democratic military professionalism within the armed forces. Democratization programs such as NATO's Partnership for Peace (PFP), and the United States' Joint Contact Team Program (JCTP), International Military Education and Training Program (IMET), and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies must help the Hungarian and Polish armed forces to institutionalize the ideal of the democratic citizen soldier and democratic military professionalism. Without democratic military professionalism, the new armies of democratic citizen soldiers in East Central Europe will not have the leadership, discipline, and morale necessary to be effective and reliable NATO partners.