Defense Budgets and Civilian Oversight, Occasional Paper #9
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Authors
Giraldo, Jeanne Kinney
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2001-06
Date
Publisher
Language
en_US
Abstract
As countries democratize, newly-elected governments find that they must quickly
assert control over the budget, especially the defense budget, if they are to meet their
policy goals for all sectors and assert civilian control over the military. Fiscally, the
process by which budget decisions are made should be structured so that defense
spending does not “break the bank” by exceeding the government’s capacity to pay.
Sectorally, defense should compete with other government ministries so that the final
overall budget is a monetary expression of the priorities of the nation, its choice between
“guns and butter.” Within the defense sector, the allocation of resources for training,
personnel, and equipment should reflect the roles and missions for the armed forces
established during a process of national security planning. Finally, the power of the purse
provides civilians with a key lever of control over the military: government preferences
are more likely to be taken into account when they are backed by the provision or
withholding of resources.
Type
Article
Description
Occasional Paper # 9
Series/Report No
Department
National Security Affairs
National Security Affairs (NSA)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
The Center for Civil-Military Relations, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California.
Funder
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.