Requirements for Military Effectiveness: Chile in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

This paper utilizes a framework we have developed to analyze civil-military relations in terms of both democratic civilian control and effectiveness. As the achievement of effectiveness only makes sense in terms of the roles and missions actually implemented by the security forces in a country, the roles and missions will be spelled out. The focus in this paper will be on comparative analysis of four countries that the author finds to be relatively successful in achieving both democratic civilian control and ef- fectiveness. Since few roles and missions can be proven to be successful, the author believes the focus must necessarily be on three essential elements for effectiveness. Consequently, the implementation of a military strategy or policy requires an analysis as to whether or not these essential elements are present. In view of the difficulty in defining, and even more so in measuring outcomes in military roles and missions, the author’s analytical framework focuses on essential elements; that which is necessary, if not sufficient for effectiveness. That is, to posit (based on research and discussions with other researchers as well as civilian officials and military officers) what is necessary for the military to be under democratic civilian control and be effective in the specific roles or missions that it is directed to achieve. The author has studied in some depth through interviews in approximately twenty countries on four continents, and another twenty through secondary sources, and finds in Chile, Colombia, Portu- gal, and since early 2018 in the United States a relatively high degree of harmony between democratic civilian control and military effectiveness. While the four countries are indeed very different in size, resources base, democratic consolidation, threats, etc. the author feels there is something to be learned from their experiences in achieving democratic civilian control and military effectiveness. While there is a rich literature on countries’ progress in achieving, or not, democratic civilian control, there is very little on achieving military effectiveness.