The Soldier and the State offers a framework that assists scholars to identify the multiplicity of reasons why the teaching practices and training regimes that exist in civilian institutions diverge to at least some degree when compared to those of the armed forces, including its military academies (Huntington, 1957, pp. 83–85 & 311–312). The insular culture of the military institution and its preoccupation with teaching science disciplines are defining features of the armed force’s education and training regimes. Building on the notion of the Huntingtonian “civil–military gap” ( e.g. Morgan 2001, pp. 108), I term these differences between civilian and military training and education regimes the ‘civil–military education gap’.

1. www.thefreeschool.education
Theorizing the civil-military education gap
in the Huntingtonian tradition
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2. Jericho, J. (2017), ​Happy 60​th​
Birthday Huntingtonian Civil-Military Relations Theory:
The Rise and Rise of ‘The Soldier and the State’
Book Reviews
Huntington, S. P. (1957), ​The soldier and the state: The theory of politics and civil–military
relations, Massachusetts, USA: Harvard University Press.
ISBN 978 0 67481 736 4
Legacy
This year marks the 60​th
Anniversary of the creation of Huntingtonian Civil–Military
Relations (CMR) theory. Huntington (1956) first published a summary of his CMR theory in
a journal article titled “Civilian Control and the Constitution” in 1956 (Huntington, 1957, p.
viii). Huntington (1956, p. 676) argues that American CMR theory requires modernisation as
no scholar has devised a serious CMR model since America became a constitutional republic
at the close of the 18​Th
Century. Under this political model, the Executive exerts full
democratic control over its armed forces.
Huntington (1957) published his comprehensive theory of CMR in a text titled ​The Soldier
and the State: The Theory of Politics and Civil–Military Relations​ (hereafter, ​The Soldier and
the State). Since 1957, no scholarly work published in any discipline or language has had as
much impact on CMR theory as Huntington’s text (​e.g. Nielsen, 2012).
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3. This book review is a critical analysis of the contribution ​The Soldier and the State​ offers to
epistemological knowledge. This is the only text to offer a comprehensive theory of CMR
that centres on the core universal truth of militarism and warfare. This reality provides the
dominant account of why Huntington’s work remains a classic text (Madden & Carter, 2003,
p. 280).
______________________________________________________
Huntington asserts that the armed forces train their combat
personnel to perform the role of killer, a profession whose
purpose is opposite to the military medical officer, who acts to
preserve human life (​e.g. Huntington, 1957, p. 8).
______________________________________________________
The Soldier and the State continues to exert major influence over scholars who study political
theory in post-secondary institutes. A search of Google Scholar reveals that 4,287
peer-reviewed scholarly publications on this website’s repository cite this text. These
citations appear relatively evenly over the past six decades (Google Scholar, 2017).
The doctoral thesis of London School of Economics and Political Science scholar, Jon
Rahbek-Clemmensen, is an example that illustrates the enduring legacy of ​The Soldier of the
State in the sub-field of CMR theory. The title of his thesis is “​Beyond the Soldier and the
State: The Theoretical Framework of Elite Civil–Military Relations”. Rahbek-Clemmensen
(2013, p.3) argues that it is time to modernise CMR theory, as evident in the passage of his
abstract that states “This dissertation uses his [​i.e. Huntington’s] framework as a starting
point for a larger conceptual analysis ... of civil–military relations.”
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4. Contribution
The Soldier and the State provides scholars with a model to conceptualise the dynamics of
CMR that occur within mature democratic nations, such as the United States, as well as
contemporary communist nation-states that have aristocratic roots, such as Russia.
Huntington (1957, pp. 19–58 & 88–89) achieves this by centring his analysis on the role
played by elite political institutions that dominate most nations’ CMR. These include the
armed force’s officer corps, the Executive and military schools that remain insulated from
their nation’s civilian society. Political institutions and not individuals dominate virtually all
nations’ CMR. By focusing on these institutions and not on the agency of individual actors,
Huntington firmly places his analysis of a modernised CMR theory where it belongs in the
academic domain, ​i.e., as a subfield within political science (Feaver, 1999).
Casual critics of Huntingtonian CMR theory argue that ​The Soldier and the State is too
American centric to offer a truly global theory of CMR. However, among scholars with
advanced knowledge of CMR theory and Huntington’s text, there is a strong consensus that
The Soldier and the State diligently builds a universal theory of CMR by focussing on the
unique role of the soldier, who as a professional manager of large-scale violence (​e.g. Feaver,
1999, pp. 230–233). Moreover, multiple parts of this text expressly state that it aims to
construct a universal theory that transcends time and space. For example, in the first chapter
of ​The Soldier and the State, Huntington (1957, p. 25), explores 18​th
Century military history
of regional military superpowers. This discussion establishes how male elites dominated the
“English naval school set up in 1729” as well as the French military “engineering school at
Mézières”. Furthermore, during this century the “sons of nobles entered the Russian Army …
and received only the scantest training before assuming their commands.” (Huntington, 1957,
p. 25)
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5. Huntington’s global analysis of militarism and warfare offers two core contributions to CMR
theory (Nielsen, 2012, p. 370). Huntington (1957, p.8) argues that three attributes characterise
the military professional. These traits are “expertise, responsibility and corporateness” (p. 8).
Huntington (1957, p. 10) convincingly argues that the professional soldier has an obligation
to act corporately, ​i.e. in unison with their colleagues. Warfare is analogous to physical
combat sports. Battles are ‘played’ and won by teams who work together to pursue a
collective agenda, which is to defeat an enemy nation’s military force. The modern-day
professional soldier is highly trained and is an ​expert manager of violence. The martial
fighter aims to maim/kill the enemy during warfare. However, this professional soldier has a
responsibility to act ethically during warfare. The combatant should only maim/kill the
enemy to the extent necessary to protect its populace.
Huntington’s second major contribution to epistemological knowledge is his distinction
between objective and subjective models of civilian control over the military institution
(Nielsen, 2012, p. 370). Huntington’s analysis is prescriptive with reference to nation-states
whose civilian populace democratically elect its national government. He advocates that the
military should be apolitical and fully subordinate its authority to the civilian Executive
(Huntington, 1957, pp. 189–192 & 260–263). This position is in contrast to Janowitz (1960,
pp. 283–302) who advocates a subjective model of CMR in his celebrated text from the same
period titled ​The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait.
Janowitz (1960, p. xiii) terms his subjective model “professional pragmatism” (Janowitz,
1960, Preface). Janowitz (1960, p. 176) theorizes that convergence between the norms of the
military institution and civilian society is more likely to occur over time, partially because the
armed forces are gradually allowing more personnel to study in civilian post-secondary
institutions. This transpires because elitist traditions in the military institution erode over
time. Further educational inquiry is required to fill this gap that persists in the literature.
Scant research exists that examines whether the gap between the norms, culture and training
5

6. regimes in America’s and other nation’s civilian and military educational institutes have
diverged or converged since after 1960.
Education
The Soldier and the State offers a framework that assists scholars to identify the multiplicity
of reasons why the teaching practices and training regimes that exist in civilian institutions
diverge to at least some degree when compared to those of the armed forces, including its
military academies (Huntington, 1957, pp. 83–85 & 311–312). The insular culture of the
military institution and its preoccupation with teaching science disciplines are defining
features of the armed force’s education and training regimes. Building on the notion of the
Huntingtonian “civil–military gap” (​e.g. Morgan 2001, pp. 108), I term these differences
between civilian and military training and education regimes the ‘civil–military education
gap’.
The contribution ​The Soldier and the State makes to the field of education is profound though
subtle. With rare exception, scholars of CMR theory largely overlook this offering. This
occurs partially because Huntington’s comparative discussion of civilian and military
educational post-secondary institutions appears intermittently throughout this text’s 17
chapters. For example, Huntington discusses aspects of the internalised culture of “military
schools” (p. 24), “the famous Kriegsakadamie in Berlin” (which is a “military university”) (p.
48), “The Engineering School at West Point” (p. 198), “national institutions of military
education” (p. 237) and “military academies” (p. 311).
Huntington (1957, pp. 11–14) regards the military’s education and training regimes as
dominant factors that distinguish the professional soldier from civilian workers (Wakelam,
2004, p. 291). Huntington (1957) discusses these aspects in all three passages of his text in
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7. his first chapter where he defines “Expertise” (p. 8), “Responsibility” (p. 9) and
“Corporateness” (p. 10). He identifies the exceptional nature of the military’s purpose as the
decisive factor that defines its unique education and training regimes.
The opening chapter of ​The Soldier and the State establishes the existence of the
civil–military education gap. Huntington (1957, Chapter 1) argues that many professions in
the military institution can never be entirely congruent with similar occupations that exist in
the nation’s civilian society. For example, when defining the “expertise” of the professional
soldier, Huntington (1957, p. 11) emphasises the reality that the career combat soldier is
ultimately a highly trained killer, ​i.e. a professional manager of large-scale violence. This role
distinguishes the “commander” of the combat oriented battleship and the “captain” of a
civilian cruise-liner, the latter of which is not trained by their civilian employer to be a taker
of lives. Unique challenges confront civilian and military personnel who work in similar
occupations and so they require different training and skills to succeed in their respective
professions (Huntington, 1957, pp. 11–16).
The legacy of Huntington’s CMR theory rests on his perceptive assertion that the “central
skill” of the professional soldier, which is “the management of violence” (Huntington, 1957,
p. 11) is a “universal” truth of warfare and militarism (Huntington, 1957, p. 13). Scholars
who seek to develop a comprehensive civil–military education gap model must likewise
adopt Huntington’s objective theory of CMR in order to devise a universal theory.
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8. Opportunities
Scant research exists which seeks to build a theory of the civil–military education gap in the
Huntingtonian tradition. Distinguished American Defence Studies scholars Mady Segal and
David Segal published a journal article in 1990, which might have opened the door for further
exploration in this area (Segal ​et al., 1990). This narrow study focuses on the teaching of
sociology in America’s military academies. These scholars conclude that the Huntingtonian
model of military management dominated America’s scholastic Defence institutions prior to
the 1980s (Segal ​et al., 1990, p. 168). Between 1983 and 1990, the norms of America’s
civilian society and its military institution partially converged. During this period, America’s
military executive encouraged its personnel to expand their studies beyond science
disciplines. The growth in the number of military officers who studied arts subjects in civilian
post-secondary institutions provides a dominant account of why America’s civil–military
education gap narrowed during this era.
Scholarly works that discuss the Huntingtonian civil–military education gap remain limited to
brief narratives published in narrow sections of short pieces such as journal articles (​e.g.
Rahbek-Clemmensen, J. ​et al. 2012, p. 672–673). For example, Stever (1997, pp. 41–42)
acknowledges the existence of a Huntingtonian civil–military education gap in America’s
history, but does not provide details or expand the Huntingtonian model.
A journal article authored by Erik Hedlund (2011), who is an academic at the Swedish
National Defence College, is distinct from others insofar as the entirely of this scholarly work
centres exclusively on Huntingtonian and Janowitzian CMR theory. Hedlund (2011) analyses
the gap that exists between the education and training regimes in Sweden’s civilian society
and its military institution. He argues that Sweden’s transition to an all-volunteer force in
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9. 2010 causes Sweden’s civil–military education gap to exhibit aspects of Huntington’s
objective model and Janowitz’s subjective model. The complex dynamics of this overlap
means that Huntington’s objective model and Janowitz’s subjective model of CMR cannot
explain the dynamics of Sweden’s civil–military education gap. In a similar vein to
Rahbek-Clemmensen (2013), it is ironic that Hedlund (2015) elevates the status of ​The
Soldier of the State when he argues that this text has become defunct in the contemporary
Swedish context, as he dedicates half of his journal article to critique a text published in
1957.
Conclusion
Ultimately, ​The Soldier and the State is a text that conveys a subtle message of hope in a
period where military tensions between major global powers remains high. The atrocities of
warfare are congruent with the values of a nation’s civilian society when its populace
celebrates the destruction of humanity and its creations. Huntington implicitly argues that no
such society has existed or will ever exist. The civil–military gap and the civil–military
education gap die when military institutions become extinct.
J. Jericho
The Free School
jay@thefreeschool.education
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10. Secondary references
Burk, J. (1995), Theories of democratic civil–military relations, ​Armed Forces & Society,
29(1), 7–29.
Feaver, P. (1999), Civil–military relations, ​Annual Review of Political Science, 2, 211–241.
Hedlund, E. (2011), What motivates Swedish soldiers to participate in peacekeeping
missions: Research note, ​Armed Forces & Society, 37(1), 180–190.
Huntington, S. P. (1956), Civilian control and the constitution, ​American Political Science
Review, 50(3), 676–699.
–––––– (1957), ​The Soldier and the State: The Theory of Politics and Civil–Military
Relations, Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
Janowitz, M. (1960), ​The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait, , New York
USA: The Free Press.
Madden, W. and Carter, B. (2003), Physician soldier: A moral process, in Beam, T ​et al.
(Eds), Military medical ethics: Volume 1, Washington DC, USA: DIANE Publishing,
pp. 269–292.
Morgan, M. (2001), Army recruiting and the civil–military gap, ​Parameters, Summer 2001,
101–117.
Nielsen, S. (2012), American civil–military relations today: the continuing relevance of
Samuel P. Huntington’s The soldier and the state, ​International Affairs, 88(2),
369–376.
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11. Rahbek-Clemmensen, J. (2013), Beyond ‘The Soldier and the State’: The theoretical
framework of elite civil-military relations (Unpublished Doctor of Philosophy
Thesis), , London, England: London School of Economics and Political Science.
Rahbek-Clemmensen, J. ​et al. (2012), Conceptualizing the civil–military gap: a research note,
Armed Forces & Society, 38(4), 669–678.
Segal, M. ​et al. (1990), The sociology program in a professional school setting: The United
States Military Academy, ​Teaching Sociology, 18(2), 156–163.
Stever, J. (1997), The veteran and the neo-progressive campus, ​Academic Question, Winter
1996-97, 41–52.
Wakelam, R. (2004), Officer profession in Canadian education forces and the Rowley Report
1969, ​Historical Studies in Education, 16(2), 287–314.
Data references
Google Scholar (2017), ‘Huntington Soldier State 1957’ [search string],
<https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=huntington+soldier+state&btnG=&as_
sdt=1%2C33&as_sdtp=>. Accessed 1 January 2017.
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