Czech Military Transformation: Towards Military Typical of Consolidated Democracy?

Author: Kriz Zdenek  

Publisher: Routledge Ltd

ISSN: 1351-8046

Source: The Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Vol.23, Iss.4, 2010-10, pp. : 617-629

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Abstract

The new security challenges began to be emphasized in Czech strategic documents as early as the beginning of the 1990s. As a result, the Czech Army has been undergoing its radial and essentially continuous transformation since the beginning of its existence in 1993. The elimination of these threats became an important task for the Czech military. In contrast with the situation in the other armies of consolidated democracies, the ideal of the military professional has not changed much in the Czech Republic. It still is a combination of a warrior, technician, and manager. In 1989-92, there were some processes taking place in Czechoslovakia in the area of civil-military relations that, in many respects, differed from the development in Western Europe. The most important of these was the process of the de-politicization of the army in the sense of freeing it from Communist Party influence and control.