Overview

In the span of a generation, universal military service, universal military training, selective service, a lottery draft, and an all-volunteer armed force have all been either implemented or contemplated seriously in the United States. Why has the United States, unlike every other twentieth-century world power, failed to settle on a durable system of military service? In this informed and even-handed book, Eliot Cohen studies the enduring problems of America's methods of raising an army, seeking to analyze the nature of the many difficulties and the extent to which they can be overcome. A nation's military service must reflect its political and geographical position in the world as well as its ideology. In the case of the United States, Cohen demonstrates, the attempt to satisfy these two types of requirements faces unique and intractable paradoxes. First, the United States must prepare for two completely different kinds of war, large- and small-scale, which for political and military reasons require two different kinds of armies; second, two important traditions—Anglo-Saxon liberalism and democratic egalitarianism—coexist uneasily in American thought and lead to opposing conceptions of citizens' obligations to serve their country. Cohen's book is a long-needed antidote to the myopic preoccupation with short-term trends and fluctuations in recruiting statistics that characterizes the current manpower debate. Lucidly explaining complex issues, Cohen offers a broad comparative view of the historical events, political exigencies, and theoretical arguments that have shaped the military service systems of various countries. His discussion treats many important and timely issues: How shall we select some men—and possibly women—for service, and not others? How will our methods of recruitment affect our foreign policies, our domestic policies, and our forces' performance in battle? What methods have other countries adopted, how well did they work, and could they work here? His thoughtful and objective answers to these difficult questions will interest anyone concerned with contemporary American military policy today.

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9780801497193

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Reviews

There is no single book to take the place of this one, nor have the means of raising armies been explained as clearly before. This should have an important place in the current defense policy debate. * Library Journal * After myriad studies on military manpower policies this excellent study brings something new: a historical, philosophical and geopolitical approach that goes well beyond the policy issues of the day. * Foreign Affairs * A superbly crafted study of military service which must be viewed not only as fine political science but also as an invaluable starting point for future debate. * Commentary * An outstanding analysis of America's difficulties in settling on a durable system of peacetime military service. Citizens and Soldiers certainly belongs on the reading list of any course on national security policy. * The American Political Science Review * This is security studies at its best. * Journal of Policy Analysis & Management * The question of how far a nation should maintain a standing army, and how it should be organized, has nearly always been a controversial one. Eliot Cohen has ably woven the strands of this complicated problem into a well-balanced and well-organized book, and probably one which is as interesting as the subject allows. * International Affairs * Cohen's treatment of the aspects pertinent to a viable military manpower policy for a nation such as ours is evenhanded and well-informed. * Armed Forces & Society * Cohen's dispassionate and detailed analysis of the factors that shape military manpower policies is a scholarly contribution that not only aids our understanding of the political, historical, economic, and military factors that shape them but also informs us of key factors that need to be considered in altering military manpower policies in the future. Furthermore, the book is good reading. * The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science *

"A superbly crafted study of military service which must be viewed not only as fine political science but also as an invaluable starting point for future debate. -- ""Commentary"" After myriad studies on military manpower policies this excellent study brings something new: a historical, philosophical and geopolitical approach that goes well beyond the policy issues of the day. -- ""Foreign Affairs"" An outstanding analysis of America's difficulties in settling on a durable system of peacetime military service. Citizens and Soldiers certainly belongs on the reading list of any course on national security policy. -- ""The American Political Science Review"" Cohen's dispassionate and detailed analysis of the factors that shape military manpower policies is a scholarly contribution that not only aids our understanding of the political, historical, economic, and military factors that shape them but also informs us of key factors that need to be considered in altering military manpower policies in the future. Furthermore, the book is good reading. -- ""The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science"" Cohen's treatment of the aspects pertinent to a viable military manpower policy for a nation such as ours is evenhanded and well-informed. -- ""Armed Forces & Society"" The question of how far a nation should maintain a standing army, and how it should be organized, has nearly always been a controversial one. Eliot Cohen has ably woven the strands of this complicated problem into a well-balanced and well-organized book, and probably one which is as interesting as the subject allows. -- ""International Affairs"" There is no single book to take the place of this one, nor have the means of raising armies been explained as clearly before. This should have an important place in the current defense policy debate. -- ""Library Journal"" This is security studies at its best. -- ""Journal of Policy Analysis & Management"""

A superbly crafted study of military service which must be viewed not only as fine political science but also as an invaluable starting point for future debate. -- Commentary After myriad studies on military manpower policies this excellent study brings something new: a historical, philosophical and geopolitical approach that goes well beyond the policy issues of the day. -- Foreign Affairs An outstanding analysis of America's difficulties in settling on a durable system of peacetime military service. Citizens and Soldiers certainly belongs on the reading list of any course on national security policy. -- The American Political Science Review Cohen's dispassionate and detailed analysis of the factors that shape military manpower policies is a scholarly contribution that not only aids our understanding of the political, historical, economic, and military factors that shape them but also informs us of key factors that need to be considered in altering military manpower policies in the future. Furthermore, the book is good reading. -- The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science Cohen's treatment of the aspects pertinent to a viable military manpower policy for a nation such as ours is evenhanded and well-informed. -- Armed Forces & Society The question of how far a nation should maintain a standing army, and how it should be organized, has nearly always been a controversial one. Eliot Cohen has ably woven the strands of this complicated problem into a well-balanced and well-organized book, and probably one which is as interesting as the subject allows. -- International Affairs There is no single book to take the place of this one, nor have the means of raising armies been explained as clearly before. This should have an important place in the current defense policy debate. -- Library Journal This is security studies at its best. -- Journal of Policy Analysis & Management

Author Information

Eliot A. Cohen is the Robert E. Osgood Professor at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies.

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