The Democratic Control of Armed Forces

From September to December 1994, for the first time in the Institute's brief existence, a researcher from a WEU Associate Partner country joined in our work. Apart from sharing with us his considerable human, political and professional experience, during the time he spent at the Institute Rudolf Joó, a former Hungarian Deputy Minister of Defence, began work on a study of civilian control in defence matters. Here he sets out his thoughts on the subject, starting from the successes and difficulties encountered on the path to reform that he helped promote and widening the study to a more general context. These ideas were discussed by specialists from the WEU family of countries during a meeting organised by the Institute last June. We believe that this paper will contribute to the debate on an issue that is particularly topical in the new democracies but also merits wider consideration.