Orient Is a Delicate Matter: Military in Political Processes in Asian Countries

Orient Is a Delicate Matter: Military in Political Processes in Asian Countries


Konyshev V.N.,

Professor, Department of Theory and History of International Relations, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, konyshev06@mail.ru


elibrary_id: 202300 | ORCID: 0000-0002-7257-6848 | RESEARCHER_ID: H-5469-2013

Sergunin A.A.,

Professor, Department of Theory and History of International Relations, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, sergunin60@mail.ru


elibrary_id: 251684 |


DOI: 10.17976/jpps/2019.01.13

For citation:

Konyshev V.N., Sergunin A.A. Orient Is a Delicate Matter: Military in Political Processes in Asian Countries. – Polis. Political Studies. 2019. No. 1. P. 182-191. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17976/jpps/2019.01.13



Abstract

A review of the collective monograph “Armed forces in the Modern East” edited by D.V. Streltsov discusses the role of the armed forces in the socio-political development of the eastern states. The authors of the monograph focus on the legal status of the armed forces, its role in providing security, its participation in political and economic processes, as well on the relationship between the army and society, and important issues of the armed forces reforms. According to the authors of the book, the study of the role of the armed forces in the eastern states policy did not lose its relevance for many years. This role has deep roots in the history of the formation of statehood, the peculiarities of political processes in the Afro-Asian world, modernization processes, which were objectively related to the active role of the armed forces. The authors pay special attention to civil-military relations, which vary widely depending on the specific conditions in the eastern states studied: Egypt, Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, China, North Korea, and Japan. The authors show that the periods of increasing the role of the military in political and economic processes had not only negative, but also positive aspects. The armed forces often acted as guarantors of the statehood during crises and served as a support in carrying out social and economic reforms. The authors conclude that due to the high potential of conflict in the East, the influence of the military will remain high in most states, although not necessarily in direct form. At the same time, in many cases, certain mechanisms of checks and balances have been created, preventing immoderate influence of the military. Thus, societies to a certain extent adapted to the historically high role of the military. 

Keywords
armed forces, security, civil-military relations, state, regional development; global development, East, military conflicts.


References

Hoffman F. 2007. Conflict in the 21th Century: The Rise of Hybrid Wars. Arlington: Potomac Institute for Policy Studies.

 

 

Armii na sovremennom Vostoke. Pod red. D.V. Streltsova [Armed Forces in the Modern East. Ed. by D.V. Streltsov]. 2018. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russ.)

Konflikty i voyny XXI veka Blizhniy Vostok i Severnaya Afrika [Conflicts and Wars in the 21th Century. Near East and Africa]. 2015. Moscow: Institut vostokovedeniya RAN. (In Russ.)

Konyshev V., Sergunin A. 2013. Discussions About Wars of Future in Russian Expert Community: Myths and Reality. – Problems of National Strategy. No. 4. P. 100-114. (In Russ.)

Konyshev V., Sergunin A. 2014. Sovremennaya voennaya strategiya [Modern Military Strategy]. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russ.)

Mirskiy G. 1989. Rol’ armii v politicheskoy zhizni stran tret’ego mira [The Role of Armed Forces in the Third World States Policy]. Moscow: Nauka. (In Russ.)

Naumkin V. 2015. Deeply Divided Societies of the Near and Middle East: Conflicts, Violence, and Foreign Involvement. – Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Serija 25: Mezhdunarodnye otnoshenija i mirovaja politika. No. 1. P. 66-96. (In Russ.)

Vneshnepoliticheskiy protses na Vostoke. Pod red. D.V. Streltsova [Foreign Policy Process in the East. Ed. by D.V. Streltsov]. 2017. Moscow: Aspect Press. (In Russ.)

Vooruzhonniye sily v politicheskoy sisteme [Armed Forces in Political System]. 1981. Moscow: Institut gosudarstva i prava. (In Russ.) 

Content No. 1, 2019

See also:


Potapov V.Ya.,
National and international security: political and military aspects. – Polis. Political Studies. 2015. No1

Round Table of the «Polis» Journal, Yegorov V.K., Bel’kov O.A., Deryugin Yu.I., Barabin V.V., Vikulov S.F., Rodachin V.M., Serebryannikov V.V.,
Armed forces: Are They Political Forces?. – Polis. Political Studies. 1992. No3

Sheynis V.L.,
Russia’s national security. Durability trial (Part 1). – Polis. Political Studies. 2009. No5

Round Table of the «Polis» Journal, Krasin Yu.A., Kholodkovskii K.G., Kinsbursky A.V., Galkin A.A., Efirov S.A., Shalenko V.N., Gutnik V.P., Kapustin B.G., Drobizheva L.M., Gryaznova O.I., Topalov M.I., Stepanov Ye.I., Ban’kovskaya S.P., Sulimova T.S.
Social Conflicts in Russian Changing Society (Determination, Course, Solution). – Polis. Political Studies. 1994. No2

Ignatov V.G.,
An International Conference in Rostov-on-Don: Regions’ Security and Development. – Polis. Political Studies. 2000. No4


Screen version