the process of security sector reform - ISAC Fund

István Gyarmati MILITARY REFORMS OF THE 1990s: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES
István Gyarmati MILITARY REFORMS OF THE 1990s: LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES
All of this played a very important role in containing and defeating Communism.
Firstly, the creation of NATO and the clear threat of an escalating response,
with the participation of American forces − conventional if sufficient, nuclear, if
necessary − deterred any Soviet attack against Western Europe.
Secondly, the proxy wars did not bring lasting success to the Soviets. Even
the “victories” quickly became burdens, for they not only drained on Soviet
resources during the war, including in many cases the participation of Soviet
and other Warsaw Pact military personnel in the military operations, but once
“victory” was achieved, the tasks of reconstruction and ensuring the functioning
of the country often required large scale Soviet assistance.
Thirdly, the resources necessary to wage this Cold War were such a drain on the
Soviet economy that it could not keep pace and started to fall technologically
behind the West. This technological gap negated the Soviet Union’s numerical
superiority in conventional weaponry, and the burdens of research and development
further crippled the economy. The situation was made worse by the nature of
Soviet society and economy, which kept everything possible secret from its own
citizens and thus did not allow the achievements of military technology to be
quickly used in civilian production.
From today’s perspective, the Cold War world seems insane. But we must not
allow ourselves to be lulled into a false sense of security: today’s dangers and
new methods of waging new types of war may be no less insane. Will those
dangers − and our responses to them − be as threatening as the ones we found
legitimate during the Cold War? What should be the role of armed forces in
today’s conflicts, and how should they be organized, trained and equipped? This
is the basic question facing all countries today. Each country’s answers will be
different in the details, but the overall philosophy will be the same. Most countries
have already begun to grapple with this question, and analyzing the experience
and lessons of their military reforms − which include many failures and a few,
partial successes − will help each country to find the right answer.
THE MILITARY REFORM PROCESS
There is a logical sequence and process to be observed, if military reform
is to produce long lasting and sound results. This is not to say that political
necessities do not influence the process, for politicians inevitably must respond
to the “questions of the day.” But a military reform process must be kept coherent
and comprehensive; otherwise, failure is inevitable. The first step in the
reform process is the needs assessment. On the political side, agreement must
be reached on principles of the reform and on the necessary laws and institutions
to enact those principles. In the case of the military itself, the needs assessment
means the determination of what are the roles the political elites of the country
expect the military to play.
BUILD A BROAD CONSENSUS ON BASIC PRINCIPLES
AND KEY ELEMENTS OF REFORM
In order to avoid failure, it is essential to establish as broad a political consensus
as possible concerning the most important elements of the military reform. Consensus
is indispensable, because the reform process is a lengthy one; usually
lasting as long as eight to ten years. If there is no consensus, the reform will
almost certainly be reviewed and modified with each change of Government,
thus ensuring the failure of the reform. But there are additional reasons why
strong political and public support are essential: the reform will at some points
alienate certain groups of the society, it will cost taxpayers’ money, and it will
require that men and women find it attractive and necessary to serve in the
military. These challenges cannot be overcome without broad political and public
support.
START WITH BASIC PRINCIPLES, THEN TRANSLATE THESE
INTO LEGISLATION AND INSTITUTIONS
In order to lay the foundations for a successful reform process, agreement must
be established on the basic principles of reform, such as:
• The military must not be given an internal role, except in extreme cases
and upon the decision of the Parliament only and in case of natural
or man-made disasters, when the military acts in civilian functions of
disaster relief; military and police functions must be clearly separated;
• The military must be placed under strong democratic political and civilian
oversight and control, in which the Parliament must play a crucial and
leading role
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