1st Edition

The Transition to National Armies in the Former Soviet Republics, 1988-2005

By Jesse Paul Lehrke Copyright 2013
    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    264 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book looks at the militaries of the late-Soviet and post-Soviet republics. Beginning with the end of the Soviet era, it recognises that the successor states did not spring from nowhere, but inherited a legacy that influenced all that followed. The book discusses how politicians control the instruments that are the manifestation of the state’s monopoly on violence, and how society views and supports the military. By taking a bottom up empirical approach that examines the personnel, leaders, organisations and institutions, and their outlook and attitudes, the book presents a comprehensive picture of the armed forces, showing how the armed forces are very significantly shaped by the surrounding political and social environment. The book goes on to examine the armed forces in action, and highlights that to truly understand the militaries, studies need to go beyond looking at the static structures.

    Preface 1. The Soviet Armed Forces in Their Final Decade  2. The Soviet Armed Forces and Domestic Security: The Repression of 1989—1991  3. The Transformation of the Soviet Armed Forces in its Final Years (1989—1991)  4. The Defection of the Soviet Armed Forces and the End of the USSR: The August Putsch of 1991  5. The Re-Construction and Evolution of the Armed Forces in the Soviet Successor States: Russia, Armenia, Georgia, and Ukraine  6. The New Armed Forces and Domestic Security: Revolutions and Repression in Russia 1993, Armenia 1996, Georgia 2003, and Ukraine 2004  Conclusion: Paths to New National Armies, Recent Developments, and Looking Ahead

    Biography

    Jesse Paul Lehrke is a Research Fellow at the German Research Institute for Public Administration Speyer.