How To Politicize A Military

The phrase “politicization of the military” is used often by the scholars and guests we’ve talked to on this podcast – but what exactly does it mean? If it’s a bad thing, then why? What kinds of actions qualify as “politicized,” and how can civilian officials and military leaders avoid inappropriately politicizing the armed forces? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the topic of military politicization and why it’s such an important element of our national security policymaking.

Articles referenced:

https://twitter.com/krasnican_/status/1088545635878473728

https://www.csis.org/analysis/military-politicization

https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/01/admiral-slammed-shutdown-can-he-do/154389/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/12/21/even-with-mattis-resigning-trump-is-still-damaging-the-militarys-credibility-as-nonpartisan/

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/trumps-attacks-mcchrystal-and-mattis-will-do-lasting-damage/579256/

https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/trump-civil-military-relations-tensions/

Credits:

Thomas Krasnican, host

Nick Paraiso, host

Haz Yano, engineer and producer

Aishwarya Kumar, producer

Mary Martha Maclay, producer

Sarah Claudy, creative consultant

David Raban, publisher