How Americans' views of the military have changed over 20 years

How Americans' views of the military have changed over 20 years

Americans across the political spectrum express considerably more deference to the military today than they have in the past, writes Ronald R Krebs and Robert Ralston in War on the Rocks. Read the full article here

November 17, 2021 | War on the Rocks | Ronald R Krebs and Robert Ralston
President Biden and members of his Defense Department
Ronald R Krebs and Robert Ralston
November 17, 2021
War on the Rocks

Americans’ views on the relationship between civilian leaders and the military are disturbing. When it comes to decisions about the use of force, recent surveys demonstrate that Americans are inclined to disempower civilians and defer to the professional military’s judgment. Nor are Americans much troubled by active-duty, let alone retired, military leaders publicly intervening in policy debates. Moreover, Americans’ opinions on the subject are driven by their partisan political commitments. When Donald Trump was in the White House, this meant that Democrats were surprisingly deferential to the military, which they hoped would act as a check on this president whom they distrusted and often reviled. Read the full article here.

Co-author Robert Ralston is a postdoctoral Grand Strategy, Security, and Statecraft Fellow at MIT's Security Studies Program and the International Security Program at the Harvard Kennedy School.

 ​