Educating the Professional Military

• Published date: 01 July 2018
• Author: Anit Mukherjee
• Date: 01 July 2018
• DOI: 10.1177/0095327X17725863
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Educating the

Professional Military:

Civil–Military Relations

and Professional Military

Education in India

Anit Mukherjee

1

Abstract

This article analyzes the ways in which civil–military relations shape professional

military education (PME). Its main argument is that military education benefits from a

civil–military partnership. In doing so, the article examines the role of civil–military

relations in shaping PME in India. While describing the evolution of military educa-

tion in India, it analyzes its weaknesses and argues that this is primarily due to its

model of civil–military relations, with a limited role for civilians. Theoretically, this

argument challenges Samuel Huntington’s notion of “objective control”—which

envisaged a strict separation between the civil and military domains. Conceptually,

this article argues for a greater dialogue on military education among civilians, both

policy makers and academics, and military officers and not to leave it to the military’s

domain—as is currently the practice in most countries.

Keywords

civil–military relations, military effectiveness, professional military education, Indian

military, defense policy

1

S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University (NTU),

Singapore

Corresponding Author:

Anit Mukherjee, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University

(NTU), Block S4, Level B4, 50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.

Email: anitm@yahoo.com

Armed Forces & Society

2018, Vol. 44(3) 476-497

ªThe Author(s) 2017

Reprints and permission:

sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav

DOI: 10.1177/0095327X17725863

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What role, if any, should civilians play in shaping professional military education

(PME)? This article engages with this topic and argues that civilian intervention and

a civil–military partnership is crucial to the development of PME. In doing so, the

article examines the role of civil–military relations in shaping PME in India. This is

a topical issue with an ongoing debate generated by the imminent establishment of

an Indian National Defence University (INDU). India’s experience and the broader

conceptual arguments about PME should therefore be instructive for countries that

are at various stages of establishing defense universities and anticipates a growing

trend of ties between civilian universities and military educational institutions

(Libel, 2016). In addition, as one of the few post-colonial democracies with firm

civilian control, India offers insights into countries struggling with, or recovering

from, praetorian rule. PME has also fetched attention in democratizing countries due

to its ability to embed democratic norms and is considered a core subfield of security

sector reforms. Insights from this article therefore apply for PME in other coun-

tries—both developed and developing.

The main conceptual argument put forward in this article is that effective PME

requires informed and well-intentioned civilian intervention arising from a civil–

military partnership. Effective PME, as discussed later, refers to a system that is

geared toward education and not training and intellectually prepares military officers

to deal with future uncertainty. “Informed” civilian intervention is meant to empha-

size that civilians need to know about the purpose and system of military education.

Such knowledge comes from partnering with the military. The term “well-

intentioned” is used to differentiate instances of civilian intervention that is moti-

vated by either enhancing military effectiveness or for building better coherence

between military means and political purposes. As discussed later, such types of

interventions have occurred in countries like the United States and United Kingdom,

among others. At the same time, the article cautions against the dangers of parochial

or ideologically motivated civilian intervention that can hurt military

professionalism.

The argument that civilians should help shape military education has important

implications for the theory of civil–military relations. It challenges Samuel Hun-

tington’s notion of “objective control” which assumed that military autonomy max-

imizes its effectiveness. Instead, military autonomy in PME may not be desired, as

the military is more likely to focus on training instead of education. In this regard,

Janowitz’s (1960, pp. 428–429) ideas turned out to be more prescient when while

observing that “most military schools remain service oriented,” he called for a more

broad-based approach to military education. Such a sentiment of “broadening

military education” is supported by more recent scholarship (Warren, 2015).

There are two main arguments emerging from this study of PME in India. First,

civilians have had almost no role in shaping it—either as policy makers or as

professional educators. To be sure, the M inistry of Defence, almost exclusively

staffed by civilians, has some financial controls and their approval is required for

creating a new facility, like setting up a war college, or for additional budgetary

Mukherjee 477