Résumé
This article introduces a special journal issue, La democratie face aux relations civils-militaires (Civil-Military Relations in a Democracy). Following a discussion of changes in armed forces in general after WWII & during the Cold War, specific developments in the structure of the military & how the professional military hierarchy relates to civilian leadership in democratic countries are examined. In the US, differences of opinion between military leaders & different presidential administrations have led to a crisis in civil-military relations, especially with regard to the Iraq war. Europe has favored democratic governance, with not just the chief of state & military hierarchy but parliament & even the civil society participating in military decision making. These & other examples of military-civil relations in democracies are the subjects of the following articles. Adapted from the source document.