Reforming Postcommunist Militaries

Abstract

The case studies in this volume have examined the challenges facing the countries of postcommunist Europe in reforming and in particular professionalising their armed forces. The context within which the processes of reform and professionalisation take place is an extremely challenging one. The economic problems of postcommunist transition impose severe constraints on the resources available for defence reform. In common with all European states, electorates in central and eastern Europe appear reluctant to give priority to defence transition, particularly at a time when more pressing demands are being made for economic transition and welfare reform. Modern militaries are responding to the revolution in military affairs that is focusing their attention on the application of advanced communications and sensor technologies and precision strike capabilities to warfare. West European armed forces are also struggling to respond to three other challenges: the need to build consensus for appropriate levels of defence expenditure to provide effective national security; the need to recruit personnel with a high level of technical skill and to further develop them in response to the introduction of increasingly complex weapons systems; and the need to becoming learning organisations capable of adapting rapidly to new and often unforeseen challenges such as those posed by the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001.