The USAWC Civil-Military Relations Center is pleased to announce its collaboration with the US Military Academy’s Modern War Institute on a new, limited series of articles focused on the consequences of civil-military relations for contemporary strategic issues. 

Politics and warfighting are inseparable. Government officials make decisions about when and how to use force, against whom, and for what purposes. Domestic politics have a major role in the military’s preparation for war many years before it actually occurs, by setting policies related to recruitment, retention, acquisition, and investment. Public opinion can sustain or hinder conflict through its affect on morale, resources, and international engagement.

As a result, it is vital for the modern strategist to understand how the military relates to and interacts with its civilian counterparts in government and broader society. Whether you think the military has too small a say in how it fights wars, too much of a say, or something in between, we want to hear your ideas about how to improve or maintain healthy civil-military relations that will ensure success in modern war. We invite you to submit your ideas for short essays that relate to this theme, whether at the strategic, operational, or tactical level. Potential topics include the implications of contemporary civil-military relations for challenges relating to military and department of defense recruitment, democracy and political polarization, decision-making processes, and professional norms, in the United States or elsewhere. 

We accept pitches from any person in any field, so long as they are original ideas for articles that are not going to be published in other outlets. Pitches should be no more than 200 words and should clearly explain the problem to be analyzed and solution being offered, along with some brief background about the author. Please email your pitches to both max.margulies@westpoint.edu and carrie.lee@armywarcollege.edu with “Civ-Mil Essay Pitch” in the subject line. We will accept pitches on a rolling bases until 11:59 EDT on August 15, 2022. If accepted, authors must be willing to write a full essay by October 15, 2022, totaling no more than two thousand words and using the standard submission guidelines for the Modern War Institute. Unfortunately, we are unable to reply to all submissions.