NATO and the Czech and Slovak Republics: A Comparative Study in Civil-Military Relations

Ever since the revolutions of 1989-1990, most Central and Eastern European states have been striving to adhere to Euro-Atlantic institutions-NATO and the European Union. Written by an "inside" participant/observer, NATO and the Czech and Slovak Republics: A Comparative Study in Civil-Military Relations charts the successes, shortcomings, and continuing challenges faced by the Czech Republic in its quest to receive an invitation to join the NATO alliance in July 1997, in its prepartion for accession in March 1999, and during its first four years as a NATO ally, and by Slovakia in its quest to receive an invitation in November 2002. In addition Jeffrey Simon provides a conceptual framework of civil-military relations that draws upon the lessons of post-Communist transition in the entire Central and East European region. The result is a comprehensive and original study of civil-military relations in two of the most important and interesting transition states of the post-Soviet era.