Senior Researcher Mirela ATANASIU, Ph.D*
Abstract: In a democracy, the military organization has a specific set of characteristics. The democratic framework, at the one hand, it provides a series of strengths rooted in legitimacy and resources, and, on the other hand, it triggers vulnerabilities related to the civil-military gap, political constraints, and the complex nature of modern security challenges.
In the present paper the analysis is focused on the later topic, namely the vulnerabilities risen from the democratic condition of the state wherein the military organization must remain subordinate to civilian authority, serving the state’s democratic values by upholding the law and constitution, without dominating politics. The research is undertaken through the lens of civil-military relations and the mechanisms of civilian control, as well on the antinomy among democratic and authoritarian regimes.
Keywords: democracy, civilian control, militaries’ political neutrality, democratic control.
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DOI 10.56082/annalsarscimilit.2026.1.25
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* Senior Researcher within Centre for Defense and Security Strategic Studies/ “Carol I” National Defense University, Bucharest, Romania, Associate member of the Academy of Romanian Scientists, Bucharest, Romania, and Associate Researcher within Doctoral School for Safety and Security Sciences, Obuda University, Budapest, Hungary. E-mail: atanasiu.mirela@unap.ro.
PUBLISHED in Annals Academy of Romanian Scientists Series on Military Sciences, Volume 18 no 1, 2026
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