A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE EVOLUTION OF CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN ALBANIA, GREECE, AND TURKEY DURING THE POST-WWII PERIOD

Journal of Political and Military Sociology, Summer 2003 by Karabelias, Gerassimos

Although European Union (EU) membership has become the reference, anchor, and motivation for all Southeast European states, the road to membership seems lengthy and non-linear. The role of political and military elites in the implementation of necessary reforms is crucial. An awareness of each see state's level of democratization and thus of the type of its civil-military relations is necessary for both external and domestic forces.

INTRODUCTION

Since the end of the Cold War, the integration of eastern European states into the western world has been the overriding objective of the European Union (EU). The latest decision for EU enlargement at the 2002 Copenhagen Summit by ten additional members, the majority of whom are former communist states, is an indication of the European Union's determination to complete successfully its mission. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest challenges for the EU seems to emerge from the conflict-ridden societies of Southeastern Europe (see), a region often regarded as a "stability barometer" for the entire continent. Widely associated with state fragmentation, perpetual instability, severe ethnic divisions, and poverty, the see states have only recently started to view the EU perspective as the Archimedean point of the region's stabilization, co-operation, and development process.

Given the history and the high level of heterogeneity in see, the EU has acknowledged that the security and prosperity of the entire continent rest upon the successful transition of all aspiring members to the western type of democracy. By employing the principle of political conditionality, a predominant feature of the post-cold war international environment, the EU links the "stick" with the "carrot" for the creation of a wider European democratic framework (Papademetriou, 2001:71-76; Cameron and Kinds, 2001:108-111). Among the prerequisites for either membership or closer relations with the EU is undoubtedly the issue of civilian control over the military institution, a key principle for all western democracies (Kohn, 1998; Aguero, 1995). The central role which the military institution played in the violent break-up of the former Yugoslavian state, the societal upheavals in Romania and Albania, and the perennial semi-democratization of Turkey indicate that in see states the elected governments are not always in command of their own officer corps. Furthermore, a negative reaction by military elites to the institution building and politico-economic behavior, which the EU membership demands, could cause serious damage to the democratization processes and to peace and security in the region (Larrabee, 1996). Thus, a brief overview of the type of civil-military relations that developed in see during the post-WWII era seems rather overdue.

This article will attempt to describe the evolution of civil-military relations in Albania, Greece, and Turkey. A reason for their selection as case studies is their location (southern arc in see) which points to their increasing geo-economic and geo-strategic importance for the West (Larrabee, 1994; Daadler and O'Hanlon, 2000). This in turn coincides with their augmenting differences in financial and military strength, societal cohesion, and political stability. Furthermore, the overwhelming attention of the academic world on the see Slavic states, especially those emerging from the break up of the former People's Republic of Yugoslavia (Danopoulos, 1996; Bebler, 1997; Sarvas, 1999), made the examination of the cases of Albania, Greece, and Turkey imperative. The use of a multi-factorial approach is believed to serve well the goals of this endeavor. A brief overview of post-war developments in each country's civil-military relations will be followed by a short analysis of factors influencing their evolution. Such factors are the size of the military institution,1 the ideological and corporate orientation of the officer corps (Janowitz & VanDoorn, 1971; Nordlinger, 1977), the role of political institutions and domestic culture (Morlino, 1995) and the level of intervention of influential foreign actors (Pridham, 1995).

CIVIL-MILITARY RELATIONS IN ALBANIA

The geographical and social division of Albania between north and south, (Rama, 1997; Fischer, 1999) and a combination of external conditions created by the second World War, offered a unique opportunity to Enver Hoxha and his pro-communist, National Liberation Front (LNC), to elevate themselves to power. Their ability to overcome the political and military power of the anticommunist resistance forces, the anti-Zog Balli Kombetar and the pro-Zog Legaliteti, allowed them to keep the country far from democratic processes for almost four decades. Most of all, it permitted Enver Hoxha to construct Albania's postwar civil-military relations at will. King Zog I (1924-1939) had unintentionally facilitated Hoxha's road for political supremacy over the military institution with his policies of creating an officer corps loyal to him rather than to the state.2 Furthermore, since both Zog's and Hoxha's policies did not threaten the political and military power of local landowners and tribal leaders,3 the clans maintained their political role and were an important factor in Albania's economic, social, and cultural development (Gerxhani and Schram, 2000).