The phrase “politicization of the military” is used often by the scholars and guests we’ve talked to on this podcast – but what exactly does it mean? If it’s a bad thing, then why? What kinds of actions qualify as “politicized,” and how can civilian officials and military leaders avoid inappropriately politicizing the armed forces? In this episode, we take a deep dive into the topic of military politicization and why it’s such an important element of our national security policymaking.

Articles referenced:
https://twitter.com/krasnican_/status/1088545635878473728
https://www.csis.org/analysis/military-politicization
https://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2019/01/admiral-slammed-shutdown-can-he-do/154389/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/12/21/even-with-mattis-resigning-trump-is-still-damaging-the-militarys-credibility-as-nonpartisan/
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/01/trumps-attacks-mcchrystal-and-mattis-will-do-lasting-damage/579256/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2019/01/trump-civil-military-relations-tensions/

Credits:
Thomas Krasnican, host
Nick Paraiso, host
Haz Yano, engineer and producer
Aishwarya Kumar, producer
Mary Martha Maclay, producer
Sarah Claudy, creative consultant
David Raban, publisher