Army and State in Postcommunist Europe

The end of communist rule changed political systems across central and eastern Europe. It also changed the relations between the armed forces and society, as each of the countries looked for its own solution to the problem of democratic control at a time of shrinking budgets and a changing international environment. Drawing on the contributions of practitioners from the region as well as scholars, this study explores the complex military issues that are raised by the transition to postcommunist rule with particular reference to Russia, Bulgaria, and the three new members of NATO: the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. All faced with similar problems, their responses, it emerges, are surprisingly diverse.