Bargaining with the Military: How Presidents Manage the Political Costs of Civilian Control

Summary

Presidents trying to avoid the political costs of exerting civilian control over the military have four potential approaches: defer to military officials on the broad strategic direction of a war; engage in horse-trading over troop deployments; sidestep leaders who disagree with civilian preferences in favor of alternative sources of advice; and stack the deck to ensure that the military provides recommendations civilian leaders want to hear. The Bush and Obama administrations’ decisions during the Iraq War illustrate these behaviors.