Max Margulies is in the studio with guest host Carrie Lee for the fifth episode in our multi-part special series supporting the U.S. Army War College’s Civil-Military Relations Center. Max and Carrie discuss the relationship between the government and society when it comes to the use of the military. Whether it’s peacekeeping operations versus declared war, the impact of casualties on public opinion, or the resources expended to prosecute international goals, today’s discussion considers how much the views of the voting population play in the calculus of policy making. How does public opinion affect where, how and why U.S. officials prosecute foreign policy through the use of the military?
I still think that public opinion matters both normatively and practically.
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Max Margulies is the Director of Research and an Assistant Professor at the Modern War Institute at West Point. He also serves as course director for the Defense and Strategic Studies major’s thesis program. Prior to joining MWI, he was a faculty member in West Point’s Department of Social Sciences, where he taught classes on international affairs and served as Executive Director of the Rupert H. Johnson Grand Strategy Program. He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA in Political Science from Columbia University, and a BA in Political Science (Honors) from McGill University.
Carrie A. Lee is an associate professor at the U.S. Army War College, where she serves as the chair of the Department of National Security and Strategy and director of the USAWC Center on Civil-Military Relations. She received her Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University and a B.S. from MIT.
The views expressed in this presentation are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, U.S. Army, or Department of Defense.
Photo Description: Vietnam anti-war march, 10 August, 1968, occurred as Chicago, IL was preparing to host the Democratic National Convention.
Photo Credit: David Wilson via flickr