In an era where public trust in institutions has seen a sharp decline, the United States military has managed to maintain relatively high levels of public confidence. However, recent trends indicate a concerning decrease in this trust, raising questions about the future of civil-military relations. Ronald Krebs, a professor of political science at the University of Minnesota, joins host Carrie Lee to discuss the intricate relationship between the military and the public. Their conversation explores the factors contributing to this decline, the impact of political polarization, and the unique reverence Americans hold for their armed forces. And it echoes the theme of his most recent article Trump vs. the Military. It’s the latest episode in our Civil-Military Relations Center speaker series.
We need to stop venerating the military. We need to show them respect, but that’s not the same thing as blind veneration.
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Ron Krebs is Distinguished McKnight University Professor and Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of the award-winning Narrative and the Making of US National Security (Cambridge UP, 2015) and is coeditor of the Oxford Handbook of Grand Strategy (Oxford UP, 2021), among other books. Krebs’ articles on a wide range of subjects in global affairs and international security have appeared in leading scholarly journals, including International Organization, International Security, and Security Studies, as well as in general interest outlets such as Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, and the Washington Post (for a complete list, see his website). Krebs is immediate past editor-in-chief of the leading scholarly journal Security Studies.
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: New York denizens watch the Veterans Day Parade from the sidewalks of Fifth Avenue. Sailors are participating in Veterans Week New York City to honor the service of all our nation’s veterans.
Photo Credit: U.S. Navy photo by MC2 Andrew B. Church/Released