Book Talk | The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States
Join the Quincy Institute’s Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative for a conversation with Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, on her new book The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil-Military Relations in the United States.
In the United States, the relationship between civilian leaders and the military has long been a defining feature of the republic. While many nations have struggled to balance military power with democratic governance, the American system has historically maintained strong norms of civilian control over the armed forces. In The State and the Soldier, Schake traces how this relationship developed over more than two centuries, examining how presidents, legislators, military officers, and citizens shaped the evolving boundaries between military authority and civilian leadership through wars, political crises, and institutional reforms.
At a time when debates about the political role of the military, trust in institutions, and the proper boundaries between civilian leaders and the armed forces have resurfaced in American politics, Schake’s history offers an important lens for understanding the foundations of U.S. civil-military relations and the challenges they may face in the future. She will speak with Adam Weinstein, director of QI’s Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative.
The conversation will take place on Thursday, March 26th from 1:00 – 2:00 PM Eastern Time.
Program
Entities
Panelists
Kori Schake
Kori Schake is a senior fellow and the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. Before joining AEI, Dr. Schake was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House. She was also a senior policy advisor on the 2008 McCain campaign. She has taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, and the University of Maryland, and is currently the Henry A. Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress. Schake is the author of five books.
Adam Weinstein
Adam Weinstein is deputy director of the Middle East program at the Quincy Institute and director of QI’s Veterans in Foreign Policy Initiative. His current research focuses on security and rule of law in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq He is also a non-resident fellow at Tadblab, a think tank and advisory firm based in Islamabad, and regularly travels throughout Pakistan. Adam’s analysis has been featured in the Washington Post, Guardian, Foreign Policy, War on the Rocks, Lawfare, and The National Interest. Before coming to the Quincy Institute, he worked for KPMG’s international trade practice and assisted multinational clients in navigating Asia’s changing trade landscape, incorporating human rights due diligence into supply chains, managing sanctions risk, and utilizing free trade agreements.