Romania's experiences with defense reform since the December 1989 revolution and the dimensions of civil-military relations viewed as a trinity

• Main Author: Stan, Ramona
• Other Authors: Bruneau, Thomas
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3613

The thesis addresses Romania's experiences with defense reform and the development of democratic civil-military relations (CMR) since the collapse of communism in December 1989. The purpose of the thesis is to identify relevant qualitatitive and quantitative indicators to measure to progress of the Romanian political and military authorities in implementing the defense reform initiatives, with a special focus on the CMR trinity (civilian democratic control over the armed forces, defense efficiency, and military effectiveness). The thesis argues that civilian control over the armed forces was the key priority during the early stages of defense reform, given the challenges posed by the transition to democracy. During this period, attention was focused on establishing and enforcing the democratic constitutional and legal framework, re-defining the roles and missions of the armed forces, and restructuring of the military. Once these objectives were achieved, the defense reform allowed for finding appropriate strategies and policies to improving efficiency and military effectiveness. Consistent progress has been made alongside these aspects of CMR, especially since the 2000s, when national efforts were more convincing, and the NATO assistance for further accession were more targeted. The success of Romania's experiences with defense reform is demonstrated by revisiting three areas of defense policies: the defense planning, programming and budgeting system (PPBS); the human resource management; and the modernization of military equipment.