Civil-Military Challenges for a Consolidating Democracy: The Maldives
Abstract
This thesis explores the civil-military challenges faced by the Maldives in its transition from autocratic rule to a democratic system of governance with the ratification of the new constitution in 2008. The new constitution initiated a process ending the executive's sole authority over the military, making the military answerable to the executive as well as to the legislature, the judiciary, the Auditor General, the Anti-Corruption Commission, and civil society. To assess the new distribution of military oversight among the various branches of the state and society requires understanding the institutions and legislation of prior CMR and how the traditional regime continues to manifest itself in this transition phase. Although it has been three years since the ratification of the constitution, little progress has been made in changing the military-executive relationship in accordance with the constitutional mandate. Reformulating the military-executive relationship in accordance with the new distribution of military oversight is important for the institutional development of the military and for democratic consolidation. Efforts at the democratic reform of CMR institutions are currently stalled by inadequate legislation, an inappropriate configuration of institutions, weak enforcement of judicial decisions, and the lack of defense and security knowledge among civilians in the executive and the legislature. The study concludes that it is crucial for the Maldives to overcome these legislative and institutional challenges to enacting a democratic CMR regime if it is to meet its security challenges.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA573580
Entities
People
- Ibrahim Ashraf
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School