ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the evolution of the democratization of civil-military relations in the Czech Republic. While most analyses of postcommunist democratic transitions focus on the progress of civilian democratic institutions, the democratization of civilmilitary relations should not be overlooked. After all, military institutions possess the expertise and force which can be directed either at the preservation of democratic gains or at their destruction. Reshaping patterns of behavior forged in the Soviet era has been an arduous process that is still incomplete on the eve of the Czech Republic's invitation to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Democratic political control of the Army of the Czech Republic (ACR) is an indicator of the breadth and depth of the democratization process in the Czech Republic and in the region at large.
