ОФИЦИРСКА ПРОФЕСИЈА НА БАЛКАНУ: УЗРОЦИ И ПОСЛЕДИЦЕ „КАДРОВСКЕ ЗИМЕˮ
OFFICER PROFESSION IN THE BALKANS: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF THE „PERSONNEL WINTER”

Author(s): Srđan Blagojević, Srđan V. Starčević
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Politics, Security and defense, Military policy
Published by: Institut za strategijska istraživanja
Keywords: officer profession; respect; liquid modernity; "cadre winter"
Summary/Abstract: The Balkan peoples have historically placed a high value on the officer profession, which allowed for a rigorous selection process for military academies and the ensuing elitism of officers over a comparatively lengthy period of time. At the time of the formation of independent states in the Balkans and the introduction of compulsory military service in the 19th century, officers were teachers of the national mission and creators of the strategic culture of the young Balkan nations. During socialist statism, investments in the military capacities of the state apparatus were significant, and the entry of young people into the officer profession was also a sure sign of their upward social mobility. Contemporary experiences of military schools give a different picture regarding the interest of young people in the military profession. The authors place this change in young people interest in choosing a military profession in the context of social changes in liquid modernity, the political context of transition in most Balkan states in the last decade of the 20th and first decade of the 21st century, and the international-political context of the pacification of the Balkans, especially after the wars in the post-Yugoslav region, to understand its origin and examine its causes. The paper argues that the decreased interest of young people in enrolling in military schools and choosing a military profession in the Balkans can be explained by the mutual incompatibility of (new) dominant social values and (old) values of the military profession, by the displacement of the army from the centre of social life and the life of the individual, and by the reduction of the influence of the military on the social mobility of its officers. The authors conclude that the future consequences of the decline in young people's interest in enrolling in military schools and choosing the military profession will be a decline in the level of military professionalism in Huntington's sense of the term, and subsequently a decline in the ability of Balkan armed forces to effectively carry out their missions and respond to the social need for protection. To prevent these consequences, it is necessary to act on the aforementioned causes of the phenomenon. We cannot expect that the Balkan states will change liquid modernity, because changes in the type of society have always come from the centres of civilisation. The "cadre winter" can pass if the states demonstrate that the officer's profession is worthy of respect, primarily by providing it with professional autonomy, public respect, improved working conditions, and a moderate bonus. For the Balkans, weary of war and plagued by decades of demographic problems, the hidden shared past of the armies may hold the genuine answer: in joint study programmes at military academies. Sharing time, space, and knowledge with young officers would enhance comprehension of the common interests of the Balkan peoples and result in a lasting commitment to peace, which is the very purpose of the army.

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