ethno-nationalism dissected

In a democracy, the military is one of the most powerful institutions in the country, And precisely because it has so much power, it has to remain under civilian control. The military's job is to defend the country and carry out the policy of the elected government not to decide which policies the government is allowed to implement. The problem starts when people in the military use their organized power to influence political decisions. You don't need tanks in the streets. You don't need a military coup or soldiers taking over government buildings. It is enough for an organized group of military officers to tell the government: if you don't change your policy, we will stop cooperating, we will damage the military's readiness, or we will refuse to carry out the missions we were given. That is no longer ordinary political disagreement. That is using military power to put pressure on the civilian government. And that is exactly what makes organized political refusal so dangerous. An individual has every right to oppose a government policy. He can protest, demonstrate, refuse personally, and accept the consequences of his decision. But when military officers organize as officers, using the power and status they have inside the military, and use that power to try to change a decision made by an elected government — we have crossed into dangerous territory. At that point, the military is no longer just protecting the country. It has become a political player. Some people will say, "But the cause is justified." That doesn't solve the problem. Actually, it makes the precedent even more dangerous. Today, someone may use this power to oppose a right-wing government. But tomorrow, another government might make a decision that the right sees as a national disaster — a diplomatic agreement, a withdrawal, territorial concessions, or the evacuation of settlements. If we accept the idea that the military can intervene when part of it believes the government is making the wrong decision, then who can say that tomorrow the other side won't do exactly the same thing?