Defiance: How General MacArthur's Career Foreshadowed American Civil-Military Relations Today

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2024-07-31

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Southern New Hampshire University

Abstract

This thesis examines and analyzes the career of General Douglas MacArthur through the lens of his chronic defiance and insubordination. The actions taken by MacArthur throughout his career to escape reprimand and disciplinary action, notably his use of the media, press, and political connections and allies previewed the current state of civil-military relations in the United States. Within the last twenty years, American military elites have utilized the same behaviors of MacArthur in order to influence policy at the highest levels; as a result, civilian control of the military has greatly deteriorated and lapsed resulting in policy failure.

This thesis compares the actions of recent American military elites like General Stanley McChrystal and General David Petraeus as well as the recent politicalization trend in the U.S. military, the findings of the Afghanistan Papers, and the actions of the Trump Administration to MacArthur himself. Although historians of MacArthur have recently come to doubt his brilliance and overall impact on U.S. history, none have framed his career as a cautionary tale of the dangers of an insubordinate commander nor have they demonstrated his impact on the importance of civilian control of the military.

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