Rebecca L. Schiff

Rebecca L. Schiff (born January 11, 1963) is a scholar of military studies and a professional fundraiser. She is best known for her concordance theory of civil-military relations. Concordance theory revises conventional approaches to civil-military relations that argue for the separation of a country’s civil and military institutions to prevent domestic military interventions such as coup d'état. Schiff's concordance theory does not preclude separation as a condition for concordance but offers it as one alternative among many, ranging from complete separation to full integration of a country’s military and society establishments.

Biography

Schiff was born on January 11, 1963 in San Diego, Calif. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa and cum laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles, Calif. and earned both her master’s (Social Science) and Ph.D. (Political Science) from the University of Chicago. Currently, Schiff serves as associate editor of the academic journal Armed Forces & Society and is a council member of the Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society. She has held visiting professorships at the University of Michigan and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Schiff was a member of a NATO technical research project conducted by representatives from ten countries including the United States. (HFM RTG-226). The project focused on military personnel work culture and relations in defense organizations among the participant nations.

She holds the title of adjunct professor at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. At the War College she has taught U.S. Civil-Military Relations, and is currently teaching a course entitled "A World Without NATO".

Schiff is also a real estate investor.

She has also been an active supporter of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) communities. She has held national board positions for the Human Rights Campaign and PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays).[1]

Theoretical contributions

Concordance theory

One critical question in civil-military relations theory is how to determine the conditions under which the military will intervene in the domestic politics of the nation. Many scholars agree with the theory of objective civilian control of the military (Samuel P. Huntington), which focuses on the separation of civil and military institutions. This view relies heavily on the U.S. case, from an institutional perspective, during the post-World War II period. Schiff provides an alternative theory, from both institutional and cultural perspectives, that explains the U.S. case as well as several non-U.S. civil-military relations case studies.

Concordance theory does not preclude a separation between the civilian and military worlds; but it does not require such a condition to exist. Schiff argues that three partners – the military, political elites and citizenry – should aim for agreement among four primary indicators:

  1. Social composition of the officer corps
  2. The political decision-making process
  3. The method of recruiting military personnel
  4. The style of the military

If agreement occurs among the three partners with respect to the four indicators, domestic military intervention is less likely to occur. In her book, The Military and Domestic Politics, Schiff applies concordance theory to five cases studies: U.S. Post-Revolutionary Period (1790–1800); Israel (1980–90); Argentina (1945–55); India (post-Independence and the 1980s); and Pakistan (1958–69).[2]

Schiff’s concordance theory was first introduced in her 1995 article "Civil-Military Relations Reconsidered: A Theory of Concordance" published in Armed Forces & Society. The 2009 publication of her book The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations offers a more comprehensive examination of her theory among several national contexts. Schiff's approach is considered both timely and an important advancement in the field of civil-military relations by such scholars as Charles Moskos and John Allen Williams.[3][4]

The Military and Domestic Politics also examines how concordance theory has evolved from the field of military studies to “corporate concordance”, which focuses on the military-industrial complex. It suggests that many corporations have now shifted their priorities from building arms and military technology to corporate philanthropy and social responsibility.[5]

Targeted partnerships

Schiff’s current policy work focuses on applying concordance theory to counter-insurgency strategy. Her most recent work is "Concordance Theory, Targeted Partnership and Counterinsurgency Strategy". The essay critiques the "normal theory" of civil-military relations and introduces the new concept of “targeted partnership” which is a distillate form of concordance theory or agreement involving reciprocity between the military, the political elites and society for a limited period of time to accomplish a very specific objective. Targeted partnerships allows the military to interact effectively with policy makers and other military personnel on critical issues, such as counter-insurgency strategy, without breaching a nation's broad standard for civil-military relations.

Publications

Notes

  1. ↑ Fenway Health (2006): "Women's Dinner Party", accessed March 14, 2010
  2. ↑ JMSS Editorial Board Member Launches Her New Book. Biztekian Vision (May–Aug 2009): 22.
  3. ↑ Moskos, Charles C. The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations (New York: Routledge Press, 2009).
  4. ↑ Williams, John A. The Military and Domestic Politics: A Concordance Theory of Civil-Military Relations (New York: Routledge Press, 2009).
  5. ↑ JMSS Editorial Board Member Launches Her New Book. Biztekian Vision (May–Aug 2009): 22.

Other resources

External links

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