CIDOB Foundation - [05/14/2008]

Narcís Serra: “Knowing the military is of key importance for a governor”

Accompanied by Felipe González and Carme Chacón, Narcís Serra presented in Madrid his book La Transición Militar. Reflexiones en torno a la reforma democrática de las fuerzas armadas (The military transition. Reflections on the democratic reform of the armed forces), published by Debate.

In her address, the Minister of Defence spoke of the enormous changes that the armed forces have undergone from the transition to democracy until the present day. Chacón claimed that civil power became established as a priority in the military sphere at the very moment that Prime Minister Felipe González and Minister of Defence Narcís Serra presided over the Día de la Inmaculada parade of the Brunete Armoured Division in late 1982. Today, Spain's armed forces are highly trained in terms of technical and human skills to enable them to carry out their functions in the international operations in which they participate.

Felipe González said that on reading La Transición Militar, he was surprised to find a conceptual and normative essay on how the relationship between civil power and the military functions during the transition and the consolidation of the military, and not simply the memoirs or personal experiences of the ex-Minister of Defence. The ex-Prime Minister called the aforementioned relationship an “iceberg”, given that “the most important aspects were not visible”. Finally, he added that relations between civil power and the military "will never fail to contain a certain degree of tension".

Meanwhile, Narcís Serra explained why he decided to write this book, years after having left the Ministry of Defence. The author proposes a model of transition and formulates a political line for explaining the military reforms that are necessary during the process of transition and democratic consolidation. The President of the CIDOB brought the presentation to a close by stating that "knowing the military is of key importance for a governor" and for civil society in general.

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