Why democracies cannot wage modern war

There are three reasons: Command, Secrecy, and Speed.

It is debatable that democracies could ever effectively wage war; even the Athenian democracy delegated power for the sake of war.

Modern war, however, has different constraints and, in the presence of modern states with modern technology backing their militaries, there are very real, and possibly disturbing, limits on the influence that any sort of democratic system can exert on the state's war machine.

Before I get into the details, let me quickly run by a definition. I’m using the word “democracy” in only the most broad, categorical, and contemporary political usage, rather than a more accurate technical definition (which would apply to classical Athens). Republics, parliamentary systems, and legislative democracy like what is used in some US states, are part of this general category of “democratic systems.”

But why are these systems such a hindrance in the realm of modern war?

1) Command.

This is not merely a modern constraint, but one that stretches back into antiquity. Military decisions cannot be made by too large a group of men because, by necessity, risk is not equal. Some parts of an army will be exposed to much higher risk than others in order to execute a battle plan or war strategy so that the collective might gain victory. This is why bravery is rewarded, and cowardice or disobeying orders must be punished. The Romans had the rarely decimation, in which 1/10 of a legion would be beaten to death by the rest if there was a failure due to cowardice. Voting on who goes over the wall first is not feasible, as is asking all the men of the army for their input prior to battle. Consider how often ethnicities and classes vote against each other and apply that to life and death.

Historically, republics like Rome still appointed singular commanders, consuls, and proconsuls, who held sole power over an army or else split their power with one other man. This was a necessity of the ancient world, where military action would occur far from the location of the political state with no way to communicate quickly. Over time, the republic lost power over the military, and all power became concentrated in the Principate, or emperor, who commanded all armies in order to manage conquests and barbarian incursions. It is easy to forget when reading tales of Nero or Caligula that the Optimus Princeps was a military position. Marcus Aurelius, like Julius Caesar, was a great writer but spent most of his time on campaign. Valerian was captured in battle!

Modern warfare has different constraints. The military of a modern state like the USA, China, or Russia is large and complex. Week-to-week operations cannot be efficiently managed by representatives when the current active theater might include the entire globe. An effective hierarchy is critical. In this reality, representatives are a distant check on the military wing, by necessity, or else the military would not be able to act decisively and with appropriate speed.

2. Secrecy

A large part of the post-war global military game is espionage. By necessity, espionage operations must remain secret to be effective. If they are public, they cannot be secret. Thus, the people are not in a position where they can make meaningful decisions about espionage. They must be kept largely in the dark. After all, some part of the people are faithless or traitorous, but unfortunately, this also applies to representatives in the USA.

This is a disturbing reality, because things like the CIA can just as easily be turned against the people as used for foreign influence and war. The people cannot really know what they are up to and thus cannot stop them from doing any real evil. It is the autocratic military that must make those decisions, hopefully for the benefit of the people but possibly for their detriment.

The problem is that in the world of modern competing states with their own espionage operations, removing your own because they are undemocratic handicaps the state, and therefore the war machine, which threatens peace through weakness. There is no democratic solution to this, just a mild check from representatives who cannot really tell their constituents anything, if they have even been informed as to the espionage at all. Since things like the CIA are secret, what they reveal is, in some part, up to their own discretion. Not a pleasant thought, but it is to my broader point.

3. Speed

Modern mechanized and technological warfare is potentially very fast. It is impractical to debate a response to a threat or an attack when the response must be made in minutes or seconds. If Russia launches a nuclear attack, there is no time for Congress to hold televised debates as to the response. The president must be able to respond immediately to counter the threat.

This also extends to other, less frightening operations. Conditions can change in minutes, and the military must be empowered to respond to those changes in order to maximize the effectiveness of force. The U.S. Constitution requires Congress to declare war, which it has not done since World War II. I like this provision, a practical check on the executive branch’s military powers, but we must be honest. It hasn’t been enforced because it is impractical in modern circumstances. It is vestigial, and the imperial presidency is a fact of the modern state. Congress has some nominal checks on military action outside of formal war, but they rarely use them because by the time they matter, weeks or months into a conflict, the military has already responded with its necessary speed.

People love the idea of democracy. It feels good. However, in order to keep that. Democracy from being overwhelmed by a foreign state, the modern war machine must, by necessity, be very undemocratic.

What we have in the USA now is a sort of strange tension between these two areas. Domestically, we have a representative government that engages in legislation, but the outward facing military is not democratic at all. This possibly explains why the current president, Donald Trump, can execute his will so decisively on the foreign stage but is unable to make much progress domestically.

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