Publication

This paper describes how international military reserves have been rapidly transforming as national governments alter the relationships between their active and reserve components. This is especially true in terms of the allocation of roles and responsibilities among reserve forces. The author explains that the declining size of many national reserve components, combined with an increased tendency to be drawn predominantly from certain, often disadvantaged, social groups, appears to have additionally weakened the effectiveness of this military-civilian link as well. The paper concludes that US defense planners might wish to adjust their own forces and reserve policies to respond to changes in foreign countries’ reserve policies.