Abstract
In so many ways independence in 1991 was a watershed for Latvia, and one of the major challenges was the need to create a national armed force where none had existed for fifty years. The context in which this challenge was taken up was the country’s struggle for independence in 1990–91. The use of Soviet Interior Ministry troops against Latvian demonstrators in January 1991 was a key milestone in convincing the new Latvian government that the republic’s independence could only be safeguarded with more formal defence structures. The immediate path to the creation of a Ministry of Defence and the foundation of Latvia’s armed forces therefore have their origin in the 12 months of 1991, though democratic control of the armed forces has taken longer to establish and nurture.
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Notes
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© 2002 Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited
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Viksne, I. (2002). Democratic Control of Armed Forces in Latvia. In: Cottey, A., Edmunds, T., Forster, A. (eds) Democratic Control of the Military in Postcommunist Europe. One Europe or Several?. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403905239_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403905239_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
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