"This meticulously researched volume explains how the relationship between the armed forces and politicians can change from authoritarian regimes to democratic ones. The author is not only a first-rate social scientist but, as one of the longest-serving defense ministers in a major European state, someone who was responsible for formulating and implementing defense reform. Serra's lucid arguments and insights about military politics in various political and geographic contexts attest to his broad intellectual vistas that extend far beyond Spain and Europe. In short, this is a terrific book that anyone interested in democratization and military affairs would read with much profit." Zoltan Barany, Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Professor of Government, University of Texas and Susan Louise Dyer Peace Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University.