The Koepenick Syndrome: Is the United States the new Prussia?

The Koepenick Syndrome: Is the United States the new Prussia?

by Franz-Stefan Gady

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January 2011 marked the 50th anniversary of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s farewell address. In it, he warned the American people of the growing influence of the “military industrial complex” . An outgrowth of this “total influence”, as Eisenhower put it, is the United States’ reverence for its armed services and the men commanding it. While it is unlikely that the United States will ever take the path of Prussia, the dangers of the Koepenick syndrome are real—a disproportionate admiration for leadership and innovation in men and women wearing uniforms and minimizing civilian influence over tough policy decisions.

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Franz-Stefan Gady is a foreign policy analyst at the EastWest Institute. He served in the Austrian Army.