Iustin-Florin VANCEA
Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania
| Abstract: | The military issue has always been a concern in the foreign policy of the states, and the continuous progress made in the various military fields, as well as the increasingly significant tendency of military diplomacy to be involved in the maintenance of international peace and security, led to the need to use military experts within diplomatic missions, from specialists in the field to permanent advisers to the heads of permanent or temporary diplomatic missions. The history of military attachés dates to the early 19th century when European countries began sending military observers to foreign capitals to monitor military developments and gather intelligence about the accredited state. Military attachés are members of the army of the accrediting state and head the military offices of the respective diplomatic missions, being, in principle, hierarchically subordinate, regardless of rank, to the head of the diplomatic mission. However, this subordination does not prevent the military from communicating directly with the ministries regarding strict military issues, especially those that refer to military secrets. The period after the First World War, along with the development of Romanian diplomacy, was recorded as the strengthening of the institution of the military attachment, having a special contribution to the implementation of the country’s military policy. |
| Keywords: | Legation; military attache; instructions; directives; regulations |
| Contact details of the authors: | E-mail: iustin.vancea@ulbsibiu.ro |
| Institutional affiliation of the authors: | Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Department for International Relations, Security Studies and Political Science |
| Institutions address: | 550324 Sibiu, Romania, Calea Dumbrăvii nr. 34, Tel. / Fax: +40-269-422169 |