Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction -- Conceptualizations of the democratic soldier in 21st century Europe: competing norms and practical tensions / Sabine Mannitz -- Case studies on traditional democracies -- The Swiss citizen-soldier: a contested tradition / Sabine Mannitz -- The ideal type of the democratic soldier in Britain / Marco Fey -- Case studies on consolidated post-authoritarian democracies -- The German Bundeswehr soldier between constitutional settings and current tasks / Julika Bake / Berthold Meyer -- The image of the Spanish soldier after the transition to democracy / Eduardo Arranz Bueso / José Garcia Caneiro -- Case studies on post-socialist democracies -- Model and reality of the democratic soldier in the Czech Republic / Zdenek Krí -- The ongoing transformation of the Estonian Defence Forces / Leonid A. Karabeshkin -- The democratic soldier in Hungary -- András Rácz / Erzsébet N. Rózsa -- The Lithuanian reform of the armed forces after independence / Grajina Miniotaite -- The Polish soldier between national traditions and international projection / Maria Wagrowska -- Democratic soldiering in Romania: from norms through policy to reality / Marian Zulean -- State building and images of the democratic soldier in Serbia / Filip Ejdus -- The Ukrainian model of the democratic soldier / Sergiy Gerasymchuk -- Conclusions -- Transformation stress: democratic soldiers between ideals and mission impossible / Harald Müller.