Thread by @FaceDeBengals

1/
Three decades after the Iron Curtain, Central & Eastern European (CEE) states have gone from followers to leaders in NATO & EU security. How? By transforming their military elites into highly transnational actors. 🧵

2/
Tomas Kucera’s 2025 study shows that CEE Chiefs of Defence (CHODs) are among the most internationalised military leaders in the world. They studied abroad, served in NATO HQs, and deployed in multinational missions.

is not a coincidence. It’s the product of 5 drivers:
1️⃣ Legacy of Sovietisation
2️⃣ Domestic political push for Westernisation
3️⃣ Western incentives & education programs
4️⃣ NATO’s operational agenda
5️⃣ New military culture valuing foreign experience

4/
At first, many generals had Soviet training. It was the only way to advance in the Warsaw Pact. But after 1989, this Soviet background became delegitimised — forcing a pivot to Western professionalisation.

5/
Domestic politics accelerated the change. Learning English, attending NATO/US war colleges, and building Western networks became mandatory steps for officers who wanted to rise to the top.

6/
Western partners provided the tools. Programs like IMET (US-funded) and Nordic support for the Baltic Defence College created an entire generation of CEE officers socialised in Western norms & practices.

7/
NATO operations sealed the deal. Kosovo, Afghanistan (ISAF), Iraq (MNF-I) and UN peacekeeping missions gave future CHODs real joint experience with Western militaries. This became the new gold standard for professionalism.

8/
By the 2010s, transnational experience was no longer optional — it was the entry ticket to top command. Example: Czech CHOD Řehka requires all strategic commanders to have foreign schooling or NATO missions on their CV.

9/
Globally, CEE CHODs rank above NATO & world averages in transnational experience. Czechia, Latvia, Romania, Poland, Hungary, Estonia — all in the global top 10. Slovakia stands out as the laggard.

10/
This matters politically. Transnationally socialised generals are not just advisors — they’ve become visible political actors. They openly push governments on defence budgets, conscription, and readiness.

11/
Examples:
🇵🇱 Poland’s CHOD Kukuła warned “Russia is preparing for a conflict with NATO.”
🇨🇿 Czech CHOD Řehka called for compulsory service, sparking political storms.
🇷🇴 Romania’s CHOD Vlad urged defence reforms against Russian threats.

12/
In most CEE states, this activism strengthens NATO cohesion. Military leaders act as guardians of Euro-Atlantic readiness. But in Hungary & Slovakia, governments tried to curb this influence (the “de-NATOisation” debates).

13/
Yet even in those cases, international experience remains unavoidable. Hungary’s current CHOD Böröndi is a US War College graduate, NATO/EU rep, & Afghan veteran. Slovakia’s Zmeko, less international, survived by staying politically cautious.

14/
The bigger picture: CEE militaries have become incubators of a transnational elite — generals embedded in Western networks who carry NATO’s strategic culture back home, shaping not just military policy but national politics.

15/
Bottom line: The rise of transnationalised CEE military leaders shows how integration works from the inside out. Yesterday’s Soviet-trained officers are today’s NATO guardians — and their voices will shape Europe’s security for decades. 🔚

Kucera, T. (2025). The transnationalisation of military leaders in Central and Eastern Europe and EURO-Atlantic integration. European Security, 1–23. doi.org/10.1080/096628…