¿Brecha cultural?: percepciones de elites políticas, económicas y militares españolas respecto de las Fuerzas Armadas

The existence or otherwise of a culture gap between military elites and civilian elites (that is, convergence or divergence in values and perceptions between these elites regarding military administration) can hinder defence policy. This research examines the perceptions about the Armed Forces held by three groups of Spanish elites (political, business and military), based on 46 in-depth structured interviews and 93 survey respondents, to verify the existence of such a gap. The analysis addresses two dimensions: a) shared values between the military, society and political decision-makers; b) social perceptions. The main findings of this study are: a) some social stereotypes are also reproduced among the elites; b) the military elites exhibit a greater convergence with the economic elites than with the political elites.