The military represents a specialized society within society as a whole. It has a specific purpose: the achievement of military goals that are in contrast to the goals of the larger society, which are, at least in democratic countries, aimed at maximizing individual autonomy. The Introduction outlines what military justice is and explains that the nature and scope of military justice in any particular country will tell a good deal about that country’s political values. It considers several questions: How does the military justice system differ from the civilian criminal justice system? What is a court-martial? What rights does a military accused have?