The military establishment played a pivotal role in shaping the political path of the elite and their decisions in the Arab countries, including the Arab Maghreb, whether through liberation movements under colonialism or in the postindependence era. They took control and combined different models through strategies predominantly concerned with security, military coercion and hard security approaches. This study explores the role of the security and military establishment following the events of the Arab spring in Tunisia and Libya. It highlights the positive and negative impact of their interactions on civil-military relations and deconstructs symbols of acquisition and functional use of the relationship between the military and the authority, and its position on approaches to transformation and democratic transition in the Maghreb region.