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Forster, Edmunds and Cottey argue that professional armed forces are defined by four core characteristics, namely their role, their expertise, their responsibility, and their system of promotion. They have clearly defined and widely accepted roles, in relation both to external functions and domestic society. They have the expertise and skills necessary to fulfil these functions effectively and efficiently. They have clear rules defining the responsibilities of the military as an institution, and of individual soldiers. And promotion within them is based on achievement. Within the context of post-Cold War Europe, the book's editors argue there are four distinct models of professional armed forces: a Power Projection model, entailing armed forces substantially oriented towards the deployment of military power outside national territory; a Territorial Defence model, entailing armed forces primarily oriented towards national defence but also capable of contributing in a limited way to multinational power-projection operations; a Post-Neutral model, entailing small armed forces primarily oriented towards national defence but heavily reliant on mass mobilisation of reserves in time of war, and capable also of contributing to traditional peacekeeping operations; and a Neutral model, entailing armed forces almost entirely oriented towards national defence.
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