In General Naval Tactics, Naval War College professor and renowned tactical expert Milan Vego describes and explains those aspects of naval tactics most closely related to the human factor. Specifically, he explains in some detail the objectives and methods/elements of tactical employment of naval forces, command and control, combat support, tactical design, decision-making and planning/execution, leadership, doctrine, and training. Vego derives certain commonalities of naval tactics that occurred in recent and distant wars at sea. Many parts of his theoretical constructs are based on works of a number of well-known and influential naval theoreticians such as Admirals Alfred T. Mahan, Bradley A. Fiske, Raoul Castex, and Ren?® Daveluy and influential naval theoreticians. Whenever possible, the author illustrates each aspect of theory by carefully selected examples from naval history--making the theory more understandable and interesting. Vego aims to present theory that is general in nature and therefore, more durable in its validity. The more general the theory, the greater the possibility of accommodating changes based on new interpretations of past events and as a result of gaining fresh insight from the lessons learned.

This book examines the evolution of Russia s security policy under Putin in the 21st century, using a critical security studies approach.

Drawing on critical approaches to security the book investigates the interrelationship between the internal-external nexus and the politics of (in)security and regime-building in Putin s Russia. In so doing, it evaluates the way that this evolving relationship between state identities and security discourses framed the construction of individual security policies, and how, in turn, individual issues can impact on the meta-discourses of state and security agendas. To this end, the (de)securitisation discourses and practices towards the issue of Chechnya are examined as a case study.

In so doing, this study has wider implications for how we read Russia as a security actor through an approach that emphasises the importance of taking into account its security culture, the interconnection between internal/external security priorities and the dramatic changes that have taken place in Russia s conceptions of itself, national and security priorities and conceptualisation of key security issues, in this case Chechnya. These aspects of Russia s security agenda remain somewhat of a neglected area of research, but, as argued in this book, offer structuring and framing implications for how we understand Russia s position towards security issues, and perhaps those of rising powers more broadly.

This book will be of much interest to students of Russian security, critical security studies and IR."

Japan's U.S.-imposed postwar constitution renounced the use of offensive military force, but, as Sheila Smith shows, a nuclear North Korea and an increasingly assertive China have the Japanese rethinking that commitment, and their reliance on United States security. Japan has one of Asia's most technologically advanced militaries and yet struggles to use its hard power as an instrument of national policy. The horrors of World War II continue to haunt policymakers in Tokyo, while China and South Korea remain wary of any military ambitions Japan may entertain. Yet a fundamental shift in East Asian geopolitics has forced Japan to rethink the commitment to pacifism it made during the U.S. occupation. It has increasingly flexed its muscles-deploying troops under UN auspices, participating in coercive sanctions, augmenting surveillance capabilities, and raising defense budgets. Article Nine of Japan's constitution, drafted by U.S. authorities in 1946, claims that the Japanese people "forever renounce the use of force as a means of settling international disputes." When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe broke this taboo by advocating revision of Article Nine, public outcry was surprisingly muted. The military, once feared as a security liability, now appears to be an indispensable asset, called upon with increasing frequency and given a seat at the policymaking table. In Japan Rearmed Sheila Smith argues that Japan is not only responding to increasing threats from North Korean missiles and Chinese maritime activities but also reevaluating its dependence on the United States. No longer convinced that they can rely on Americans to defend Japan, Tokyo's political leaders are now confronting the possibility that they may need to prepare the nation's military for war.

This book examines US military bases across the globe including those in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It documents the massive political, economic and environmental impacts that these outposts have and studies the movements and campaigns against them.US Military bases form a huge global system but are poorly understood by those not directly involved in their operation. The Pentagon is currently relocating many bases to fit with the strategies of pre-emption and resource control and this has intensified existing conflicts between the military and local people. The authors of this volume show how these seemingly local disputes are crucial to the success and failure of the American imperial project, and attempt to bring together the geographically scattered opposition movements to form a coherent campaign against the harmful effects of bases.A key title for students of anthropology and politics, this collection will also open the eyes of US citizens to the damage the American empire causes in allied countries as well as in its war zones.

From the end of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th, most Western powers maintained a naval presence in China. These gunboats protected traders and missionaries, safeguarded national interests, and patrolled Chinese rivers in search of pirates. It was a wild, lawless time in China as ruthless warlords fought numerous small wars to increase their power and influence.
This book covers the gunboats of all the major nations that stationed naval forces in China, including America, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Japan, and looks at such famous incidents as the Japanese bombing of the USS Patay and the dramatic escape of the HMS Amethyst from Communist forces in 1947, which marked the end of the gunboat era.

Examining major terrorist acts and campaigns undertaken in the decade following September 11, 2001, internationally recognized scholars study the involvement of global terrorist leaders and organizations in these incidents and the planning, organization, execution, recruitment, and training that went into them. Their work captures the changing character of al-Qaeda and its affiliates since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq and the sophisticated elements that, despite the West's best counterterrorism efforts, continue to exert substantial direction over jihadist terrorist operations. Through case studies of terrorist acts and offensives occurring both in and outside the West, the volume's contributors investigate al-Qaeda and other related entities as they adapted to the strategies of Operation Enduring Freedom and subsequent U.S.-led global counterterrorism programs. They explore whether Osama bin Laden was indeed reduced to a mere figurehead before his death or continued to influence al-Qaeda's global activities. Did al-Qaeda become a loose collection of individuals and ideas following its expulsion from Afghanistan, or was it reborn as a transnational terrorist structure powered by a well-articulated ideology? What is the preeminent terrorist threat we face today, and what will it look like in the future? This anthology pinpoints the critical patterns and strategies that will inform counterterrorism in the coming decades.

'Wonderful ... among military historians, Roberts is Britain's crown gem' Wall Street Journal Taking us from the French Revolution to the Cold War and the Falklands, celebrated historian Andrew Roberts presents us with a bracingly honest and insightful look at nine major figures in modern history: Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, George C. Marshall, Charles de Gaulle, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Margaret Thatcher. Each of these leaders fundamentally shaped the outcome of the war their nation was embroiled in. How were they alike, and in what ways did they differ? Was their war leadership unique, or did these leaders have something in common, traits and techniques that transcend time and place and can be applied to the fundamental nature of conflict? Meticulously researched and compellingly written, Leadership in War presents readers with fresh, complex portraits of leaders who approached war with different tactics and different weapons, but with the common goal of success in the face of battle. Both inspiring and cautionary, these portraits offer important lessons on leadership in times of struggle. With his trademark verve and incisive observation, Roberts reveals the qualities that doom even the most promising leaders to failure, and the qualities that lead to victory.

This book undertakes an in-depth examination of the diversity in international approaches to the navy-coastguard nexus. It considers the evolving global maritime security landscape and the emergence and proliferation of maritime law enforcement agencies-collectively referred to here as "coastguards"-performing peacetime constabulary duties alongside navies. Through a cross-regional study of various countries worldwide, including those in Asia and Europe, this book reveals that there is no one optimal, "one size fits all" organizational structure. Instead, there is a wide array of drivers that influence a nation-state's maritime security architecture and its organizational approach to managing security at sea, or broadly speaking, securing its national maritime interests.

This edited volume analyses siege warfare as a discrete type of military engagement, in the face of which civilians are particularly vulnerable. Siege warfare is a form of combat that has usually had devastating effects on civilian populations. From the near-contemporary Siege of Sarajevo to the real and mythical sieges of the ancient Mediterranean, this has been a recurring type of military engagement which, through bombardment, starvation, disease and massacre, places non-combatants at the heart of battle. To date, however, there has been little recognition of the effects of siege warfare on civilians. This edited volume addresses this gap. Using a distinctive regressive method, it begins with the present and works backwards, avoiding teleological interpretations that suggest the targeting of civilians in war is a modern phenomenon. Its contributors interrogate civilians' roles during sieges, both as victims and active participants; the laws and customs of siege warfare; its place in historical memory, and the ways civilian survivors have dealt with trauma. Its scope and content ensure that the collection is essential reading for all those interested in the place of civilians in war. Chapter 2 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com

The counterinsurgency (COIN) paradigm dominates military and political conduct in contemporary Western strategic thought. It assumes future wars will unfold as "low intensity" conflicts within rather than between states, requiring specialized military training and techniques. COIN is understood as a logical, effective, and democratically palatable method for confronting insurgency-a discrete set of practices that, through the actions of knowledgeable soldiers and under the guidance of an expert elite, creates lasting results. Through an extensive investigation into COIN's theories, methods, and outcomes, this book undermines enduring claims about COIN's success while revealing its hidden meanings and effects. Interrogating the relationship between counterinsurgency and war, the authors question the supposed uniqueness of COIN's attributes and try to resolve the puzzle of its intellectual identity. Is COIN a strategy, a doctrine, a theory, a military practice, or something else? Their analysis ultimately exposes a critical paradox within COIN: while it ignores the vital political dimensions of war, it is nevertheless the product of a misplaced ideological faith in modernization.

A fascinating anthology which sheds new light on the Bletchley Park story and shows that there is still more to tell.' - Tony Comer OBE, formerly Departmental Historian at GCHQ This important volume tells the story of Bletchley Park through countless letters written by key players to former colleagues and loved ones as the war unfolded. Having intercepted millions of German communications, the codebreakers had felt bound by the Official Secrets Act and said little about their wartime activities. Some who had stayed on at GCHQ after the war, were concerned that speaking out could jeopardise their pensions.Over one hundred letters have been included in this volume and have either been recovered from family members or declassified by GCHQ. They reveal fresh information about the clandestine operation and disclose the true feelings of the participants at Bletchley.Park. In contrast to early accounts, which lacked detail and were occasionally inaccurate, this book thoroughly lays bare the day-to-day experiences at Bletchley Park and uncovers the operational and technical reasons behind the organisation's successes and failures. Simultaneously intimate and comprehensive, it will interest historians, World War II researchers, and anyone who wants to learn the secrets of Britain's signal intelligence effort.

Located in the center of Asia with one of the largest land frontiers in the world and 14 neighbors whose dispositions could not easily be predicted, China has long been obsessed with security. In this handbook, an internationally renowned team of contributors provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of contemporary thinking about Chinese national security. Chapters cover the PRC's historical, ideological and doctrinal heritage related to security, its security arrangements and policies targeting key regions and nations of the world, the security aspects of the PRC's ground, air, sea, space and cyber forces, as well as the changing and expanding definition and scope of China's security theory and practice.

This book analyses the cooperation between the European Union and the United States on internal security and counter-terrorism since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In particular, four areas of cooperation are examined: customs and supply chain security; judicial cooperation (the mutual legal assistance and extradition agreements); law enforcement cooperation (the Europol-US agreements); and the EU-US agreements for the sharing of air passengers' data (PNR agreements). These cases are analysed through a conceptual framework based on the theories of international regimes, with the data being drawn from an extensive documentary analysis of media sources collected through the 'Nexis' database, official documents, and from 13 semi-structured elite interviews with US and EU officials. The book argues that the EU and the US have established a transatlantic internal security regime based on shared principles, norms, rules, and interests. While at the beginning of this process the EU had a more reactive and passive stance at the later stages both the EU and the US were active in shaping the transatlantic political agenda and negotiations. The book demonstrates how the EU has had a much more proactive role in its relations with the US than has often been assumed in the current literature. This book will be of much interest to students of EU policy, foreign policy, international security and IR in general.

A concise introduction to Ancient Egyptian warfare from the Neolithic period through to the Iron Age, covering everything from battle tactics to weaponry and battle injuries. The excellent preservation of Egyptian artefacts including bows, axes and chariots, means that it is possible to track the changing nature of Egyptian military technology, as well as the equipment and ideas that were adopted from other civilisations of the Eastern Mediterranean and Near East. As well as discussing such crucial issues as military strategy, martial ideology, construction of fortresses and waging of siege warfare, this book includes the study of practical ques tions of life, death and survival of individual soldiers on the battlefield.

The contradictory trends of the 'post-Arab Spring' landscape form both the backdrop to, and the focus of, this volume on the changing security dynamics of the Persian Gulf, defined as the six GCC states plus Iraq and Iran. The political and economic upheaval triggered by the uprisings of 2011, and the rapid emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in 2014, have underscored the vulnerability of regional states to an intersection of domestic pressures and external shocks. The initial phase of the uprisings has given way to a series of messy and uncertain transitions that have left societies deeply fractured and ignited violence both within and across states. The bulk of the protests, with the notable exception of Bahrain, occurred outside the Gulf region, but Persian Gulf states were at the forefront of the political, economic, and security response across the Middle East.This volume provides a timely and comparative study of how security in the Persian Gulf has evolved and adapted to the growing uncertainty of the post-2011 regional landscape.

Water is not only a source of life and culture. It is also a source of power, conflicting interests and identity battles. Rights to materially access, culturally organize and politically control water resources are poorly understood by mainstream scientific approaches and hardly addressed by current normative frameworks. These issues become even more challenging when law and policy-makers and dominant power groups try to grasp, contain and handle them in multicultural societies. The struggles over the uses, meanings and appropriation of water are especially well-illustrated in Andean communities and local water systems of Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Bolivia, as well as in Native American communities in south-western USA. The problem is that throughout history, these nation-states have attempted to 'civilize' and bring into the mainstream the different cultures and peoples within their borders instead of understanding 'context' and harnessing the strengths and potentials of diversity. This book examines the multi-scale struggles for cultural justice and socio-economic re-distribution that arise as Latin American communities and user federations seek access to water resources and decision-making power regarding their control and management. It is set in the dynamic context of unequal, globalizing power relations, politics of scale and identity, environmental encroachment and the increasing presence of extractive industries that are creating additional pressures on local livelihoods. While much of the focus of the book is on the Andean Region, a number of comparative chapters are also included. These address issues such as water rights and defence strategies in neighbouring countries and those of Native American people in the southern USA, as well as state reform and multi-culturalism across Latin and Native America and the use of international standards in struggles for indigenous water rights. This book shows that, against all odds, people are actively contesting neoliberal globalization and water power plays. In doing so, they construct new, hybrid water rights systems, livelihoods, cultures and hydro-political networks, and dynamically challenge the mainstream powers and politics.

Nominated for the Royal Historical Society Whitfield Book Prize 2013Nominated for the NYMAS Arthur Goodzeit Book Award 2013Nominated for the SAHR Templer Medal 2013This book provides the first comprehensive study of the British Army s horse services between 1875-1925, including the use of horses in the 1899-1902 Anglo-Boer and the 1914-18 wars. There is a particular focus on the military procurement of horses in relation to the domestic horse breeding industry, foreign supply in times of war, the debate about mechanization versus the horse and an integrated military transport system. During the 1899-1902 war the recently created Army Veterinary and Remount Departments and Horse Registration Scheme were severely tested and found wanting. Following the appalling suffering and loss of horses during this War, the period 1902 to 1914 was critical for the development of the horse services. The crucial elements in effectively horsing the Army were recognized - supply, care, and organization. The Army depended on the creation of a rapid and effective horse mobilization scheme and the ability to sustain expansion in the field. The civilian horse market was central to the supply of military horses in peace and war, and by obtaining reliable information on the number and type of horses available to them, the Army could guarantee a regular supply. There was also a need to learn lessons from the 1899-1902 war for the planning and expansion of auxiliary services, for example blacksmiths, saddlers, remount depots and veterinary hospitals. On the outbreak of war in 1914 the Army had an organized reserve and mobilization scheme; a completely integrated transport system using horses, mechanized vehicles and rail networks. As the war progressed there were serious questions about the continuing supply of horses from both home and world markets, shortages of transport for moving them from the country of purchase and the growing submarine menace. Developments by 1919 in mechanical vehicles were acknowledged by many as signaling the end of the military reliance upon the horse, even though it remained the main source of motive power, and cavalry the main arm of exploitation. Many lessons from the 1899-1902 War had been learnt, shown in the improved performance of the horse services during 1914-18. The health of animals was maintained at a higher standard than in any former war and remounts were supplied to all theaters of war and to armies of allied nations. At the end of hostilities nearly eight million animals had to be quickly disposed of, as humanely as possible, to bring the Army back to its peacetime requirementsREVIEWS ... a fascinating read, where incredible amounts of research and considerable knowledge have been engaged and employed. If you have a passion for combat history and an interest in all things equestrian, this should be your one-stop shop.History of War Magazine"

Britain is at a crossroads. As we leave the EU, we face a great challenge and also the opportunity to forge a new identity in an increasingly uncertain world. Our Armed Forces will be critical to our power and prosperity. For centuries, they have been the envy of the world. Now barely a day passes without reports of diminishing prowess. The number of Navy workhorse ships has been halved and the Army reduced to its smallest size since the Napoleonic war. Our spectacular new aircraft carriers and the F-35 fighter jet programme are mired in controversy. Meanwhile, the Armed Forces face questions about their purpose. The bitter experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan have undermined the concept of the military as a `force for good.' Voters are now sceptical of discretionary wars in faraway places. Aside from sporadic jihadi attacks, few believe there is any real threat to our way of life. Thus defence spending is no longer a public priority. Politicians know that there are more votes in schools and hospitals, even while they are deploy our troops onto the streets after suicide bombings or, more recently, a nerve agent attack. In what feels like peacetime, no wonder top brass have to justify big budgets. Yet this country faces an array of new and escalating threats, while Brexit and Donald Trump raise difficult questions over the future of our most important alliances. Have we become dangerously complacent? Are we still masters of our own destiny, or have we run up the white flag?

This is the first such study of Operation Banner, the British Army's campaign in Northern Ireland. Drawing upon extensive interviews with former soldiers, primary archival sources including unpublished diaries and unit log-books, this book closely examines soldiers' behaviour at the small infantry-unit level (Battalion downwards), including the leadership, cohesion and training that sustained, restrained and occasionally misdirected soldiers during the most violent period of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. It contends that there are aspects of wider scholarly literatures - including from sociology, anthropology, criminology, and psychology - that can throw new light on our understanding of the British Army in Northern Ireland. It also offers fresh insights and analysis of incidents involving the British Army during the early years of Operation Banner, including the 1972 'Pitchfork murders' of Michael Naan and Andrew Murray in County Fermanagh, and that of Warrenpoint hotel owner Edmund Woolsey in South Armagh. The central argument of this book is that British Army small infantry units enjoyed considerable autonomy during the early years of Operation Banner and could behave in a vengeful, highly aggressive or benign and conciliatory way as their local commanders saw fit. The strain of civil-military relations at a senior level was replicated operationally as soldiers came to resent the limitations of waging war in the UK. The unwillingness of the Army's senior leadership to thoroughly investigate and punish serious transgressions of standard operating procedures in Northern Ireland created uncertainty among soldiers over expected behaviour and desired outcomes. Overly aggressive groups of soldiers could also be mistaken for high-functioning units - with negative consequences for the Army's overall strategy in Northern Ireland.

Strategic minerals are a major element of resource geopolitics. The US has always provided the ‘umbrella’ for the West and is now the ‘global policeman’ on strategic mineral supply. As the global economic system has developed it has become increasingly clear that the geopolitical balance in global mineral supply is focused on the countries of the former Soviet Union, China and South Africa. The entire import list of US non-fuel minerals is examined in the context of import dependence, the criticality of end-use and the vulnerability of sources. This analysis builds up a complete picture of the varying levels of vulnerability for each mineral, allowing lists of both key and marginal strategic minerals to be compiled. The major sources of these minerals and their relative potential problems of supply are considered. These problems range from geopolitical concerns to the monopolistic agency of multinationals and cartels to the mechanistics of sea-line communications. The book concludes with an assessment of present and future scenarios based on shifting geopolitical influence at the global level, outlining countermeasures, both actual and potential.

During the Second World War, a secret department was formed at Britain's Air Ministry to co-ordinate a strategy to defeat German bombing by means of deception. With the help of leading technicians from the film industry, ingeniously designed decoy airfields, towns and military bases were built throughout the island. This campaign of illusion, masterminded by the charismatic Colonel John Fisher Turner, did more to protect Britain's forces and civilians from the Nazi threat than, at the time, they were allowed to know. This is the only detailed study of Britain's bombing decoys, both at war, through their design, locations and operations, and at peace, through their fragmentary survival as enigmatic features in today's landscape. It draws upon a wealth of new research into wartime documents, and includes detailed maps and data showing the patterns of decoy sites across the country. Compiled in support of English Heritage's initiatives to study and preserve Britain's wartime remains, "Fields of Deception" explores the history and the legacy of one of the least-known aspects of Britain at war.