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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > General
Can NATO survive? The stimulating and highly original essays
contained in this volume provide important new insights into why
the treaty organization was formed, how it developed, and what it
has contributed both to the security and to the integration of
Europe. The authors examine NATO as a strong and intricate webbing
holding together the nations of Europe as well as binding them to
the United States as guarantor of free world stability. This book
is essential to the re-examination now under way of NATO's role in
the radically different post-Cold War world.
Exploring the experiences of children encountering war and armed
conflict, this book draws upon history, ethnography, sociology,
literature, media studies, psychology, public policy, and other
disciplines to address children as soldiers, refugees, and
peace-builders within their social, cultural, and political
contexts.
"The greatest threat to the U.S.'s homeland security is not a
terrorist attack with a dirty bomb; it is an unexpected nuclear
Pearl Harbor." - Author "Taiwan's democratic achievement and vision
of the future . . . are consistent with the American experience.
Will Beijing eventually follow such a course? Decisions are still
to be made, and there are limits to how effectively the U.S. can
influence these decisions. But we can and we must continue to
support Taiwan. Its security is ultimately our security. Of that we
can be sure." - the late Congressman Gerald B. H. Solomon Li
explains how America's security hinges on Taiwan's survival as an
independent democracy.
A discussion of the radical alteration of the character of
American society caused by World War II. The war redefined the
relationship of government to the individual and of individuals to
each other, and it posed questions about the relationship between
civilians and the military, between liberty and security, between
special interests and national purpose.
In Shaping U.S. Military Forces, D. Robert Worley assesses military
force changes that have been made since the Cold War, explains the
many changes that have not been made, and recommends changes that
must be made—as well as exploring the ways in which political and
military forces line up to resist them. For over forty years there
was consensus about maintaining large U.S. military forces. Today,
as evidenced by the steady decline in defense spending since 1985,
that consensus has evaporated, and a new equilibrium is being
sought. Yet evidence of transformation is modest. By outward
appearances, today's military is principally a smaller version of
our Cold War forces, despite the fact that threat, missions, and
strategies have changed. There has been no lack of reform effort at
the highest levels of the defense bureaucracy. Under the leadership
of General Colin Powell, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reexamined the
roles and missions of the services. Recommendations followed. But,
according to observers, change occurred only at the margins. Worley
argues that the highly institutionalized cultures of the uniformed
services offer the best explanation for why the American military
is not a different force well over a decade after the fall of the
Berlin Wall. Significant historical events, primarily from World
War II forward, are used to explain belief systems within the
individual services and sometimes within specific branches within a
single service. Force planners commonly measure military end
strength in terms of divisions, wings, and battle groups.
Therefore, Worley examines the most important organizational
structures—armored and infantry divisions, fighter and bomber
wings, and carrier battle groups—and does so in the context of
conflicts, including Vietnam, the Gulf War, Panama, Kosovo, and
Somalia, and of course the unfinished conflicts in Afghanistan and
Iraq. He highlights problems associated with the clash of service
conceptions of war and the requirements of real conflict to examine
the shape U.S. military forces have—and the shape they should
assume.
Although numerous biographies have been written about Arthur
Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, none has offered a careful
examination of his three-year command of the allied occupation army
in France between 1815 and 1818. In this work, Thomas Dwight Veve
fully details Wellington's last active military posting, exploring
the major role he played not only as an officer but also as a
statesman. In doing so, he demonstrates that Wellington's command
was not simply the final chapter in a successful military career,
but rather an important transition to his future political
endeavors. Veve describes the complete history of the allied
occupation, from the peace negotiations and establishment of an
occupying force, to the Conference of Aix-la-Chapelle and the
departure of the allies. The full range of Wellington's duties and
accomplishments are examined, including his inspection of the
crucial Dutch barrier fortress renovation program and his decisions
regarding troop reductions and the final termination of occupation.
Also cited is Wellington's extraordinary management of what was the
first multinational peacekeeping operation, his ability to maintain
neutrality for the army, and the many years of stability and peace
that followed his assignment. This book will be an essential
reference work for students and scholars of military history,
British history, and political science, as well as for college,
university, and public libraries.
"The distinguished Pakistani scholar, . . . provides a work that
invites comparison with the Turkish situation since before World
War II."
--" The Journal of Military History"
"The study sheds light on three domestic pressures facing
Pakistan: militarization, secularization, and Islamic
fundamentalism."
--"Middle East Journal"
To the north an extended civil war in Afghanistan fuelled by
arms from Russia and the US. To the west a fundamentalist Islamic
region in Iran with links to international terrorism. To the
northeast a secessionist guerilla war in Kashmir. To the east,
India, with which Pakistan has fought two wars in forty years. In
these volatile circumstances, Pakistan's armed forces continue to
play an important role both internally and externally.
Since their creation out of the communal violence of partition
at the end of WWII, the armed forces of Pakistan have played a
central role in the Pakistan state, periodically usurping the civil
authority and ruling in its own right. The Armed Forces of Pakistan
describes the nature of Pakistan's defense capabilities and the
forces which will shape them in the twenty-first century. It
surveys the forces locked in conflict over the nuclear option and
examines the three internal pressures Pakistan continues to
face--militarization, secularization, and Islamic
fundamentalism.
Master Sergeant Gordon L. Ewell is a combat engineer and expert in
the tactics and techniques the enemy used in Iraq to assemble,
disguise, and detonate deadly improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
He became part of the first special two-solider team whose mission
was to find and render safe the IEDs, before they could unleash
their deadly force upon other soldiers, convoys, civilians, and
local civilian commuters during the War in Iraq. He performed
fifty-nine dangerous missions, coauthored a first-of-its-kind
manual used for the training of special teams that would have the
mission of finding IEDs, was "blown-up" six different times, and
saved countless lives. He received the Bronze Star Medal for
"demonstrating personal courage and conviction on multiple
occasions by continually performing his duties while under enemy
attack," and the Purple Heart Medal for "wounds received while
engaged in combat" during the war. Though permanently disabled, he
continues to fight. A Lifetime at War is more than just an
incredible and inspiring personal account of his road to recovery.
Once again Ewell is using his expertise and experience-this time to
help wounded warriors navigate the hell of recovery. He helps us
all to understand that while the War in Iraq may have ended on
December 15, 2011, for the thousands of soldiers severely wounded
in Iraq and Afghanistan, their war will never end.
This book brings together experienced military leaders and
researchers in the human sciences to offer current operational
experience and scientific thought on the issue of military command,
with the intention of raising awareness of the uniquely human
aspects of military command. It includes chapters on the personal
experiences of senior commanders, new concepts and treatises on
command theory, and empirical findings from experimental studies in
the field.
A data-rich analysis of how the four inter-related crises of 2020
— the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic collapse and K-shaped
recovery, the clashes over the legacy of racism and policing, and
assaults on the legitimacy of democratic institutions (abetted by
conspiracy theories) — shaped not only the 2020 election, but
also the future of our democracy. The 2020 election cycle was one
of the most tumultuous in the nation's history. Early in the cycle,
a global pandemic hit the US, paralyzing much of the economy and
raising a multitude of questions about how people would go about
voting. Then, beginning in late spring, a series of police
brutality cases set off a nationwide wave of protests and civil
disturbances related to racial justice concerns. In the final
phase, the president of the United States refused to accept the
results and incited his followers to storm the US Capitol. How did
all of these momentous events shape voters' opinions? And what
impact did they have on the outcome? To answer these questions,
Kathleen Hall Jamieson and her collaborators surveyed 9,000
Americans over the course of the year to determine how voters
reacted to the events on the ground, the campaigns' attempts at
persuasion, and the post-election chaos that followed Biden's
victory. Generally, American voters saw the multitude of crises
through the lens of their polarized partisan predispositions. But
why? Jamieson and her co-authors first stress that America has
multiple electorates, and they are exposed to different
informational environments. The divergent messages they received
shaped not only their vote choice, but also how they made sense of
these crises. Interestingly, though, while many voters were locked
in place by their partisan priors, a majority of those who ended up
voting for either Biden or Trump were unsure of their choice and
whether they would actually vote at some point during the year.
What led to both the wavering in people's choices and the attitudes
they eventually adopted were in large part due to the differing
media environments enveloping them: the messages from the
campaigns, from their family and friends, as well from those in
mass and social media. But this is not a simple story of "echo
chambers," where individuals are immersed in only one type of media
— far from it. The distinct media environments in which these
electorates experienced the election were in fact complex and
varied, and the interaction between these different types of media
was key. Indeed, most voters were subject to cross-cutting
information pressures and not only one type of partisan source.
This book's focus on the ebb and flow of the campaign over time and
the centrality of wavering voters makes this an authoritative and
essential account of one of the most momentous American elections
ever.
Traditionally, security has been the realm of the state and its
uniformed police. However, in the last two decades, many actors and
agencies, including schools, clubs, housing corporations,
hospitals, shopkeepers, insurers, energy suppliers and even private
citizens, have enforced some form of security, effectively changing
its delivery, and overall role. In The Securitization of Society,
Marc Schuilenburg establishes a new critical perspective for
examining the dynamic nature of security and its governance. Rooted
in the works of the French philosophers Michel Foucault, Gilles
Deleuze and Gabriel Tarde, this book explores the ongoing
structural and cultural changes that have impacted security in
Western society from the 19th century to the present. By analyzing
the new hybrid of public-private security, this volume provides
deep insight into the processes of securitization and modern risk
management for the police and judicial authorities as well as other
emerging parties. Schuilenburg draws upon four case studies of
increased securitization in Europe - monitoring marijuana
cultivation, urban intervention teams, road transport crime, and
the collective shop ban - in order to raise important questions
about citizenship, social order, and the law within this expanding
new paradigm. An innovative, interdisciplinary approach to
criminological theory that incorporates philosophy, sociology, and
political science, The Securitization of Society reveals how
security is understood and enacted in urban environments today.
This issue of the Unesco Yearbook focuses on World War II, a war
which raises a number of issues for peace research and for social
science research in general. One issue concerns the extent of the
war which, although centered in Europe, also involved large parts
of North Africa and Southeast Asia as well. Conflict outside of
Europe can be traced to underlying problems of colonization and
decolonization. In Europe, the war can be related to the aftermath
of World War I and the subsequent inability of the League of
Nations to arbitrate between opposing interests. The economic
depression of the 1930s and the rise of fascism are also key
factors; the rise of fascism, in turn, can be traced in part to the
desire on the part of Germany and Italy to retrieve ingredients of
their cultural past. In Japan, however, militarism was incurred
less by the rise of fascism, than by Japan's semifeudalized,
militarized industrial development. Perhaps the most significant
issue is the watershed nature of World War II, which was marked by
the impact of the atomic bomb in changing the nature and
implications of warfare and by the emergence of the United States
and the Soviet Union as major powers with new alliances which
drastically altered the geopolitical balance of power. The essays
in this collection represent the contributions of international
authorities on these critical issues. They deal with European
currents of war such as the rise of fascism; the psychological
mobilization of the German people; the policies of the Third Reich
towards Jews, Gypsies, and Slavs; the Polish Resistance; the impact
of the German and Italian occupation of North Africa; and Irish
neutrality. They also treat movements in Asia, including the impact
of militarism on Japanese society before and during the war;
China's resistance against Japan and the founding of a new China;
and the impact of the war on independence movements in Asia. The
final sections of the volume contain the 1985 update of Unesco
activities relating to peace and disarmament, and regional and
national develolpments. The international perspectives of this
volume's contributors make this a valuable contribution to peace
studies and the study of the impact of World War II. It will
provide enlightening reading for political scientists and for
courses in peace studies and government policy.
Ankersen examines Canada's civil-military cooperation efforts in
Kosovo, Bosnia, and Afghanistan through the lens of Clausewitz's
'Remarkable Trinity'. The book reveals how military action is the
product of influences from the government, the armed forces, and
the people at home.
A radical reappraisal of two key figures in the history of the
Israeli Right, this is the first book to explore in depth the
development of military Zionism, and gives important insights into
the political status of Israel today. Why did Israel shift from a
state based on pioneering egalitarianism and 'making the desert
bloom' to one which is chiefly known for its military prowess? "The
Triumph of Military Zionism" examines Israel's shift to the right
at the hands of Menachem Begin, the supposed 'disciple' of Vladimir
Jabotinsky. Shindler's book uses original research to challenge the
conventional wisdom that Begin was the natural heir to Jabotinsky.
He demonstrates through hitherto unpublished sources how Israel
drifted away from Jabotinsky's ideas towards a maximalist Zionism
because Begin's very selective interpretation of his mentor's words
did not reflect Jabotinsky's intentions. This invaluable addition
to the study of Israel's political history will appeal to both
Middle Eastern and military historians.
The profound political changes in the USSR and Eastern Europe
during 1989 have forced the United States and its Western European
allies to reevaluate both their long held military strategy of
nuclear deterrence and the traditional role of NATO in European
affairs. In this volume, Stephen Cimbala considers the ways in
which American military priorities will have to change now that the
tangible threat to Europe has been removed, exploring the options
available to America and NATO given the new political and economic
realities in Europe and the Soviet Union. Drawing upon a rich
literature of Soviet and American defense strategy, Cimbala
examines the structure and effectiveness of deterrence as a
military strategy, the relationship between conventional and
nuclear weapons, the likely course of future conflicts, and
alternative military strategies.
Following an introductory chapter which defines the concepts of
deterrence and dissuasion and offers an overview of the changing
character of European politics, Cimbala reviews the political
context for the development of military strategy in Europe.
Subsequent chapters consider the relationship between military
stability and the likelihood of winning wars in their initial
stages, analyze the issue of deterrence during war, discuss the
potential for atypical wars in the future, and investigate the
linkages between deception and deterrence. A separate chapter
addresses the attempt to substitute non-nuclear dissuasion for
nuclear deterrence, in the form of anti-nuclear strategic defenses
which could defeat nuclear offenses. In the final chapter, Cimbala
summarizes his conclusions and makes some additional observations
about the implications of our new view of NATO and deterrence.
Students of international relations, foreign policy, and military
studies will find Cimbala's work enlightening and provocative
reading.
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