Why do the combat capabilities of individual soldiers vary so much? This book seeks to provide an answer to this and other questions about variability in combat performance. Some soldiers flee quickly from the battlefield, while others endure all hardships until the bitter end. Some combat units can perform numerous types of missions, while others cannot keep themselves organized during peacetime. Some militaries armed with obsolete weapons have out fought enemies with the latest weapons, just as some massively outnumbered armies have beaten back much larger opponents. In this first social scientific study of the effectiveness of combat troops, Newsome evaluates competing explanations for the varying combat capabilities and performances. There are four main explanations, each emphasizing the influence of a single factor. The first focuses on material endowments. How well funded are the troops? Do they have the latest protective gear and the most advanced weaponry? Second, some analysts claim that democracies produce better commanders, superior strategies, more motivated personnel, or better-managed personnel; others, however, associated those characteristics with more authoritarian forms of government. Third is the idea that giving more power to the troops on the ground in individual combat units empowers them with decision-making capability and adaptability to fast-changing situations and circumstances. Newsome presents evidence that decentralized personnel management does correlate with superior combat performance. Fourth, soldier capabilities and performance often are assumed to reflect intrinsic attributes, such as prior civilian values. Newsome argues that the capabilities ofcombat soldiers are acquired through military training and other forms of conditioning, but he does not entirely discount the role of a soldier's individual character. In the age-old nature vs. nurture argument, he finds that intrinsic qualities do count, but that extrinsic factors, such as training and environment, matter even more.

The 1640s were one of the most exciting and bloody decades in British and Irish history. This book interweaves the narrative threads in each theater of conflict to provide an "holistic" account and analysis of the wars in and between England, Scotland, and Ireland from the Covenanter Rebellion to the execution of Charles I. Using a wide range of original and secondary sources, the author offers a challenging new interpretation of political structure and dynamics in the warring Stuart kingdoms.

The increasing capacity of states to muster violence, the concomitant rise of military power as a meaningful instrument of foreign policy, and the frequent episodic collapse of that power are considered in this examination of force, order, and diplomacy. Nathan points to periods of relative order and stability in international relations-the time immediately prior to the rise of Frederick the Great, for example, or the half century after the Napoleonic Wars-as times when states have been most vulnerable to "spoilers" and "rogues." Only the power of the Cold War blocs fostered durable order. Now, notwithstanding novel elements of globalization, international relations appear as dependent as ever on the prudent management of force. Students, scholars, and soldiers are frequently exposed to Clausewitz, Westphalia, Napoleon, World War I, and the like. But what makes these events and individuals so important? This book is Clausewitz's successor, insisting that soldiers and statesmen know and master the integrative potential of force. Nathan provides a narrative account of the people and events that have shaped international relations since the onset of the state system. He asserts that an understanding of the limits and utility of persuasion, as well as the corresponding limits and utility of force, will help assure national security in a world filled with more uncertainties than ever in the last 50 years.

This 12-volume set of previously out-of-print tiles examines many aspects of conflict and security in the Middle East. Works on the first Gulf War (including one on its environmental impact) sit alongside books about the superpowers, nuclear rivalry and attempts at peacemaking.

Analyzing the origins of conflicts and wars in the Persian Gulf, this study assesses the conflicts' shared trajectories and fallouts. Although the origins of conflicts are varied (sectarian, religious, ethnic, and tribal, over territory and over resources), as conflicts evolve, the quest for "revenge" and the desire to settle old scores is only one, apparent fuel, which belies a more essential one. The evolution of most conflicts can, over time, be traced to a single source--the struggle for power and control over resources. Hossein Askari argues that reconciliation will require the simultaneous adoption of foundational political, social, and economic reforms by the countries in the region, as well as the cooperation of the global powers, especially the United States, to end support of dictators and reduce the human costs of aggression. The creation of a just society with freedom and equal opportunities for all is a necessary precondition if peace and prosperity are to flourish.

The United States Space Force, the sixth branch of the armed forces, will soon play a leading role in American foreign policy and will be necessary to protect its economic, political, and social interests at home and abroad. This book argues that America's newest branch of the armed forces, the United States Space Force, will soon play a key strategic role in American foreign policy, military and economic expansion, and technological innovation. Written by a leading expert on and member of the Space Force, the book offers an introduction to the Space Force, explains the urgent need for it, and walks readers through what exactly the Space Force is and is not. Drawing on dozens of interviews with high-ranking members of the armed forces, the author claims that, in the future, space will be the geopolitical center of world politics, as such countries as the U.S., Russia, and China jockey for control of it. America must therefore set aside partisan politics to make space a top priority, as a failure to do so will leave the U.S. and its citizens in a dangerous and vulnerable position on the world stage. The first comprehensive book on the United States Space Force and its role in national security The first synthesis of space power, national security, and U.S. grand strategy Includes interviews with senior people in the United States Space Force and American national security Outlines a comprehensive plan for ensuring American primacy in space

This book charts the history of armoured warfare from the first use of the tank in 1916 right through to the 21st century, adopting military, political and global perspectives. Alaric Searle explores the origins of the tank, the part it played in the First World War and its contribution to the outcome of the war. He considers its role as a tool of propaganda, the military controversies of the interwar period and the employment of armoured forces in all the major theatres in the Second World War. Since the First World War, major and medium-sized powers have invested heavily in armoured forces. Searle looks at the conduct of mechanised warfare in Korea, Indo-China and Vietnam, and during conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli Wars and the Gulf Wars. Armoured Warfare adopts a global perspective, providing the most comprehensive survey of the history of the subject currently available. With a detailed bibliography of both primary and secondary sources, it is an ideal companion for those studying armoured warfare, modern military history and war studies.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This book offers an original assessment of the ways in which the sociocultural code of blood revenge and its modern remnants shape irregular warfare. Despite being a common driver of communal violence, blood revenge has received little attention from scholars. With many civil wars and insurgencies occurring in areas where the custom lingers, strengthening our understanding of blood revenge is essential for discerning how conflicts change and evolve. Drawing upon extensive multidisciplinary evidence, this book is the first in the literature on civil war and insurgency to analyse the impact of blood revenge and its modern remnants on irregular warfare. Even when blood revenge undergoes erosion, its unregulated version still shapes the social fabric of insurgency, although in different ways than its institutionalised counterpart. At times of political instability, the presence of a culture of retaliation weighs heavily on the dynamics of violent mobilisation, target selection, recruitment, and disengagement. The book brings in evidence from dozens of conflicts, providing unprecedented insights into how a better understanding of blood revenge can improve military blueprints for irregular warfare. This book will be of much interest to students of insurgency, terrorism, military and strategic studies, anthropology, and sociology, as well as to decision-makers and irregular warfare professionals.

This book provides skills for therapists and families to help improve interpersonal communication, promoting a new system of family coexistence and a refreshed concept of the modern marriage in society. Written from a constructivist peace perspective, the book's aim is to reduce the high statistics of intimate partner violence that occurs in Mexico, arguing that the culture of peace and how it is born in the family in turn affects society for better or for worse. Based upon interviews from 150 long-term married couples, the chapters address the components that promote peaceful dialogue in marriages, such as assertive language, active listening, tolerance to frustration, and gender perspectives. Including accessible language and several models of peace, the book uniquely examines same-sex marriages, the role of children in marriage conflicts, and prescribed gender assumptions and roles in relationships. It aims to empower family members to move away from old habits and seek a more equitable existence in marriages and society at large. This interdisciplinary text will be of great interest to family therapists and clinical social workers, as well as to students and researchers in communication and peace studies.

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.