Following the passage of the fifteenth and twentieth anniversaries of the entry of many former communist states into both NATO and the EU in 2019, this book takes a comprehensive look at the changed security conditions of these new member states. How has NATO and EU membership improved their overall defense protection, and what elements are still missing for them on an individual state basis? Lubecki and Peterson provide an invaluable assessment of defence policies, from the stable East Central European states to the most jeopardised Baltic states. With chapters on the Cold War defence conditions during the last two decades of Soviet domination, the post 1989-91 transformations in the direction of democracy, and the impact of the 2014 Ukraine-Russia-Crimea crisis, this book is essential reading for those seeking to understand the changed landscape of European politics in the twenty-first century. -- .

Author Jeffrey Ahern had longed to serve in the Army since he was thirteen years old. He attained that goal, and in Sons of Hope he narrates the story of his service as an infantry platoon leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom III and IV.

Sons of Hope is based on the daily diary entries kept while he was assigned to Delta Company, 3rd Battalion, 172 Infantry (Mountain) from January 2005 to May 2006. Ahern's story begins with the mobilization training the platoon and company endured at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and then Fort Irwin, California, leaving the United States in May 2005. He provides details on the platoon's counterinsurgency operations, daily patrols, nightly raids, the constant fear of IEDs and suicide bombers, and the never ending search for an unseen enemy.

A vivid and detailed account, Sons of Hope provides insight into what life was like for a frontline soldier in Iraq conducting offensive operations. It communicates the importance of the sacrifices soldiers and their families have made in the last decade of war.

From the battles of the great warrior Tecumseh to the escapades of flying ace Billy Bishop to the tragedy of troops killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, this book traces the Canadian experience of war through the centuries.

The breakup of the USSR created a Central Asian security complex or sphere of influence consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, this security complex has tended to distance itself from a Russian-centered approach to foreign relations, has rejected involvement with a Turkey-oriented sphere of influence, and has shifted toward an Iran-oriented security complex. A major reason for these developments has been the activities of the three rival powers-Iran, Turkey, and Russia. As Peimani explains, these states have strong long-term interests in the region; earlier rivalries, which were dormant under Soviet rule, have reawakened since the breakup of the USSR. While Russia attempts to reincorporate Central Asia into its security complex, Iran and Turkey seek to include it in their spheres of influence. The rivalry among these states will largely determine the future development of the region and the individual states.

This book deals extensively with Iraq and Saddam Hussein--his rise to power, his mastery of Iraqi statecraft, his pan-Arab proclivities and his two Gulf wars: the first against Iran and the second against the U.S.-led multinational coalition in 1990-1991. Israeli sources, as well as materials gathered during a trip to Turkey and the Kurdish refugee areas in northern Iraq, provide additional perspective for the author and his analysis. The book portrays a multidimensional Saddam Hussein: good and bad, strategic and human. It throws light on the reasons the U.S. went to war against Saddam, and presents an in-depth analysis of the United States' policies, which at one time supported IraQ's cause, in the Gulf region. A valuable feature of the book is its detailed discussion of the psychology of Saddam, of the Arabs, the Iranians, the Israelis, and the American public before, during, and after the Gulf War.

Rezun's conclusions challenge generally accepted views that lay the blame for the war on Saddam Hussein. Although Saddam is a cruel and rapacious demagogue, U.S. policymakers are to blame for having supported Saddam for so long. The author also rejects the view that General Norman Schwartzkopf was a great hero of the last war. Contrary to general opinion, Schwartzkopf conducted a no-risk operation into which Saddam Hussein was caught because of his miscalculation of U.S. intentions. Critical of U.S. policies, Rezun finds them naive and short-sighted. Although disapproving of U.S. policies during the war, Rezun praises the support and sustenance given by the Bush administration to the Kurds in the final hours of the Gulf War. This book is addressed to generalists and academic specialists, and students of Middle East politics.

This book is unique in that it is the first multidisciplinary attempt to critically evaluate the oft-quoted arc of instability both conceptually and in terms of a series of themes and case studies from regional experts. It is of particular interest to specialists in foreign affairs, international relations and political geography, especially in Southeast Asia and Australia and the Southwest Pacific.

The aim of this book is to describe, discuss and evaluate the causes and likely implications of the contested notion of an emergent arc of instability for Australia and its region. The increasing importance of non-traditional security threats since the end of the Cold War has engendered a regional geopolitical transformation in the character of Australiaa (TM)s region of primary strategic interest to one of perceived instability on the part of the Australian government. Since the nature of the main security threats has shifted away from traditional state-based to non-state-based threats, this has some fundamental implications both for regional relations and for the structure and conduct of Australian regional security policy.

All of the states and territories considered in the book have several things in common. Most are post-colonial states or state territories whose histories and social, economic and political structures raise concerns about their capacity to effectively deal with internal conflicts and, in some cases, possible external hostilities or blandishments. Indeed, some of these states exhibit a significant degree of ODA dependence, which, in turn, gives Australia considerable political influence in their affairs.

The book demonstrates that the nature and degree ofinstability, the way it is locally perceived, the differential relevance of some of its causes and the capacity of states to manage conflict varies considerably among the various case studies. It raises a wide range of issues and questions which are relevant for all regional policy-makers with an interest in maintaining regional stability. It offers suggestions for further research on a wide range of regional issues.

From Islamic extremism in Algeria to civil war in Iraq, this volume provides in-depth coverage of political and cultural conflict in the Middle East. Since the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, conflict in the Middle East has been increasingly wrought with internal struggles, driven by ethnic, inter-communal, and religious differences. Islamic radicalism has grown as an internal threat, and foreign intervention is now a potential catalyst. Since 1990, the Middle East has twice witnessed the introduction of foreign armies, first to halt Iraqi expansionism, and more recently, to bring about regime change in Iraq. This perfect storm of factors has brought about a heightened level of instability, with numerous conflicts simmering in hot spots throughout the region. Explosive, in-depth chapters explore each conflict or latent conflict, including the history, the nature of the conflict, the factors involved, and any steps toward resolution. Hot spots covered include: The movement for Berber rights in Morocco; Shi'a opposition in Bahrain; Iraqi civil war and internal struggle for power; Iran's interstate conflict with the United States; and Islamic insurgency throughout the region. This volume is a must-have for up-to-the-minute coverage of hot spots in one of the world's most volatile regions. Supplies an introductory chapter that describes the critical factors that have shaped Middle East politics over the past half century, providing a lead-in to the complex discussions for non-expert readers Assesses the potential sources of internal conflicts and division within individual countries or subregions as well as its external conflicts, thereby identifying the links between these internal and external points of contention Specifically addresses Egypt, the Gulf states, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Maghreb, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen in dedicated chapters Recognizes and explains the prominent role of nonstate actors-including national liberation movements, transnational political movements, militant political parties, and terrorist organizations-and of foreign powers in determining Middle East politics

Proxy warfare will shape the conflicts of the twenty-first century for the foreseeable future. Yet the popular understanding of proxy wars remains largely shaped by the experience of the Cold War. In reality, in the Greater Middle East and its periphery today, the growing power of regional states and non-state actors, combined with the proliferation of new technology, has reshaped proxy conflicts, in an increasingly multipolar and interconnected environment. In this collected volume, a range of researchers examine what constitutes proxy warfare and provide new insight into how these wars are waged, in contexts stretching from Ukraine to North Africa and Syria to Afghanistan. The volume draws upon research, surveys and interviews conducted in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Ukraine, as well as examining the propaganda output of those involved in these countries' wars. In doing so, 'Understanding the New Proxy Wars' helps reveal both the continuities and the differences between recent conflicts and those of times past.

An essential account of the conquest of India
It is perhaps surprising that although India was the brightest jewel in the British Imperial Crown. there is comparatively little in print today about the many wars which were fought to win it. These had raged for nearly a century before the Sikhs of the Punjab were subjugated and the Sepoy Army rose in rebellion in the middle of the nineteenth century. The Duke of Wellington fought his hardest won victory, by his own assessment, in India at Assaye during the Second Mahratta War before he set foot in Iberia or bested Napoleon on the slopes of Waterloo. This is the story of a much more humble British soldier-an officer of the Bengal Army during the war against Scindia and Holkar. This is a substantial book-a diary-written in great detail by a man of the times. Pester takes us on campaign, onto the battlefield and to the assault in great sieges. His account of sporting life in the Indian jungles makes no less entertaining reading.

This essential reader includes Thomson's essays on making a living as a musician; his articles on classic composers; his relation to his contemporaries; his articles on newcomers in the music world, including John Cage and Pierre Boulez; his autobiographical writings and commentary on his own works.

This study examines the security-related aspects behind Japan's emerging internationalism. Japan has for some time been projecting a higher international profile, of which the Diet's (Parliament) approval to allow Japanese armed forces to operate abroad is but one manifestation.;The book's scope is not limited to military issues - it embraces a spectrum of security-related topics such as constitutional amendment, international re-alignment and co-operation, defence industrialization, Japan-US relations and technology leakage, and Japan's role in the new international order. Ron Matthews has also written "European Armaments Collaboration".

In this companion volume to "Western Warfare, 1775-1882," Jeremy Black takes his analysis of modern warfare into the twentieth century. As before, a distinctive feature of the author's approach is the coverage of both land and naval warfare as well as conflict within the West and between Western and non-Western powers. Beginning with the British conquest of Egypt in 1882, this book goes on to examine the Spanish-American War of 1898, the Boer War and the Balkan conflicts leading to world war in 1914. A revisionist account of the First World War is followed by a discussion of Western expansionism in the period to 1936. Chapters on the interwar years and the Second World War lead on to a discussion of the retreat from empire and the advent of Cold War. The narrative closes with the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and a discussion of the limitations of Western military technique, doctrine and technology. Throughout, the themes of military change and modernization are brought into sharp focus and the revolutionary characteristics of the machination of war in this period are questioned. Jeremy Black offers a new and challenging interpretation of modern warfare that will be required reading not only for students of military history but for all those interested in the impact of war in the making of the modern world.

In August of 1946, General Leslie Groves, Chief of the Manhattan Project, ordered 60 young officers to Sandia, New Mexico. In a project so wrapped in secrecy that few know of it even a half-century later, Groves charged them to learn how to assemble the early and highly complex atomic bombs. With that goal accomplished, they established a school to train additional assembly teams and the weaponeers and bomb commanders needed for the services' atomic-capable aircraft. Although the wartime atomic scientists believed such tasks lay beyond the ken of military personnel, the Sandia Pioneers soon maintained even the bombs' fissionable cores and assisted the Atomic Energy Commission scientists and technicians in their pursuit of improved bomb designs. The secret history of the young officers who replaced the scientists that had assembled the first atomic bombs, proving that the military was capable of building and maintaining the atomic stockpile, is told here.

Possessed of a very special skill, the Pioneers also contributed to the construction and assembly facilities aboard aircraft carriers and at airbases in the United States and England. With the AEC lacking enough technicians to conduct the 1948 atomic tests at Eniwetok, Groves sent many of the Pioneers to assist scientists testing improvements in the design of bombs' fissionable cores. Those tests demonstrated that the new designs increased the bombs' yield while making better use of scarce plutonium, thereby permitting a dramatic increase in the size of the atomic stockpile.

In the context of the 'global war on terror, ' the issue of security has come to affect more and more intimate elements of people's everyday lives. This is the starting point of this interdisciplinary collection, which focuses on how the line between security and insecurity is negotiated through changing concepts of 'community' and 'citizenship.'

The campaigns that included the pivotal battles of Eylau and Friedland
Sir Robert Wilson saw the campaign in Poland from the Russian side of the conflict. Not only was he a representative of the British government-and so had an inevitable antipathy towards Napoleon's French forces-but he had also developed a strong affection for his Russian hosts. Nevertheless, he has done his best to include within his work-partisan though the elements that are the product of his pen may be-an overview of the campaign designed with fair brokerage in mind. His book is a work of separate parts and includes his own impressions of the campaign he witnessed, the documents portraying the Russian and Prussian perspective on the same events together with all the bulletins of the French Army concerning those events. In addition, Wilson has included a description and appraisal of the Russian Army taking each arm in turn-passages covering the Cossacks make essential reading for any student interested in the period. Here is the complete Polish campaign including the battles that contributed towards the everlasting fame of the Napoleonic epoch.