Despite efforts to normalize its post-colonial relationship and the downsizing of its permanent military presence, France remains a sought-after security provider in Africa. This book uncovers individual and collective motivations that drive French foreign and security policy in Africa. It explains French interventionism by drawing on actors' subjective perceptions of reality and seeks to answer why French decision-makers are ready to accept the considerable risks and costs involved in guaranteeing the security of African countries. Adopting an actor-centric constructivist ontology, the author traces the emergence and subsequent development of ideas throughout the decision-making processes that led to Operation Serval in Mali and Operation Sangaris in the Central African Republic.

Napoleon, finding his proffers of peace rejected by England with contumely and scorn, and declined by Austria, now prepared, with his wonted energy, to repel the assaults of the allies. As he sat in his cabinet at the Tuileries, the thunders of their unre

This fascinating book assesses Prussian military thinker Carl von Clausewitz's famous theory on warfare in relation to historical and modern-day conflict—and future trends. Carl von Clausewitz's On War is arguably the most important single work ever written on the theory of warfare and military strategy. In Clausewitz Reconsidered, two prominent military historians assess his theories, examining their viability at a time when asymmetric warfare and "war" conducted by and against nonstate actors is increasingly common and state control often ephemeral. The basis of the book's analysis is an examination of war over the last four centuries, since the Thirty Years' War, including the Cold War and subsequent conflicts. What is discovered is that war is far more endemic and brutal today than when Clausewitz tried to explain it. This volume explores that paradox and shows that if anything, we can anticipate further uncontrolled violence. The authors conclude that Clausewitz and On War have assumed a status akin to holy writ, but are obviously dated. The aim of Clausewitz Reconsidered is to bring the master's theories up to date, providing the current generation with a new basis for thought and analysis.

The vicious urban battle for the insurgent-controlled city of Fallujah in November 2004 was a turning point in the ongoing counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. It demonstrated the resolve of the Iraqi government to fight terrorists domestically, using both multinational and Iraqi forces, and its results included a returning population willing to vote in national elections held in January 2005. Ballard tells the story of the Fallujah campaign, beginning with the horrific deaths of the American Blackwater contractors in March 2004 and continuing through the battle, the painstaking reconstruction of the city, and the precedent-setting elections that followed. Based on first-person accounts, interviews, and official documents, this book gives readers rare insight into the significant actions and innovative techniques of the year-long fight for the city. Opening with a historical overview of the initial crisis in Fallujah and the similar coalition battle in Najaf, the book includes a detailed account of the planning and execution of the operation to retake the city. Finally, it describes the political and military lessons proven in Fallujah, including coalition force integration, information operations, urban combat techniques, interagency coordination and innovative reconstruction procedures. This is the story of real combat in Iraq--told in a way every American should understand.

Two of Wellington's officers tell their stories of war
This book contains personal accounts giving the perspectives of two young British officers of infantry during the Peninsular War in Spain against Napoleon's French forces. Each account is comparatively short and they have been published in a single volume by Leonaur not only because they represent aspects of common experience, but also to provide readers with essential texts of the Napoleonic Wars in a cost effective way. John Dobbs was an officer in the 51st Foot and shared the experience of campaigning with the famous Light Division. Here is the storming of Badajoz in all its appalling detail as well as fascinating details of the campaign that led to the fall of San Sebastian and the invasion of France. Young Robert Knowles was an officer in the 7th-the Royal Fusiliers. He was clearly a particularly bold and courageous soldier and through his letters we share his personal view of the conflict. These are vital additions to every library of the Peninsular War and will be appreciated by students and casual readers alike.

"Whirlwind & Storm" introduces us to the colorful and impetuous Lieutenant Colonel Charles Farnsworth, a Connecticut cavalryman in the Union Army. Farnsworth was fiery, ambitious, and bold, sometimes a little too bold for his own good---in combat, in business ventures, and in the river crossing that ended his life tragically early. Drawing from a rich and previously ignored trove of letters and diaries, Farnsworth s great-grandson and namesake, a military veteran himself, has done a marvelous job of bringing alive this officer in all his flawed glory.

Adam Hochschild, author of "To End All Wars: A Story of Loyalty and Rebellion, 1914-1918" and other books.

With excellent research and clear writing, "Whirlwind & Storm" paints an impartial, intriguing, and entertaining account of the author s privileged ancestor, who served heroically with the First Connecticut Cavalry battalion in the Civil War. Before, during, and after the war Charlie Farnsworth exuded those common human traits that so defined him: driven, disciplined, courageous, opportunistic, and passionate. "Whirlwind & Storm" adds an illuminating, original, and personal work to the collage of our great American heritage.

Robert B. Angelovich, author of the forthcoming "Riding for Uncle Samuel: The History of the First Connecticut Cavalry in the Civil War."

"If you want to know what the Civil War was really like, this is the book for you: an intimate, personal portrait of the war experience and the people who lived it, giving the reader a firsthand view of its realities. It is meticulously researched, authoritatively documented, and gracefully written."

William Bennett Turner, author of Figures of Speech: First Amendment Heroes and Villains."

"Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Farnsworth of Norwich emerges here as a free-spirited and ambitious young cavalry officer, with unique and often irreverent views on the Civil War and its leaders. His wide experience in the war, including imprisonment in Richmond, is well-researched and very readably presented. I found it especially fun to follow Charlie's love life through this most enjoyable book."

Vic Butsch, New London County (Connecticut) Civil War Round Table, Norwich Historical Society."

An intimate look at a young Norwich, Connecticut cavalry officer---in war, love, and his attempts to strike it rich---and his fierce ambition to make his mark in the Civil War and early Reconstruction. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Farnsworth s letters and diaries form the cornerstone for this short biography about an adventurer who helped organize the First Connecticut Cavalry. The book covers Charlie s near-fatal shooting while searching for Confederate bushwhackers in Virginia, his protests against incompetent Union leadership, his capture and confinement in Richmond s notorious Libby Prison, his romantic entanglements, his political connections with President Lincoln that sent him south in early 1865, and his tragic struggle to make his mark in Georgia during the early years of Reconstruction."

This book analyzes the small Baltic States and their integration into the Euro-Atlantic structures from the perspective of the foreign policies of major powers - the United States, Russia, and major European powers and institutions - towards the region, or each of the Baltic States. While focusing primarily on the Post-Cold war period, it will also cover years of Baltic occupation, areas and matters related to their motivation and means to join the EU and NATO. Smallness, weaknesses and sensitivities as well as historic experiences of three Baltic States made the task to integrate with the Euro-Atlantic community urgent. This will be a valuable source of information for all interested in the Baltic States, foreign policies of major powers shaping events in the region, the surge of the Euro-Atlantic community and the Post-Cold War enlargement allowing small Baltic States to remedy their inherent security weaknesses.