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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Defence strategy, planning & research > General
The Maghreb--Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia--is a region overburdened by unnecessary military expenditures. Despite persistent civil conflicts and militarized regimes in a number of countries in the region, there are actually few genuine external threats, and the armed forces are now largely used to maintain internal security. A detailed country-by-country assessment of the effectiveness of military forces, and their impact on regional economics, shows that the region remains a mosaic of conflicting national ambitions, but strategic ambitions have been supplanted by internal conflicts, tensions, and politics. Declining military budgets are leading to declining military strength and capability, but they belie the Maghreb's potential for armed conflict and human suffering. Even though the Maghreb is a supplier of oil and natural gas, which usually ensures the attention of the West, this tragedy of arms gets little attention from the outside world. This means that the prospects for the region are continued wasteful military spending, and the resultant harm to national economic and political health.
Why do seemingly successful wars never seem to end? The problem centers on drones, now accumulated in the thousands, the front end of a spying and killing machine that is disconnected from either security or safety. Drones, however, are only part of the problem. William Arkin shows that security is actually undermined by an impulse to gather as much data as possible, the appetite and the theory both skewed towards the notion that no amount is too much. And yet the very endeavor of putting fewer humans in potential danger in fact places everyone in greater danger. Wars officially end, but the Data Machine lives on forever.
China's growing economy and military power may allow it to challenge US influence in East and Southeast Asia. Wayne Bert examines the likelihood of this and the impact it would have on Southeast Asian security. The approach taken by both the US and China will affect the outcome of this struggle and both the Southeast Asian commitment to economic growth and the development of regional institutions will encourage peaceful evolution and a power transition that avoids major conflict.
A general history of the critical first year of the Korean War, this study deals primarily with relations between General Douglas MacArthur and President Harry S. Truman from June 1950 to April 1951, a period that defined the war's direction until General Mark Clark, the final U.N. Commander, signed the Armistice two years later. Although the ever-changing military situation is outlined, the main focus is on policymaking and the developing friction between Truman and MacArthur. Wainstock contradicts the common view that MacArthur and Truman were constantly at odds on the basic aims of the war. In the matter of carrying the fight to Communist China, MacArthur and the Joint Chiefs differed only on timing, not on the need for such action. The end of the Cold War has provided historians with a better opportunity to study the forces that shaped the thinking of America's leaders at the time of the Korean War. The sheer quantity of material now available, while daunting, is filled with colorful and outstanding personalities, dramatic action, and momentous actions that have had an impact on world events even to the present day. Wainstock ultimately concludes that Washington placed too much emphasis on anti-Communist ideology, rather than long-term national interest, in the decision first to intervene in the war and later to cross the crucial 38th Parallel. He also emphasizes the important contributions of General Matthew B. Ridgway in stopping the Chinese offensive and in influencing Washington's decision not to carry the war to Communist China.
South Asia has inherited a volatile ethnic, religious and social mix that generates powerful cross-currents of tension between the nations of the region. Within this setting India has placed its cards firmly on the table in its quest for regional great power status. The question is: can India continue to build on its military base and extend its strategic reach, or will the problems of a troubled nation and neighbourhood act as a restraint on its wider aspirations? And if it does eventually develop a strategic reach throughout the Indian Ocean, what kind of power is it likely to be? The papers which comprise this book, examine these and other questions and conclude that, while India may not yet be a power with any reach throughout the Indian Ocean, it is very much a question of "watch this space".
The French Defence Debate examines assertions of consensus and continuity in, and surrounding, France's defence since 1958, with primary reference to the political career of Francois Mitterrand. Mitterrand's influence over defence and security, before and after his election to the presidency, is often underestimated. Nonetheless his impact was substantial, if ultimately for his lack of concern to preserve consensus and his reluctance to instigate necessary changes in France's defence - despite the end of the Cold War, and the military deficiencies and limitations of national independence it exposed.
This book maintains that a full understanding of the problem of European security must include the role of Christian ethics. The contributors argue that moral and theological concerns are a vital part of the politics and mechanics of European security and must be incorporated in any effort to devise new policies for security in Europe and the West.
A collection of essays on British and American maritime relationships in the 20th century together with details on the British organization of warfare, Anglo-American maritime theory, their rivalries and coalitions and their plans for dealing with a future war in the nuclear age.
A cooperative effort by a number of historians and political scientists, this essay collection focuses on the important connection between domestic affairs and foreign relations during the Cold War. The case studies treat phases of both the Soviet and American experiences and involve contributions by two Russian scholars, three Americans, a German, a Swede, and an Israeli. This collection is particularly timely and signficant because of the surprising way the Cold War ended, making clear that domestic developments can overthrow even the most potent foreign policies and undermine longstanding assumptions about the primacy of international factors. A provocative essay collection, this will be of interest to diplomatic historians and Soviet Affairs specialists, scholars, and students.
Governments often act in the name of security to protect their citizenries. For example by legislation or by the recruitment and employment of large numbers of armed personnel to detect and prosecute violent crime, or via engagements in military interventions to repel or pre-empt foreign attacks. These practices are often taken to have strong moral justifications. The value of security is linked to the value of life and the disvalue of violence and injury, and all of these are central both to theoretical accounts of and common sense views about the difference between right and wrong. The essays in this volume seek to increase our understanding of state action in the name of security and take a range of viewpoints and approaches. Some articles attempt to delimit the concept of security, or dispute attempted delimitations; some consider security as a 'good' and ask what sort of good it is, and how valuable; whilst others consider the relation between state action in the name of security and state action in the name of other goods, notably liberty, or consider ethical issues in health security, climate security and cybersecurity. Overall, this collection of essays shows how appeals by governments to the value of security have grown out of relatively recent events and processes at a global level, such as the response to pandemics, the acceleration of climate change, and counter-terrorism. The volume features an introductory essay and forms part of a five-volume series on legal ethics and the enforcement of law.
It is true that in the study of Political Science, International Relations, Public Administration, and other related discipline Arthashastra is yet to receive due recognition in India and abroad. In this context, the Indian Institute of Advanced Study (IIAS) Shimla had hosted a two-day National Seminar on 'Reflections on the Relevance of Arthashastra in the 21st Century' This volume is the collection of selected papers presented at the national seminar. The relevance of Arthashastra in the contemporary world has been well explored in the seventeen articles categorized in three sections. The first part deals with the relevance of Arthashastra in the present century. The second section of the book deals with foreign and security policy, strategic culture as portrayed in Arthashastra. The third section of the book deals with Human Rights, Women's Status, Good Governance, Tax, and Treasury as reflected in Kautilya's Arthashastra.
The question of where, and with whom, power lies in the post Cold War world is explored here. The authors identify and discuss the factors which make the United States the world leader in the 1990s, and consider the strengths and weaknesses of countries which may be on the way to becoming leaders in Europe (Russia and the European Union) and Asia (Japan and China). The authors' main argument is that the world is becoming 'unitripolar' with the United States as its pivotal, though not fully hegemonic, power.
This authoritative account details the doggedly persistent work of the UNSCOM (United Nations Special Commission) on Iraq which has during the past eight years, in the face of continued Iraqi deception, gradually uncovered more and more of the scope of the Iraqi chemical and biological weapons programmes and established an ongoing monitoring and verification regime. Vital lessons are drawn for international security and for the strengthening of the non proliferation regimes for both chemical and biological weapons.
Exploring the profound differences between what the military services believe-and how they uniquely serve the nation. When the US military confronts pressing security challenges, the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps often react differently as they advise and execute civilian defense policies. Conventional wisdom holds that these dynamics tend to reflect a competition for prestige, influence, and dollars. Such interservice rivalries, however, are only a fraction of the real story. In Four Guardians, Jeffrey W. Donnithorne argues that the services act instead as principled agents, interpreting policies in ways that reflect their unique cultures and patterns of belief. Chapter-length portraits of each service highlight the influence of operational environment ("nature") and political history ("nurture") in shaping each service's cultural worldview. The book also offers two important case studies of civil-military policymaking: one, the little-known story of the creation of the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force in the early 1980s; the other, the four-year political battle that led to the passage of the Goldwater-Nichols Act in 1986. Donnithorne uses these cases to demonstrate the principled agent framework in action while amply revealing the four services as distinctly different political actors. Combining crisp insight and empirical depth with engaging military history, Four Guardians provides practical utility for civil-military scholars, national security practitioners, and interested citizens alike. This timely work brings a new appreciation for the American military, the complex dynamics of civilian control, and the principled ways in which the four guardian services defend their nation.
This volume analyzes the impact of key global trends on civil-military relations by examining defense reform processes since the end of the Cold War. Civil - military relations are reconceptualized to emphasize three dimensions: civilian control of the armed forces, effectiveness in carrying out roles and missions, and efficiency in use of resources. The key global trends that affect these dimensions are the globalization of new norms and ideas, the democratization of governance, technological innovation, and economic liberalization. By focusing on defense reform processes, this book examines cases where civil-military relations can potentially alter quite rapidly under the impact of global trends. By comparing cases across Europe, Asia, North and South America, this book argues that democratization and globalization have had an outsized role in determining the timing and sequence of defense reform and the consequent impact on civil-military relations.
Using existing Spanish and German documents and interviews with men who survived both the Spanish Civil War and World War II, Proctor details the origins of Germany's Condor Legion, sent by Hitler to assist Franco's forces during the Spanish Civil War. He investigates the problems encountered by the legion in Spain, including its organization, the extent of its training, the nature of its personnel, communications, and logistics, and the experience of operating in a foreign country as one of three allied forces in the civil war. The author provides detailed information about the German involvement in critical battles such as the Aragon Offensive, the Battle of Ebro, and the final assault on Catalonia. Proctor also assesses how effectively the Luftwaffe applied the lessons it learned in Spain to World War II and analyzes the lessons it missed.
The ideal model of national security decision making, whereby the legislative branch authorizes action to protect national security and the executive branch takes it, has broken down due to the speed and unpredictability of foreign crises and the president's monopoly on foreign intelligence. In response, Congress has ceded the initiative to the president, and then utilized the power of the purse to ratify or restrict what the president has done. This power, by necessity and preference, has become the central congressional tool for participating in national security policy. Inevitably attacks on policy are transformed into attacks on the making and effects of appropriations. In National Security Law and the Power of the Purse, William C. Banks and Peter Raven-Hansen offer a compelling discussion of the constitutional and statutory questions raised by these attacks and in the process suggest answers to these recurring questions. They look at the early history of the power of the purse in national security affairs to illustrate that appropriations for national security have historically played a special substantive role in controlling executive uses of the war power. The authors use this history as a basis for exploring the mechanics and scope of the power of the purse in contemporary national security, presenting Vietnam War appropriations and the Boland Amendments as case studies. National Security Law and the Power of the Purse offers a sophisticated and provocative primer on the power of the purse in national security law. It is essential reading for scholars and students of law and government, public administration, and national security and foreign affairs.
This book reintroduces readers to the lives and writings of the greatest military minds of the modern era, writers whose ideas and teachings continue to shape the conduct of war in the 21st century. The word "strategy" only came into usage in West European languages after the work of a Byzantine emperor was translated around the time of the French Revolution. Nevertheless, there was writing on strategy – relating political aims to the use of the military – also in Western Europe, well before this. This book surveys and analyzes the existing literature. It presents commented excerpts of the work of the Elizabethan writer Matthew Sutcliffe (who wrote the first modern comprehensive strategic concept) and translations into English of excerpts from the writing of the Machiavelli-admirer the Seigneur de Fourquevaux (1548) and his French compatriot Bertrand de Loque, who also went by the name of François de Saillans (1589); the Spanish diplomats and military officers Don Bernardino de Mendoza (1595) and the Third Marques of Santa Cruz de Marcenado (1724-1730); the Frenchmen Paul Hay du Chastelet (1668) and Count Guibert (1770); and the Prussian contemporary of Clausewitz, Rühle von Lilienstern (1816). Key concepts such as preventive war, the fight for the hearts and minds of the population to combat insurgents, the "democratic peace theory," and debates such as the preference for defense or the offensive, the desirability of battle, the purpose and function of war, the advantages of conscript or professional soldiers, can thus be shown to go back far longer than generally assumed and appear in a new light.
vi of a large number of people due to the enormous quantities of radioactive material that would be required to reach high levels of contamination in mass-produced or distributed supplies. Although, based on data presented at the Workshop concerning the more than 30,000 missing radioactive sources all over the word, the radioactive contamination of food or water is also a scenario that must be taken seriously into consideration. During the last two decades there have been several emerging hazards linked to animal diseases or originating in animal products for example: Avian Influenza (AI), Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), West Nile Fever, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and Ebola virus. All these diseases or events directly or indirectly affect food security and/or food safety. Approximately 75% of all emerging diseases are zoonotic by either an association with animal populations or an evolution of the disease in a- mals making it possible to move from animal species to humans. Participants were presented the primary results of the ongoing NATO- SPS Pilot Study on "Food Chain Security." These results focused mainly on (i) an overview of the food system; (ii) prevention, surveillance and detection systems and (iii) response system. The importance of issues such as: vuln- ability assessments, risk communication in risk analysis, risk perception, traceability, preparedness - awareness, communication, have to be cons- ered when working on food chain security.
This hard-hitting analysis of the U.S. missile defense program explains the system's limitations and argues that it is not nearly as effective as Americans have been led to believe. Missile defense has been trumpeted as a way to protect the United States from a massive missile attack, but the reality, this book argues, is that our missile defense is not nearly as effective nor developed as people have been led to believe. In American Missile Defense: A Guide to the Issues Victoria Samson brings a decade of experience to bear in an in-depth examination of missile defense as it has been envisioned and as it is actually being developed, clarifying misconceptions and laying out what a missile defense system can and cannot do. Perhaps more important, she describes how the George W. Bush administration artificially sped up the deployment of the system, choosing, for political reasons, to develop missile defense instead of other more effective programs or policies. The result is a defense program run amok, freed from oversight and many of the reporting and funding requirements all other weapon systems must fulfill. In fact, maintains the author, our focus on missile defense risks re-starting the Cold War. Glossary Dictionary of acronyms
This book looks at the attitudes and policies of the United States and United Kingdom, in the late 1950s, towards the three major alliances in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia. Drawing upon a wealth of archival material, it analyses both the military relationship between the US and UK and the extent to which these two countries were prepared to cooperate with their allies in countering the threats to Western security. |
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