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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Defence strategy, planning & research > General
Two historians--one American and one British--examine the ways in
which rivalries and personality conflicts among Allied commanders
adversely affected the D-Day invasion and its aftermath.In
anticipation of the 75th anniversary of D-Day comes this fresh
perspective on the Normandy invasion -- -the beginning of the end
of World War II. The book highlights the conflicting egos, national
rivalries, and professional abilities of the principal D-Day
commanders who planned and executed the OVERLORD Operation and its
aftermath. Two historians, one American and one British, show how
lack of cooperation and bad decisions lengthened the war, increased
casualties, and allowed the later Soviet domination of Eastern
Europe.From their in-depth analysis of past D-Day literature,
primary and archival sources, the authors provide insightful
answers to the many controversies that have long surrounded the
OVERLORD campaign. Among the questions addressed are: What caused
the two-month delay for the Allied breakout from the Normandy
beachhead. Why did the bulk of the German army escape from the
Falaise Pocket? Who stopped Patton's August 1944 advance into
Germany? Why did it take so long to open the Port of Antwerp needed
for securing the required supplies for the Allied advance into
Germany?The evidence presented in this book makes it clear that the
problems raised by these questions and many other difficulties
could have been avoided if the Allied commanders had been less
contentious, a factor that sometimes led to catastrophic
battlefield outcomes. Complete with maps that illustrate the
campaign's progression and photographs of the commanders and the
forbidding battlefield terrain, this new examination of the war in
Europe makes a major contribution to our understanding of the
decision-making behind these pivotal historic events.
Constructing International Security helps policy makers and
students recognize effective third-party strategies for balancing
deterrence and restraint in security relationships. Brett V. Benson
shows that there are systematic differences among types of security
commitments. Understanding these commitments is key, because
commitments, such as formal military alliances and extended
deterrence threats, form the basis of international security order.
Benson argues that sometimes the optimal commitment conditions
military assistance on specific hostile actions the adversary might
take. At other times, he finds, it is best to be ambiguous by
leaving an ally and adversary uncertain about whether the third
party will intervene. Such uncertainty transfers risk to the ally,
thereby reducing the ally's motivation to behave too aggressively.
The choice of security commitment depends on how well defenders can
observe hostilities leading to war and on their evaluations of
dispute settlements, their ally's security and the relative
strength of the defender.
This collection of essays comprises a series of think-pieces about
the security challenges of the present, both in the realm of
cyberspace and otherwise, with a particular consideration of the
promise and possible negative effects of new digital technologies.
French military academy instructor Gerard de Boisboissel considers
the contemporary digital transformation of his country's military
and proposes ways to ensure its maximum effectiveness. Retired
American senior intelligence officer Leslie Gruis takes the long
historical view, examining parallels between the effects of the
current technological revolution and the transformation wrought by
the invention of the printing press. Columbia University research
scholar Michael Klipstein and coauthor Peter Chuzie analyze the
potential offered for intelligence collection by the Internet of
Things. And British academic Craig Stanley-Adamson explores the
lessons that may be drawn from the relationship between Israel and
its neighbors in the first decade post 9/11, arguing that it was
characterized by a surprising degree of cooperation in the security
realm that may, given auspicious circumstances, be repeated in the
future.
Military transformation can be understood as comprising three
overlapping and sometimes competing "layers"--the
conventional-force dominated revolution in military affairs, a more
recent irregular warfare emphasis, and a wider dimension including
homeland defense, space and nuclear policy. The Western world is
currently focusing its attention on transformation's middle layer,
while China and Russia are focusing on the RMA and transformation's
wider aspects. This dynamic indicates the United States and its
allies should continue to prepare for the full range of conflicts.
This book establishes the meaning of "military transformation,"
assesses the manner in which certain countries are transforming
their military forces, discusses the relevancy of transformation
efforts to modern conflict and, in drawing out the key areas of
emphasis on the part of various countries, provides a window on the
future global security environment. It is divided into seven
chapters, plus a conclusion. The first chapter focuses on the
meaning of military transformation, establishing a framework
through which national militaries can be examined. This comprises
transformation's revolution in military affairs components, its
newer special operations forces, counterinsurgency, and
stabilization and reconstruction aspects, and its wider homeland
defense, space and deterrence dimensions. The book devotes two
chapters to the United States and one each to China, Russia, and
NATO. It also has a chapter that looks individually at each of
Australia, Britain, Canada, France and Germany. An assessment of
the relevancy of force transformation to modern warfare is
integrated into the discussion of what transformation means, how
the United States is responding, and the concluding chapter. The
book contains a biographical sketch of Andrew Marshall, Andrew
Krepinevich, William Owens, Arthur Cebrowski, Donald Rumsfeld, and
Thomas Barnett, all of whom have been involved in some aspect of
military transformation.
In an increasingly complex and unpredictable world, a growing
number of observers and practitioners have called for a
re-examination of our national security system. Central to any such
reform effort is an evaluation of Congress. Is Congress adequately
organized to deal with national security issues in an integrated
and coordinated manner? How have developments in Congress over the
past few decades, such as heightened partisanship, message
politics, party-committee relationships and bicameral relations,
affected topical security issues? This volume examines variation in
the ways Congress has engaged federal agencies overseeing our
nation's national security as well as various domestic political
determinants of security policy.
War demands that scholars and policy makers use victory in precise
and coherent terms to communicate what the state seeks to achieve
in war. The failure historically to define victory in consistent
terms has contributed to confused debates when societies consider
whether to wage war. This volume explores the development of a
theoretical narrative or language of victory to help scholars and
policy makers define carefully and precisely what they mean by
victory in war in order to achieve a deeper understanding of
victory as the foundation of strategy in the modern world.
This cogent global history traces the evolution of land warfare
since the start of the Crimean War. Jeremy Black argues that
although it has always been critical to the outcome of conflicts
worldwide, land warfare has become undervalued in comparison to air
power in modern military thinking. In practice, land warfare was
crucial during the American Civil War, the two world wars, and the
conflicts of the Cold War. Indeed, the revival of great power
confrontation has led to an urgent need to re-examine the entire
contemporary period. Looking to the future, the book shows
convincingly that we must consider the nature of the military for
non-state actors as well for as the major powers. Ultimately, Black
contends, there is no substitute for the control over territory
provided by boots on the ground.
This book examines changes in the Persian Gulf security complex
following the United States (US) invasion of Iraq in 2003, focusing
on threats to the collective identities of two religious sects -
Shia and Sunni. Although there is a growing body of literature
examining security in the Persian Gulf, little focus has been given
to the theoretical and methodological aspects of the problem. In
this volume, Shayan analyses the causes behind the security changes
which occurred in the region since 2003 and demonstrates how
regional security dynamics are interlinked to perceived sectarian
threats on the Shia and Sunni religious identities. This text is
essential reading for political scientists, policy makers and
scholars of international relations.
The Palgrave Handbook of Global Counterterrorism Policy examines a
comprehensive range of counterterrorism policies, strategies, and
practices across dozens of states and actors around the world. It
covers the topics of terrorism and counterterrorism both
thematically and by region, allowing for discussions about the
underpinning dynamics of these fields, consideration of how
terrorism and counterterrorism are evolving in the modern period,
and in-depth analyses of individual states and non-state actors,
and their approaches to countering terrorism and terrorist threats.
It draws upon a multidisciplinary range of established scholars and
upcoming new researchers from across multiple fields including
political science and international relations, sociology, and
history, examining both theory and practice in their respective
chapters. This volume is an essential resource for scholars and
practitioners alike.
President Obama and the UK Labour and Coalition governments have
all backed the renewed momentum for serious progress towards a
world free of nuclear weapons, whilst the UK finds itself embarked
on a controversial and expensive programme to renew its Trident
nuclear weapons system. What does the UK process tell about the
prospects for disarmament?
This book provides a critical overview of the occurrence of war in
the international system by examining the concept from multiple
perspectives and theoretical backgrounds. War is an essential
concept in international affairs, if for no other reason than
because prevention of war requires an in-depth understanding of it
as a concept. This book seeks to examine the continued occurrence
of war in international relations, despite the emergence of
arguments concerning its obsolescence. It provides a new cognitive
framework through which to understand war as a phenomenon, which
can be applied to real-world scenarios and policy issues, making
use of case studies predominantly from China and Japan.
Theoretically, the book is primarily based on a structural realist
framework but adopts a significant constructivist component through
the emphasis on identity and reputation in the international
system. The volume offers a nuanced yet holistic approach to the
theory of war and seeks to engage critically with the major
theoretical approaches, pointing out the major criticisms of these
ideas and how the theories correlate. This book will be of much
interest to students of strategic studies, foreign policy, and
International Relations.
This book is concerned with the ideological origins of the cold war
and how it was fought by economic means. The book revolves around
four major themes. Firstly, it is argued that the origin of the
cold war is not to be found in rational, economic motivation, but
in ideology through which both the East and West perceived
'reality'. Secondly, these ideological preconceptions generated
complex feed-back processes of hostility that lasted forty years.
Thirdly, although this hostility was expressed in political,
ideological and military terms, the decisive battle was fought in
economic terms as each nation devoted resources to unproductive
military purposes. Finally, the end of the cold war came with the
collapse of the dysfunctional Soviet economy. Although, the Soviets
lost the cold war, in the light of the ascendancy of its
competitors, the United States did not win it.
This book analyses Japan's security policy after the Cold War and
engages with the question of whether, since the Cold War ended,
Japan has again become a global security player. The contributions
to the book explore Japan's security policy by providing a detailed
overview of the evolution of Japan's security policy after the Cold
War, including the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty and the
Senkaku/Daioyu Islands dispute. It also reveals the preeminent
security concerns of contemporary Japan by delving into regional
security issues such as the Layered Security of Okinawa, the
increasing nuclear threat from North Korea, and the Taiwan Strait
Crisis of 1995-6. The book culminates by discussing security in
terms of the essential functions of energy, food, and human
security, including an assessment of Japan's energy policy since
World War II and an assessment of the impact food security on
Japan's agriculture and trade. This book will be of interest to
student and scholars of East Asian Politics, Security Studies and
the International Relations of the Asia Pacific. It is also a
valuable resource for diplomats and policymakers on Japan and East
Asia.
Today, the Internet has become a source of information that no
country or company can forgo. It is not only used to communicate or
entertain, but most importantly to operate utilities and public
services such as banking or air traffic. As the reliance on
computer networks across societies and economies keeps growing, so
do security risks in cyberspace - referred to as "cybersecurity."
Cybersecurity means protecting information and control systems from
those who seek to compromise them. It also involves actors, both
malicious or protective, policies and their societal consequences.
This collection of essays provides a better understanding of the
risks, perceptions, and myths that surround cybersecurity by
looking at it from three different levels of analysis: the
sovereign state, the infrastructure and stakeholders of the
Internet, and the individual. The essays explore such issues as
information ownership, censorship, cyberwars, cyberterrorism,
privacy, and rebellion, bringing together expert knowledge from
computer science and the social sciences with case studies. It
reviews existing policies and practices and discusses the threats
and benefits of living in an increasingly networked world. This
authoritative analysis of one of the most controversial and
compelling security debates of the twenty-first century will appeal
to scholars and practitioners interested in security, international
relations and policymaking.
Going beyond superficial comparisons of Kissinger and Brzezinski,
this study determines their impact on US national security policy
by comparing their views on world politics and on strategy and
tactics for achieving national goals and by examining the
consistency between their actions in office and their beliefs.
Despite his attacks on Kissinger, this study found that Brzezinski
shared many of Kissinger's beliefs and copied many of his actions
in office. Both men's actions were profoundly shaped by their
shared beliefs that, within limits, man could shape history, that
Moscow's and Peking's commitment to worldwide communist expansion
is the main threat to peace, and that divergent national interests
threaten even allied relationships, and by their parallel
conceptions of power, diplomacy, linkage, and leadership. Indeed,
their similar struggles to control policy through the National
Security Council and more informal structures and their handling of
relations with allies, and with Moscow, and Peking underlined these
shared beliefs, as well their differing conceptions of morality and
leadership. Moreover, since leaving office, both Kissinger's and
Brzezinski's policy proposals clea
This book, first published in 1988, represents a unique attempt to
combine a discussion of an alternative British defence policy in
terms of military strategy and new technology, with a consideration
of how this policy might be secure in political terms. Written
against a background of a possible future Labour government in the
late 1980s with a radically different defence policy to the
Conservative Government of the day, it considers questions such as:
Would conventional deterrence really be effective? Just what is the
Labour Party's defence policy? How precisely might Britain be
transformed into a non-aligned, non-militarist state?
Japan has been expanding its military roles in the post-Cold War
period. This book analyses the shift in Japan's security policy by
examining the collective ideas of political parties and the effect
of an international norm. Starting with the analysis of the
collective ideas held by political parties, this book delves into
factors overlooked in existing literature, including the effects of
domestic and international norms, as well as how an international
norm is localised when a conflicting domestic norm already exists.
The argument held throughout is that these factors play a primary
role in framing Japan's security policy. Overall, three security
areas are studied: Japan's arms trade ban policy, Japan's
participation in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, and
Japan's enlarged military roles in international security. Close
examination demonstrates that the weakening presence of the left
since the mid-1990s and the localisation of an international norm
encouraged Japan to broaden its military role. Providing a
comprehensive picture of Japan's evolving security policy, this
book asserts that shifts have occurred in ways that do not violate
the pacifist domestic norm. Japan's Evolving Security Policy will
appeal to students and scholars of International Relations, Asian
Politics, Asian Security Studies and Japanese Studies.
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