Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
|||
Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > General
This concise history examines the origins of the Korean War, the war itself and the major players. The Korean War dramatically shaped the Cold War and provided a dress rehearsal for Vietnam ten years later. This book examines the social history of the conflict including material on the newly racially integrated US fighting forces, war and disease, women and the war, and life in the Prisoner of War camps. Unlike other Korean War books, Steven Hugh Lee carries the story through to the Geneva Conference in the spring of 1954 - the last major international effort before recent years to negotiate a permanent peace for the Korean peninsula.
In 1899, when film projection was barely three years old, Herbert Beerbohm Tree was filmed as King John. In his highly entertaining history, Robert Hamilton Ball traces in detail the fate of Shakespeare on silent films from Tree's first effort until the establishment of sound in 1929. The silent films brought Shakespeare to a wide public who had never had the chance to see his plays in the theatre. And Shakespeare gave the film makers an air of respectability that was badly needed by a medium with a reputation for frivolity. This work, first published in 1968, brings history to life with excerpts from scenarios, from reviews and from contemporary film journals, and with reproduction of stills and frames from the films themselves, including unusual shots of leading screen actors. This is a valuable source book for film experts, enhanced by full notes, bibliography and indexes; a fresh approach for Shakespeareans; and a vivid sketch of a world that has passed for all.
This book raises questions about the just war tradition through a critical examination of its revival and by juxtaposing it with a literary phenomenology of war. Recent public debate about war has leaned heavily on a just-war tradition dating back many centuries. This book examines the recent revival of that tradition in the United States and Britain, arguing that it is less coherent and comprehensive as an approach to the ethical issues arising from war than is generally supposed, and that it is inconsistent in important ways with the theology on which it was originally based. A second line of criticism is mounted through close readings of modern texts in English - from Britain, Australia and the USA - that together constitute a more subjective, bottom-up understanding of the moral dilemmas of military life. In this second tradition the task of representing war is seen as more problematic, and its rationality more questionable, than in just war discourse. Works by William Shakespeare, Sir Walter Scott, James Fennimore Cooper, Stephen Crane, John Buchan, Robert Louis Stevenson, Joseph Conrad, Tim O'Brien and Kurt Vonnegut are featured. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars of security studies, military studies, theology and international relations.
This book examines the political consequences of European security commercialisation through increased reliance on private military and security companies (PMSCs). The role of commercial security in the domestic setting in Europe is widely acknowledged; after all, the biggest private security company globally G4S Group has its roots in Scandinavia. However, the use of commercial security contracting by European states for military purposes in international settings is mostly held to be marginal. This book examines the implications of commercialisation for the peace and reconciliations strategies of European states, focussing specifically on European contracting in Afghanistan. Drawing upon examples from Scandinavia, Central Europe and Continental Europe, each chapter considers three key factors:
This book will be of much interest to students of critical security studies, global governance, peace and conflict studies, European politics, and IR in general.
East Asia is now the world's economic powerhouse, but ghosts of history continue to trouble relations between the key countries of the region, particularly between Japan, China and the two Koreas. Unhappy legacies of Japan's military expansion in pre-war Asia prompt on-going calls for apologies, while conflicts over ownership of cultural heritage cause friction between China and Korea, and no peace treaty has ever been signed to conclude the Korean War. For over a decade, the region's governments and non-government groups have sought to confront the ghosts of the past by developing paths to reconciliation. Focusing particularly on popular culture and grassroots action, East Asia beyond the History Wars explores these East Asian approaches to historical reconciliation. This book examines how Korean historians from North and South exchange ideas about national history, how Chinese film-makers reframe their views of the war with Japan, and how Japanese social activists develop grassroots reconciliation projects with counterparts from Korea and elsewhere. As the volume's studies of museums, monuments and memorials show, East Asian public images of modern history are changing, but change is fragile and uncertain. This unfinished story of East Asia's search for historical reconciliation has important implications for the study of popular memory worldwide. Presenting a fresh perspective on reconciliation which draws on both history and cultural studies, this book will be welcomed by students and scholars working in the fields of Asian history, Asian culture and society as well as those interested in war and memory studies more generally.
This book maps the increasing convergence of US domestic and international security regimes, analyzing the trend towards global pacification in the name of 'security'. The dream of liberal world peace after the Cold War is on the verge of collapsing into permanent global pacification not only in the global south but also in pockets of the Third World within the territory of Western states. In this volume, the author explores the ways in which regimes of security have been extended into increasingly large aspects of social life and shows that their expansion has been driven by a constant broadening of the notion of 'war'. Filling a gap in the literature, the book demonstrates how US security agencies have sought to develop indeterminate security capabilities aimed at distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate flows of people and resources. This analysis of regimes of security is tied to a more general discussion about the persistence, or even multiplication, of illiberal forms of power within liberal governmentality. This book will be of much interest to students of security studies, war and conflict studies and international relations in general.
In recent years, the south-western border of the United States has come under increasing pressure from the activities of Mexican narco-insurgents. These insurgents have developed rapidly from beginnings as nebulous gangs into networked cartels that have exposed the porosity of the border. These cartels declare no allegiance to any nation and are engaging in asymmetrical warfare against sovereign states throughout Mexico and in Central America. Within such states, de facto political control is shifting to the cartels in the 'areas of impunity' that have emerged. This book addresses these concerns and focuses on the criminal insurgencies being waged by the gangs and cartels. It is divided into sections on theory, Mexico, and the Americas and contains a number of introductory essays pertaining to this premier security threat to the United States and her allies in the region. Topics covered include criminal and spiritual insurgency, cartel weapons, corruption, feral cities, Los Zetas, politicized gangs, and threat analysis in Central America. This book will be a valuable resource to scholars in the fields of regional security, criminal justice and American Studies. It will be of great benefit to military and civil policymakers and practitioners in the areas of law enforcement and counternarcotics. This book was published as a special issue of Small Wars and Insurgencies.
This book outlines the construction, interpretations and understanding of US strategy towards Africa in the early twenty-first century. No single issue or event in the recent decades in Africa has provoked so much controversy and unified hostility and opposition as the announcement by former President George W. Bush of the establishment of the United Stated Africa Command - AFRICOM. The intensity and sheer scale of the unprecedented unity of opposition to AFRICOM across Africa surprised many experts and lead them to ask why such a hostile reaction occurred. This book explores the conception of AFRICOM and the subsequent reaction in two ways. Firstly, the contributors critically engage with the creation and global imperatives for the establishment of AFRICOM and present an analytical outline of African security in relation to and within the context of the history of US foreign and security policy approaches to Africa. Secondly, the book has original chapter contributions by some of the key actors involved in the development and implementation of the AFRICOM project including Theresa Whelan, the former US Deputy Assistant Secretary for African Affairs. This is not only an attempt to contribute to the academic and policy-relevant debates based on the views of those who are intimately involved in the design and implementation of the AFRICOM project but also to show, in their own words, that 'America has no clandestine agenda for Africa'. This book will be of interest to students of US foreign policy/national security, strategic studies, international security and African politics. David J. Francis is Chair of African Peace & Conflict Studies in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford.
The world faces explosive conflicts about the distribution and scarcity of resources, about ethnicity and religion, and about the risks of urban life. These conflicts can easily spiral out of control toward mass slaughter-an evil of huge proportions that is often escalated by the media. What should be done to prevent this lethal trend? We need to understand how the 'spiral of escalation' works. How do media create anxiety, provide space for agitation, and disconnect people? Three approaches to the prevention of mass mediated aggression are proposed in this book: an early warning system for incitement to mass destruction, the invitation to disarming conversations in urban space, and the teaching of 'compassionate communication' to children and others. Alertness to the recurrence of collective violence is urgently needed not only in unstable and poor societies, but also in established democracies. Ordinary people can be incited to the mass slaughter of other ordinary people anywhere. Understanding the media's role in this and acting to prevent it are key goals of this book.
A noted theorist of globalization offers a complete reconstruction of our national security institutions and strategies to better match today s realities. David A. Westbrook shows how deploying ourselves as statesmen and -women, as citizens can better achieve U.S. national security. Westbrook explains why today s national security establishment is outdated, entrenched in a model of defense befitting the post World War II Cold War era. Today, without military peers, the U.S. must re-create its institutions around wielding influence globally, based on the cooperation of other states and groups. Even when we deploy troops today, our goal is the construction of order, not defense. Westbrook explores radical (including Jihadist) challenges, the long war on terror, and other current topics to show how defense institutions could be reconceived in order to become both more responsible and more effective. His measures include a wholesale revision of the National Security Act of 1947 to radically reform intelligence work by reintegrating it into democratically responsible military and diplomatic bureaucracies."
A noted theorist of globalization offers a complete reconstruction of our national security institutions and strategies to better match today s realities. David A. Westbrook shows how deploying ourselves as statesmen and -women, as citizens can better achieve U.S. national security. Westbrook explains why today s national security establishment is outdated, entrenched in a model of defense befitting the post World War II Cold War era. Today, without military peers, the U.S. must re-create its institutions around wielding influence globally, based on the cooperation of other states and groups. Even when we deploy troops today, our goal is the construction of order, not defense. Westbrook explores radical (including Jihadist) challenges, the long war on terror, and other current topics to show how defense institutions could be reconceived in order to become both more responsible and more effective. His measures include a wholesale revision of the National Security Act of 1947 to radically reform intelligence work by reintegrating it into democratically responsible military and diplomatic bureaucracies."
This book consists of extracts from key documents, along with commentary and further reading, on the 'Great Patriotic War' of the Soviet Union against Nazi Germany, 1941-45. Despite the historical significance of the war, few Soviet documents have been published in English. This work provides translations of a range of extracts from Soviet documents relating to the titanic struggle on the Eastern Front during World War II, with commentary. This is the only single-volume work in English to use documentary evidence to look at the Soviet war effort from military, political, economic and diplomatic perspectives. The book should not only facilitate a deeper study of the Soviet war effort, but also allow more balanced study of what is widely known in the West as the 'Eastern Front'. This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of military history, Soviet history, and World War II history.
The Small Wars of the United States, 1899 2009 is the complete bibliography of works on US military intervention and irregular warfare around the world, as well as efforts to quell insurgencies on behalf of American allies. The text covers conflicts from 1898 to present, with detailed annotations of selected sources. In this second edition, Benjamin R. Beede revises his seminal work, bringing it completely up to date, including entries on the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. An invaluable research tool, The Small Wars of the United States, 1899 2009 is a critical resource for students and scholars studying US military history.
One of the enduring myths about World War Two is that the Allies alone liberated occupied Europe. However, many countries had successful anti-fascist movements, and Italy's was one of the biggest and most politically radical. Yet it remains relatively unknown outside of its own homeland. Tom Behan tells this inspiring history. Within Italy many plaques and streets commemorate the actions of the partisans - a movement from below that grew as Mussolini's dictatorship unravelled. Led by radical left forces, the Resistance trod a thin line between fighting their enemies at home and maintaining an uneasy working relationship with the Allies. Through the use of unpublished archival material and interviews with surviving partisans, this is an inspiring story of liberation.
This book deals with the processes and theories involved in managing military organisations in both peacetime and crisis conditions. Examining the challenges faced by policymakers and military commanders in conducting military operations, this book considers the benefits of conventional management and organisation theory for the military. At the same time, these essays recognise that the military should be considered as a highly individual organisation, operating in exceptional circumstances. This awareness of the differences between the military and other organisations generates important lessons not only for the military but also for general organisations as it teaches them how to cope in exceptional, 'hyper' conditions. These theoretical lessons are illustrated by case studies and experiences from recent military operations, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book will be of great interest to students of military studies, security studies and organizational studies. Joseph Soeters chairs the department of management and organization studies and defence economy at the Netherlands Defense Academy and he is a professor in organizational sociology at Tilburg University. Paul. C. van Fenema is an associate professor of organization studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy and Tilburg University. Robert Beeres is an associate professor in the field of defence accounting and control (business administration) at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at Nyenrode Business School.
This book deals with the processes and theories involved in managing military organisations in both peacetime and crisis conditions. Examining the challenges faced by policymakers and military commanders in conducting military operations, this book considers the benefits of conventional management and organisation theory for the military. At the same time, these essays recognise that the military should be considered as a highly individual organisation, operating in exceptional circumstances. This awareness of the differences between the military and other organisations generates important lessons not only for the military but also for general organisations as it teaches them how to cope in exceptional, 'hyper' conditions. These theoretical lessons are illustrated by case studies and experiences from recent military operations, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book will be of great interest to students of military studies, security studies and organizational studies. Joseph Soeters chairs the department of management and organization studies and defence economy at the Netherlands Defense Academy and he is a professor in organizational sociology at Tilburg University. Paul. C. van Fenema is an associate professor of organization studies at the Netherlands Defence Academy and Tilburg University. Robert Beeres is an associate professor in the field of defence accounting and control (business administration) at the Netherlands Defence Academy and at Nyenrode Business School.
Andrew Dorman introduces Sierra Leone as Blair's second great military adventure after Kosovo and the first he undertook on his own. It is tied to Blair's 1999 Chicago speech on the 'Doctrine of the International Community', his move towards humanitarianism and the impact of the Kosovo experience. The book links this move with the rise of cosmopolitan militaries and the increasing involvement of Western forces in humanitarian operations and their impact on the international system. Furthermore, it places it within the context of defence transformation and the emerging Western expeditionary capabilities, in particular the European Union's new battle group concept and developments in concepts such as Network Centric Warfare and Networked Enabled Capability. Examining the whole campaign and considering the impact on the Blair Government, this book will prove to be a key reader on the topic.
The drastically altered European security context has forced Western defence planners and analysts to reassess core assumptions, including the future role of NATO. As the organization goes through what may be its most profound restructuring to date, one of the critical issues to be resolved is the stationing of Allied troops in Germany, the Allian
This book provides the first comprehensive study of the
evolution of the Iraqi military from the British mandate era to
post-Baathist Iraq.
Ethnic and sectarian turmoil is endemic to Iraq, and its armed forces have been intertwined with its political affairs since their creation. This study illustrates how the relationship between the military and the political centre in Iraq has evolved, with the military bringing about three regime changes in Iraq's history before being brought under control by Saddam Hussein, up until the 2003 war. The instability that followed was partly due to the failure to create a new military that does not threaten the government, yet is still strong enough to deter rival factions from armed conflict. The reconstitution of the armed forces will be a prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq, but this book argues that immense challenges lie ahead, despite the praise from the Bush administration for the progress of the new Iraqi army.
The changed strategic landscape of the 21st century has driven a shift to more flexible, adaptable capabilities across the spectrum of conflict. Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated the validity of team warfare between air and land forces during open hostilities with an enemy. The time has come for innovative counter-air and counter-land concepts focused on medium- to large-scale conventional combat operations that will merge air and ground forces even more effectively into a single potent fighting force. Such is the focus of AirLandBattle21. A basic assumption in this study is that, during major combat operations, a relevant number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) will conduct distributed operations in a non-linear, non-contiguous and geographically separated fashion. The study introduces a flexible counter-air framework that allows for the most efficient use of limited air assets and advocates only the necessary levels of air control in different areas across the theatre. The study also offers alternative views of strategic attack and explores the critical role tactical airlift will play in employing and sustaining the brigade combat team.
This is the first in-depth study to address the financing of the American-Mexican War of 1846-48. Floating the Mexican War loans was the greatest single endeavour of the American financial community during the 1840s. Under President Polk, the Treasury issued three loans totalling $49 000 000. Investment bankers enthusiastically marketed these treasury notes and bonds directly to the international investing public. Cummings argues that the successful financing of the American-Mexican War had a long-term beneficial effect on American financial institutions and markets. At home, the stability of the Independent Treasury was assured, and abroad, America's international credit standing was restored. Most importantly, the dealing of government issue by investment bankers was a decisive step towards modern public finance.
This unique gem of a personal story of a Japanese soldier in the Russo-Japanese War of the Meiji Era in Japan which broke out in 1904 is of more than historical interest and fascination. The writer paints a moving picture of the lives and deaths, joys and sorrows of the men who took Port Arthur in the bloodiest battle of this short war. The tale is told vividly and simply and is a rare revelation of the innermost feelings of a Japanese soldier of remarkable intelligence, spirituality and powers of expression
A prevalent view among historians is that both horsed cavalry and the cavalry charge became obviously obsolete in the second half of the nineteenth century in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower, and that officers of the cavalry clung to both for reasons of prestige and stupidity. It is this view, commonly held but rarely supported by sustained research, that this book challenges. It shows that the achievements of British and Empire cavalry in the First World War, although controversial, are sufficient to contradict the argument that belief in the cavalry was evidence of military incompetence. It offers a case study of how in reality a practical military doctrine for the cavalry was developed and modified over several decades, influenced by wider defence plans and spending, by the experience of combat, by Army politics, and by the rivalries of senior officers. Debate as to how the cavalry was to adjust its tactics in the face of increased infantry and artillery firepower began in the mid nineteenth century, when the increasing size of armies meant a greater need for mobile troops. The cavalry problem was how to deal with a gap in the evolution of warfare between the mass armies of the later nineteenth century and the motorised firepower of the mid twentieth century, an issue that is closely connected with the origins of the deadlock on the Western Front. Tracing this debate, this book shows how, despite serious attempts to 'learn from history', both European-style wars and colonial wars produced ambiguous or disputed evidence as to the future of cavalry, and doctrine was largely a matter of what appeared practical at the time.
This book provides the first comprehensive study of the evolution of the Iraqi military from the British mandate era to post-Baathist Iraq. Ethnic and sectarian turmoil is endemic to Iraq, and its armed forces have been intertwined with its political affairs since their creation. This study illustrates how the relationship between the military and the political centre in Iraq has evolved, with the military bringing about three regime changes in Iraqa (TM)s history before being brought under control by Saddam Hussein, up until the 2003 war. The instability that followed was partly due to the failure to create a new military that does not threaten the government, yet is still strong enough to deter rival factions from armed conflict. The reconstitution of the armed forces will be a prerequisite for an American withdrawal from Iraq, but this book argues that immense challenges lie ahead, despite the praise from the Bush administration for the progress of the new Iraqi army. |
You may like...
1 Recce: Volume 1 - The Night Belongs To…
Alexander Strachan
Paperback
(1)
1 Recce: Volume 3 - Through Stealth Our…
Alexander Strachan
Paperback
20 Battles - Searching For A South…
Evert Kleynhans, David Brock Katz
Paperback
|