With the seeming defeat of ISIS, has jihadism disappeared from world politics? In this startling new book, Stephen Chan uncovers the ideological foundations that allow ISIS and other jihadi groups to survive, as they propagate terror by sophisticated means online and continue thrusting their spear at the West. Far from presenting simple-minded, black-clad fighters, Chan describes an elaborate process of online recruitment, which is, in its own terrible way, meaningful and thoughtful. He examines the foundations of this thought and the step-by-step methods of jihadi indoctrination, exposing the lack of IT knowledge among Western world leaders and urging the 'moderate' Islamic community in the West to challenge jihadi ideology with a courageous, non-violent ideology of its own. Without a counter-ideology, Chan argues, alienated Muslim youth are drawn not only to glamorised dreams of violence, but also to the pull of a totalising system of politics and theology. Spear to the West picks apart the fallacy of 'thoughtless' jihadi carnage, arguing that-dangerous and gruesome as it might be-there is more thought behind this phenomenon of destruction than meets the eye.

Reveals the inside story of the formulation and implementation of the US and UK's counter-narcotics policies in Afghanistan Through interviews with key policy practitioners on both sides of the Atlantic, this study reveals the complex picture of counter narcotics strategy in Afghanistan. It highlights the key points of cooperation and contention, and details the often contradictory and competitive objectives of the overall war effort in Afghanistan. Western counter-narcotics policies in Afghanistan failed dismally after opium poppy cultivation surged to unprecedented levels. The Anglo-American partnership at the centre of this battleground was divided by competing and opposing views of how to address the opium problem, which troubled the well-established Anglo-American relationship.

How do small groups of combat soldiers perform on the battlefield and maintain their cohesion under fire? Why are they willing to fight for each other? These questions have long intrigued social scientists, military historians, and philosophers. Based on extensive research and drawing on graphic analysis of close quarter combat from the Somme to Sangin, this book puts forward a novel and challenging answer to this question. Against the common presumption of the virtues of the citizen soldier, the author claims that, in fact, the infantry platoon of the mass twentieth century army typically performed poorly and demonstrated low levels of cohesion in combat. With inadequate time and resources to train their troops for the industrial battlefield, citizen armies typically relied on appeals to masculinity, nationalism, and ethnicity to unite their troops and to encourage them to fight. By contrast, cohesion among today's professional soldiers is generated and sustained quite differently. While concepts of masculinity and patriotism are not wholly irrelevant, the combat performance of professional soldiers is based primarily on drills which are inculcated through intense training regimes. Consequently, the infantry platoon has become a highly skilled team capable of collective virtuosity in combat. The increasing importance of training, competence, and drills to the professional infantry soldier has not only changed the character of cohesion in the twenty-first century platoon, but it has also allowed for a wider social membership of this group. Soldiers are no longer included or excluded into the platoon on the basis of their skin colour, ethnicity, social background, sexuality, or even sex (women are increasingly being included in the infantry) but their professional competence alone: can they do the job? In this way, the book traces a profound transformation in the western way of warfare to shed light on wider processes of change not only in the armed forces but in civilian society as well. This book is a project of the Oxford Programme on the Changing Character of War.

The closest thing to total war before World War One, the Seven Years' War was fought in North America, Europe, the Caribbean and India with major consequences for all parties involved. This fascinating book is the first to truly review the grand strategies of the combatants and examine the differing styles of warfare used in the many campaigns. These ranged from the large-scale battles and sieges of the European front to the ambush and skirmish tactics used in the forests of North America. Daniel Marston's engaging narrative is supported by official war papers, personal diaries and memoirs, and official reports.

In the late 1990s, NATO initiated KFOR, the militarized peacekeeping force charged with stabilizing Kosovo and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia for displaced persons and refugees after the genocide and other numerous atrocities carried out during the Balkan conflicts. Operation KINETIC is a not only a history of the origins and operations of the Kosovo Force, it is also a history of the vital Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) and Civil-Military Cooperation operations conducted by the Canadian Army units assigned to KFOR during the crucial early days and months after entry into the province in 1999-2000. Operating alongside American, British, French, Norwegian, Finnish, and Swedish forces, these surveillance and response units were instrumental in preventing violence in numerous areas before it could escalate and draw in the Serbian Army, which could have led to another war in the region. Sean Maloney, a Canadian military historian with extensive field experience in the Balkans, draws upon numerous interviews and first-hand accounts of an operation that would later serve as a model in preparing for similar efforts in Afghanistan and provide a blueprint for possible future stabilization operations around the world.

After serving in the Indian Wars, Edward S. Farrow set out to provide a manual for soldiers and officers bound for frontier army duty. "I have endeavored to present," Farrow writes, "such knowledge as the young officer often acquires by bitter experience and under the most unfavorable circumstances."

"Mountain Scouting," first published in 1881, is a valuable instruction guide for novice soldiers, describing how to care for their horses, shoot accurately with their rifles, fix broken bones, and ward off diseases and ailments. Farrow guides troops on the use of equipment, offering advice on proper clothing, bedding, tents, and rations. For the soldier who becomes lost, Farrow comes to the rescue with a diagram on following mountain divides and with a chart on how best to relocate a trail. The book concludes with a glossary of Chinook-English terms.

The 48th edition of the SIPRI Yearbook analyses developments in 2016 in: -Security and conflicts -Military spending and armaments -Non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament The SIPRI Yearbook contains extensive annexes on the implementation of arms control and disarmament agreements and a chronology of events during the year in the area of security and arms control.

A decade of exhausting wars, punishing economic setbacks, fast-rising rivals and unrealized global aspirations has called America's global role into question as never before. Will the US long continue to be the only superpower in the international system? Should it sustain the world-shaping grand strategy it's followed since the dawn of the Cold War? Everyone who thinks about international relations cares about these questions. But while opinions are common, answers grounded in scholarship are hard to find because of lack of data and theory relevant to the 21st as opposed to the 20th century. In America Abroad, Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth, two of the nation's leading international relations scholars, fill this gap with a bracing assessment of contemporary America's shifting global role. Their findings will reorient the debate on America's future position and grand strategy. Using new data and new approaches to measurement tailored to 21st century global politics, they show that United States' position as a peerless superpower will be secure long into the future. Engaging a vast body of the newest scholarship, they develop the theory needed to answer the most pressing grand strategic question of the day: How would America's interests fare if the United States decided to disengage from the world? Their answer runs counter to a rising chorus of calls from many academics and policy makers for US the "come home": retrenchment would put core US security and economic interests would be put at risk. America Abroad is not, however, an unalloyed endorsement for the foreign policy status quo. By providing a new way to think about the United States' position in the world, Brooks and Wohlforth move beyond the unrealistic dichotomies that characterize much of the contemporary debate. Although rise of China will not soon end America's career as the sole superpower, it is a significant shift that alters the strategic landscape and demands adjustments. And they develop a distinct position in the evolving debate on US foreign policy, now torn between calls for a more expansive style of global leadership that seeks to remake the world in America's image and demands for it to retrench and leave the world's troubles behind. Their findings support America remaining globally engaged but focusing on three objectives that have been at the core of US foreign policy since the Cold War's dawn: reducing great power rivalry and security competition in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East, fostering economic globalization, and sustaining institutionalized cooperation that advances America's interests. Combining scholarly rigor and accessible prose, America Abroad will force us to rethink our assumptions about the nature and utility of US power in the global arena.

Tony McAleavy traces the complex history of the modern conflict between Arabs and Jews from ancient times to the present day. This book explores the rise of Zionism, the persecution of the Jews, the creation of the state of Israel and its impact on the Palestinian people. It also assesses the nature of the conflict in the second half of the twentieth century; the rise of the PLO, the wars between the Arabs and Israelis, the role of the superpowers and the recent attempts to achieve a peaceful settlement.

Going to war may be the gravest decision a nation and its leaders make. At the moment, Australia is at war with the Islamic State. We also live in a region that has become much more volatile, as China asserts itself and America seeks to hold the line. What is it like to go to war? How do we decide to go to war? Where might we go to war in the future? Will we get that decision right? In this vivid, urgent essay, James Brown looks to history, strategy and his own experience to explore these questions. He examines the legacy of the Iraq War and argues that it has prevented a clear view of Australia's future conflicts. He looks at how we plug into the US war machine, now that American troops are based in Darwin. He sheds fascinating light on the extraordinary concentration of war powers in the hands of the Prime Minister - and how this might go wrong. This powerful essay argues that we have not yet begun to think through the choices that may confront us in years ahead.

Bringing together the law of armed conflict governing the use of weapons into a single volume, the fully updated Second Edition of Weapons and the Law of Armed Conflict interprets these rules and discusses the factors influencing future developments in weapons law. After relating the historical evolution of weapons law, the book discusses the important customary principles that are the foundation of the subject, and provides a condensed account of the law that exists on the use of weapons. The treaties and customary rules applying to particular categories of weapon are thereafter listed and explained article by article and rule by rule in a series of chapters. Having stated the law as it is, the book then explores the way in which this dynamic field of international law develops in the light of various influences. The legal review of weapons is discussed, both from the perspective of how such reviews should be undertaken and how such a system should be established. Having stated the law as it is, the book then investigates the way in which this dynamic field of international law develops in the light of various influences. In the final chapter, the prospects for future rule change are considered. This Second Edition includes a discussion of new treaty law on expanding bullets, the arms trade, and norms in relation to biological and chemical weapons. It also analyses the International Manuals on air and missile warfare law and on cyber warfare law, the challenges posed by 'lethal autonomous weapon systems', and developments in the field of information and telecommunications otherwise known as cyber activities.

In this tragic and powerful story, the two Opium Wars of 1839??1842 and 1856??1860 between Britain and China are recounted for the first time through the eyes of the Chinese as well as the Imperial West. Opium entered China during the Middle Ages when Arab traders brought it into China for medicinal purposes. As it took hold as a recreational drug, opium wrought havoc on Chinese society. By the early nineteenth century, 90 percent of the Emperor's court and the majority of the army were opium addicts.
Britain was also a nation addicted-to tea, grown in China, and paid for with profits made from the opium trade. When China tried to ban the use of the drug and bar its Western smugglers from it gates, England decided to fight to keep open China's ports for its importation. England, the superpower of its time, managed to do so in two wars, resulting in a drug-induced devastation of the Chinese people that would last 150 years.
In this page-turning, dramatic and colorful history, The Opium Wars responds to past, biased Western accounts by representing the neglected Chinese version of the story and showing how the wars stand as one of the monumental clashes between the cultures of East and West.
"A fine popular account."-Publishers Weekly
"Their account of the causes, military campaigns and tragic effects of these wars is absorbing, frequently macabre and deeply unsettling."-Booklist

This book focuses on various aspects of maritime security of India. Starting with the changing dimensions of national security, it addresses the issues such as non-traditional threats to security, the threat posed by non state actors, the causes of insecurity and also the imperatives of tackling the human security challenges. The need for a comprehensive change in India's security policy is well exposed and certain policy prescriptions are also given. The oceans are generally meant for better inaction among nations, especially in the era of accelerated pace of globalization. With regard to the coastal security of India the role of coastal community is significant. The needs for inculcating awareness among the coastal community on coastal security matters as well as infrastructure development along the coastal area are also emphasized. It is very important to look into the basic problems of coastal people as they face many human security challenges. When we look into the coastal security a convergence of the national security concerns and human security concerns is visible. The overall development of the coastal area would lead to better human security and better human security would result in enlisting the support of the coastal community to ensure national security program, especially the coastal security. In short, coastal security is not only about protecting the coastal terrain and territorial waters from direct attacks by the state actors or non state actors, but also safeguarding the interests of all stake holders.

This book focuses on various aspects of maritime security of India. Starting with the changing dimensions of national security, it addresses the issues such as non-traditional threats to security, the threat posed by non state actors, the causes of insecurity and also the imperatives of tackling the human security challenges. The need for a comprehensive change in India's security policy is well exposed and certain policy prescriptions are also given. The oceans are generally meant for better inaction among nations, especially in the era of accelerated pace of globalization. With regard to the coastal security of India the role of coastal community is significant. The needs for inculcating awareness among the coastal community on coastal security matters as well as infrastructure development along the coastal area are also emphasized. It is very important to look into the basic problems of coastal people as they face many human security challenges. When we look into the coastal security a convergence of the national security concerns and human security concerns is visible. The overall development of the coastal area would lead to better human security and better human security would result in enlisting the support of the coastal community to ensure national security programme, especially the coastal security. In short, coastal security is not only about protecting the coastal terrain and territorial waters from direct attacks by the state actors or non state actors, but also safeguarding the interests of all stake holders.

The Eagle's Last Triumph is a compelling analysis of Napoleon's victory at Ligny on 16 June 1815. The fi ghting lasted for six hours, but such was its bitterness that more than 20,000 were killed or wounded - at least one in seven of the soldiers who fought. This fascinating narrative examines the action in detail, with many maps, diagrams and first-hand accounts. Eyewitnesses described the battlefield afterwards as 'an unforgettable spectacle'. In this illuminating book, the author reveals how this important, but incomplete, triumph led just two days later to absolute defeat at Waterloo.

Rule of Law in War places international law at the centre of the transformation of United States counterinsurgency (COIN) that occurred during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. It claims international law matters more than is often assumed and more than we have previously been able to claim, contradicting existing theoretical assumptions. In particular, the book contends international law matters in a case that may be regarded as particularly tough for international law, that is, the development of a key military doctrine, the execution of that doctrine on the battlefield, and the ultimate conduct of armed conflict. To do so, the book traces international law's influence in the construction of modern U.S. COIN doctrine, specifically, Field Manual 3-24, Counterinsurgency, released by the U.S. Army and Marine Corps in December 2006. It then assesses how international law's doctrinal interaction held up in Iraq and Afghanistan. The account of this doctrinal change is based on extensive access to the primary actors and materials, including FM 3-24's drafting history, field documents, and interviews with military officers of various ranks who have served multiple deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

These compelling, enlightening, and often highly personal experiences tell stories of average citizens as well as historical figures who made huge sacrifices by serving in the military, giving the reader new perspectives on war, and its real costs. Wars are generally started by those holding power-those whose names are recorded in history books-yet they are fought by the average citizen. In wartime, a single person's action can change the course of history. From Bunker Hill to Baghdad: True Stories of America's Veterans presents stories told by just a handful of the limitless number of men and women who put their lives on the line for the lives of others in every major American military conflict from the Revolutionary War to the present. A fantastic resource for storytellers, this collection can also be used for student research as well as for read-alouds. Many of the informative, entertaining, and uplifting stories in this book are derived from the interviews author and storyteller Pat Mendoza conducted with veterans or family members of veterans during his travels throughout the United States. The book introduces general readers and those interested in the experiences of war veterans to a diverse selection of individuals who fought in America's wars-military service people and others-and to their amazing experiences, some of which have never been previously published. For educators who work with students in grade four to the college level, these poignant, real-life stories of American military history will serve to supplement curricula and help make their students' studies come to life and gain meaning and relevance. Provides stories from male and female veterans, family and friends, and others involved in the wartime experience throughout U.S. history, all told from a unique framework, making these tales ones that readers will find engaging and unforgettable Underscores the lesson that in war-as in civilian life-oftentimes one person's decisive actions or bravery can change history and significantly affect the lives of many Supplies tales with humor as well as ones that recount somber events, such as a story told by an individual who stole the president's jeep during WWII

Great Lakes Holocaust is the first in two volumes covering military operations in Zaire - as the Congo was named from 1971 until 1997 - and the Democratic Republic of Congo at the turn of the 21st century. This volume explores the events of the 1980s and 1990s in Rwanda and Uganda, which eventually spilled over the borders into Zaire, resulting in one of the worst tragedies ever to befall an African region. The narrative traces the ascent of crucial Rwandan, Congolese and Ugandan military and political figures, and their connections within influential business and political circles in and outside Africa. It examines the build-up of the Zairian military under the government of dictator Mobutu Sese Seko in the 1960s and 1970s, and provides an in-depth study into reasons for its near-collapse in the early 1990s. The military build-up of Rwanda and Uganda is discussed in detail as is their planning for operations inside Zaire, and the global logistic tail that provided the Rwandan military, particularly, but also most of its opponents, with a capability of not only waging war beyond their borders, but - in the case of Rwanda - of invading and practically conquering a country the size of Western Europe or the USA east of the Mississippi. The book further traces the covert Rwandan military actions inside Zaire, initially run under the guise of an insurgency by one of Zaire's ethnic minorities; how ever-deepening Rwandan operations inside Zaire were practically dictated by concentrations of Hutu refugees; and how the insurgency - led by Laurent-Desire Kabila who was installed by key Rwandan and Ugandan military and political figures - developed into an organization that sought autonomy from the military and political dictates of Rwanda, in turn delivering a direct reason for the Second Congo War which was fought from 1998-2003.

In "Counterstrike", Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker of "The New York Times" take readers into a previously hidden theater of war, as U.S. ground troops, intelligence operatives, and top executive branch officials have fashioned effective new strategies to fight terrorism, in sharp contrast to the cowboy slogans that once characterized the U.S. government's public posture. They show how these innovative strategies, drawn from classic Cold War deterrence theory, were employed in the dramatic raid in which Osama bin Laden was killed, and in a new afterword the authors point to the on-going challenges and successes facing America in the Middle East, in cyberspace, and at home.

In this story from the frontlines of the undeclared battlefields of the War on Terror, journalist Jeremy Scahill documents the new paradigm of American foreign policy: fought far from any declared battlefield, by units that do not officially exist, in thousands of operations a month that are never publicly acknowledged. From Afghanistan and Pakistan to Yemen, Somalia and beyond, independent journalist Scahill speaks to the CIA agents, mercenaries and elite Special Operations Forces operators who populate the dark side of the many wars Obama's government is fighting. He goes deep into al Qaeda - held territory in Yemen and walks the streets of Mogadishu with CIA-backed warlords. We also meet the survivors of U.S. night raids and drone strikes - including families of U.S. citizens targeted for assassination by their own government - who reveal the human consequences of the dirty wars the United States struggles to keep hidden.

Winner of the 2012 Heritage Toronto Award of Merit Stanley Barracks begins with the construction in 1840-41 of the new facility that replaced the then decaying Fort York Barracks. The book recounts the background of the last facility operated by the British military in Toronto and how Canada’s own Permanent Force was developed. During the course of the stories told in this history, we learn about Canadian participation in war, including the two world wars and the barracks’ use as an internment camp for "enemy aliens"; civil-military relations as Toronto’s expansion encroached on the lands and buildings of the barracks; the establishment and growth of Toronto’s Canadian National Exhibition; the struggles and discrimination faced by immigrants in Canada in wartime; the employment of the barracks as emergency housing during Toronto’s post-war housing shortage; and the origins of Canada’s famed Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In short, Stanley Barracks is the story of Toronto.