![]() |
![]() |
Your cart is empty |
||
Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Military life & institutions > General
This book explores the professional and social lives of the soldiers who served in the army of the Byzantine Empire in the sixth century. More than just a fighting force, this army was the setting in which hundreds of thousands of men forged relationships and manoeuvred for promotion. The officers of this force, from famous generals like Belisarius and Narses to lesser-known men like Buzes and Artabanes, not only fought battles but also crafted social networks and cultivated their relationships with their emperor, fellow officers, families, and subordinate soldiers. Looming in the background were differences in identity, particularly between Romans and those they identified as barbarians. Drawing on numerical evidence and stories from sixth-century authors who understood the military, Justinian's Men highlights a sixth-century Byzantine army that was vibrant, lively, and full of individuals working with and against each other.
Cultural practices and artifacts, in their multiple and varied forms, are grounded on values, which are so deeply internalized by people that usually remain in the background, as taken-for-granted guides for interpretations and decisions in everyday life. Shaping individual moral horizons is at the core of socialization processes, through which older generations aim to disseminate their culturally established values to the new ones, making use of suggestions mainly implicit in daily experiences and interactions. Despite the strength of these processes of cultural canalization, people find particular ways of positioning and interpreting social suggestions, drawing singular life trajectories and developing themselves as unique beings. This is truthful also in case of highly institutionalized settings like the military, in which people play in many forms an agentic role in their own development, being prepared to perform their professional duties in very complex and challenging activity contexts. This book is an invitation to dive deeper into human experiences lived in the military through qualitative and in-depth approaches, observing their affective qualities, the meanings they acquire and how they shape individuals' identities, fostering the development and try-out of specific ethical and moral values. The present work can contribute to research and professional practice in fields related to human development, social processes, education and people management in the military, as well as in other institutional contexts, especially by highlighting the affective, meaningful and moral-ethical dimensions of cultural experiences.
This book examines Pakistan's nuclear behaviour from the 1950s onwards against the background of the emerging global non-proliferation system. The author probes the broader questions of the extent to which Pakistan's conduct was factored into the global non-proliferation regime and why that regime failed to constrain Pakistan's choice to go nuclear. The book goes on to argue that in order to fully understand Pakistan's nuclear policy, the Indian case must also be considered. Therefore, this book provides a comprehensive scholarly account of the history of both India's and Pakistan's technological developments leading to their decision to develop nuclear weapons and confront the NPT constraints. The question of nuclear proliferation by Pakistan's most prominent scientist, Dr A. Q. Khan, its nuclear behaviour after the disclosure of this proliferation case, and the recent development of counter-proliferation measures at a global level are all analysed in this volume. The security of Pakistan's nuclear weapons and the question of the state's reliability within the ranks of the global community remain hotly debated issues. Pakistan and the New Nuclear Taboo offers the compelling argument that a new nuclear taboo against proliferation has emerged to prevent nuclear risks regionally and globally: since 2004, it is argued, Pakistan has played a key role in helping to establish this new nuclear taboo against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The 'three models' approach adopted here provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date theoretical perspective on Pakistan's nuclear behaviour and helps illuminate nuclear policy dynamics and the role of international institutions in regulating the conduct of states in other regions as well.
Hundreds of Americans from the town of Stamford, Connecticut, fought in the Vietnam War. Of those, 29 did not return. These men and women came from all corners of the town. They were white and black, poor and wealthy. Some had not finished high school; others had graduate degrees. They served as grunts and helicopter pilots, battlefield surgeons and nurses, combat engineers and mine sweepers. Greeted with indifference and sometimes hostility upon their return home, they learned to suppress their memories in a nation fraught with political, economic and racial tensions. Now in their late 60s and 70s, these veterans have begun to tell their stories, which have been collected and recorded in this book.
David Kenyon Webster's memoir is a clear-eyed, emotionally charged
chronicle of youth, camaraderie, and the chaos of war. Relying on
his own letters home and recollections he penned just after his
discharge, Webster gives a first hand account of life in "E
Company, 101st Airborne Division," crafting a memoir that resonates
with the immediacy of a gripping novel. "From the Trade Paperback edition."
This book demonstrates through country case studies that, contrary to received wisdom, Latin American militaries can contribute productively, but under select conditions, to non-traditional missions of internal security, disaster relief, and social programs. Latin American soldiers are rarely at war, but have been called upon to perform these missions in both lethal and non-lethal ways. Is this beneficial to their societies or should the armed forces be left in the barracks? As inherently conservative institutions, they are at their best, the author demonstrates, when tasked with missions that draw on pre-existing organizational strengths that can be utilized in appropriate and humane ways. They are at a disadvantage when forced to reinvent themselves. Ultimately, it is governments that must choose whether or not to deploy soldiers, and they should do so, based on a pragmatic assessment of the severity and urgency of the problem, the capacity of the military to effectively respond, and the availability of alternative solutions.
A detailed examination of African war veterans that reveals the changes they wrought on postwar transition and society. SPECIAL COMMENDATION FOR 2020 AMAURY TALBOT PRIZE FOR AFRICAN ANTHROPOLOGY Between 1975 and 2002 Angola underwent a very destructive civil war, in which much of the non-elite male population was conscripted into one or other of the contending armies, the country urbanised very rapidly, and colonial-era political and moral economies were radically reshaped. This book presents a detailed examination of the pronounced changes this wrought on Angolan society, and, for the first time, the gendered impact on a generation of Angolan menrecruited by the governing MPLA. Spall shows that the war's effects went far beyond the political and economic, to affect sexual relations, the social valuation of money, respect for elder male wisdom and what it meant to bea senior man, and the role of Christianity in everyday life. Masculinity was central to how the social transformations of war were intimately experienced by Angolan soldiers and the book investigates the consequences of the men'sexperiences when they returned home and the important role of military service in constructing Angola's post-war social trajectory. A powerful study of the gendered dynamics created by the war, the book will not only be of interest to Angolanists, but to those researching masculinity and military service on the continent, and in the wider sphere.
This book, a concise examination of U.S. policy in contemporary Africa, delineates various aspects of the role that the U.S. played in exacerbating and/or resolving violent conflicts in postcolonial Africa and provides a succinct historical overview of these armed conflicts. F. Ugboaja Ohaegbulam devotes considerable attention of four specific conflicts in Ethiopia-Somalia, the Western Sahara, Angola, and Rwanda and to the Clinton administration's African Crisis Response Initiative and its sequel under George W. Bush. The book concludes that lack of congruence between local forces in conflict in Africa, as well as U.S. aims in those conflicts, was only one of the constraints on the United States in its attempts at conflict resolution. America's counterproductive Cold War policies also defined relations with African states for far too long. Hence, the conflicts in postcolonial Africa became part of the legacy of those policies even as African problems continued to be low-priority concerns for the U.S. government. Libraries, advanced undergraduate and graduate students, and professors, of African studies, as well as the general reader, will find this book useful.
This book describes the various tactics used in counter-recruitment, drawing from the words of activists and case studies of successful organizing and advocacy. The United States is one of the only developed countries to allow a military presence in public schools, including an active role for military recruiters. In order to enlist 250,000 new recruits every year, the US military must market itself to youth by integrating itself into schools through programs such as JROTC (Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps), and spend billions of dollars annually on recruitment activities. This militarization of educational space has spawned a little-noticed grassroots resistance: the small, but sophisticated, "counter-recruitment" movement. Counter-recruiters visit schools to challenge recruiters' messages with information on non-military career options; activists work to make it harder for the military to operate in public schools; they conduct lobbying campaigns for policies that protect students' private information from military recruiters; and, counter-recruiters mentor youth to become involved in these activities. While attracting little attention, counter-recruitment has nonetheless been described as "the military recruiter's greatest obstacle" by a Marine Corps official.
A memoir of astonishing power, savagery, and ashen lyricism, Storm of Steel illuminates not only the horrors but also the fascination of total war, seen through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. Young, tough, patriotic, but also disturbingly self-aware, Junger exulted in the Great War, which he saw not just as a great national conflict but--more importantly--as a unique personal struggle. Leading raiding parties, defending trenches against murderous British incursions, simply enduring as shells tore his comrades apart, Junger kept testing himself, braced for the death that will mark his failure. Published shortly after the war's end, Storm of Steel was a worldwide bestseller and can now be rediscovered through Michael Hofmann's brilliant new translation.First time in Penguin ClassicsAcclaimed new translation based on a new authoritative textWidely viewed as the best account ever written of fighting in World War I
On the night of 20 November 1914, everything pointed to the likelihood of invasion by a German army, whisked across the North Sea on a fleet of fast transports. The Royal Navy's Grand Fleet prepared to sail south from remote bases in Scotland; shallow-draught monitors were moored in the Wash; and 300,000 troops stood by to repel the enemy on the beaches. Fortunately, the night passed without incident. For thirty years prior to the First World War, writers, with a variety of motivations, had been forecasting such an invasion. Britain regarded the army as an imperial police force and, despite the experience gained in military exercises involving simulated invasions, the Royal Navy was still expected to fulfil its traditional role of intercepting and destroying enemy forces. However, as the technology of warfare developed, with the proliferation of ever more powerful warships, submarines, mines, and torpedoes, alongside the added promise of aerial assault, it became obvious that these long-established notions of the Navy's invincibility might no longer be realistic. The perceived threat of invasion, whether justified or not, persisted throughout the First World War, and this book describes the measures taken to protect Britain against enemy attack by land, sea, or air.
At the beginning of the Second World War, RAF Acklington was the most important fighter station in north-east England. It started life in 1938 as a training base for RAF aircrew, but after the outbreak of hostilities it was given the role of protecting the skies over Newcastle and its important industrial hinterland. Acklinton's Spitfires and Hurricanes were soon in action against German bombers, as many of the earliest air raids of the war took place over this part of Britain. Due to the importance of this region, with its major ports and industries, it continued to attract the attention of enemy bombers long after the Battle of Britain had been won. By late 1940, most of the attacks took place after dark and RAF Acklington became the host for night fighter squadrons. Unlike many military airfields, it did not close when hostilities ceased, reverting first to its training role, and then becoming the base for fighter aircraft, before closing in the early 1970s.
Accounting is frequently portrayed as a value free mechanism for allocating resources and ensuring they are employed in the most efficient manner. Contrary to this popular opinion, the research presented in Accounting at War demonstrates that accounting for military forces is primarily a political practice. Throughout history, military force has been so pervasive that no community of any degree of complexity has succeeded in. Through to the present day, for all nation states, accounting for the military and its operations has primarily served broader political purposes. From the Crimean War to the War on Terror, accounting has been used to assert civilian control over the military, instill rational business practices on war, and create the visibilities and invisibilities necessary to legitimize the use of force. Accounting at War emphasizes the significant power that financial and accounting controls gave to political elites and the impact of these controls on military performance. Accounting at War examines the effects of these controls in wars such as the Crimean, South African and Vietnam wars. Accounting at War also emphasizes how accounting has provided the means to rationalize and normalize violence, which has often contributed to the acceleration and expansion of war. Aimed at researchers and academics in the fields of accounting, accounting history, political management and sociology, Accounting at War represents a unique and critical perspective to this cutting-edge research field.
Veteran Friendships across Lifetimes: Brothers and Sisters in Arms seeks to add to the larger conversation about the "band of brothers" phenomenon by focusing on stories of survival after service members return home. Based on five years of research, including in-depth interviews with fifty servicemen and women, this book explores the interrelationship between camaraderie and contentment. Ward specifically looks at how military friendships translate from the battlefield into civilian life and how these friendships assist soldiers in gaining peace with the past, happiness in the present, and hope for the future. This text uses the themes of strength, kinship, and resilience to discuss the bonds and friendships that are created and maintained despite the savagery of the wartime experience.
This book examines war veterans' history after 1945 from a global perspective. In the Cold War era, in most countries of the world there was a sizeable portion of population with direct war experience. This edited volume gathers contributions which show the veterans' involvement in all the major historical processes shaping the world after World War II. Cold War politics, racial conflict, decolonization, state-building, and the reshaping of war memory were phenomena in which former soldiers and ex-combatants were directly involved. By examining how different veterans' groups, movements and organizations challenged or sustained the Cold War, strived to prevent or to foster decolonization, and transcended or supported official memories of war, the volume characterizes veterans as largely independent and autonomous actors which interacted with societies and states in the making of our times. Spanning historical cases from the United States to Hong-Kong, from Europe to Southern Africa, from Algeria to Iran, the volume situates veterans within the turbulent international context since World War II.
In the turbulent times of the post-World War One era, new political parties emerged frequently in Germany, many with opposing extremist policies. The Communist movement grew out of the Socialist working classes using the Russian Bolshevik Party as a template. In direct opposition, the new National Socialist German Workers Party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler, occupied the extreme right-wing position. Head on conflict was inevitable and both parties organised violent demonstrations against the other. Hitler recognised that he was physically vulnerable and ordered the formation of his own protection squad, made up of loyal men who would not shirk from a fight. From the rudimentary ranks of Hitler's select few grew the infant SS, a modern praetorian guard, which developed over the years into a massive and efficient military style force with tentacles spreading into all elements of everyday life in Nazi Germany. To administer this organisation, Hitler appointed leaders upon whom he could rely. Many names remain obscure, but this book highlights who they all were and how they appeared.
Inspired by a collection of letters received by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle during the First World War, Philip Abbott sets out to explore the inspirational campaign to provide body armour to British soldiers serving in the trenches. Setting the letters in the context of the terrible losses suffered during the Battle of the Somme, Abbott reveals the actions of the War Office and Ministry of Munitions in providing better protection for the troops. He examines Conan Doyle's personal motives for involvement, and investigates the part played by another Edinburgh graduate, Caleb Saleeby, in promoting the development of helmets, body armour and shields. Saving Lives is an absorbing account of how the creator of Sherlock Holmes used his fame to campaign against the horrific casualties on the Western Front.
An army marches on its stomach, observed Napoleon. One hundred and fifty years later General Rommel remarked that the British should always be attacked before soldiers had had an early morning cup of tea. This book, written to raise money for the Army Benevolent Fund and with a Foreword by General Lord Dannatt, sets out the human story of the food and "brew-ups" of the front-line soldier from the Boer War to Helmand. Throughout, the importance of the provision of food, or even a simple mug of tea, for morale and unit fellowship, as well as for the need of the calories required for battle is highlighted with many examples over the century. For many, until 1942, the basis of food was"bully beef" and hard biscuit, supplemented by whatever could be found locally, all adequate but monotonous. Sometimes supply failed, on occasions water also. The extremes of hardship being when regiments were besieged, as in Ladysmith in the Boer War and Kut el-Amara in Iraq in the 1914-18 war. At Kut soldiers had, at best, hedgehogs or birds fried in axle-grease with local vegetation. On the Western Front the Retreat from Mons in August 1914 was almost as severe. The inter-war years experiences of mountaineers and polar explorers, supplemented by academic diet studies of the unemployed in London and Northern England led to the introduction of the varied composite, or 'compo' rations, marking an enormous improvement in soldiers' food, an improvement commented upon by the bully beef and biscuits-fed 8th Army advancing into Tunisia from Libya on meeting the 1st Army which had landed in Algeria with tins of compo. Soldiers landing in Normandy and fighting on into Germany were generally well fed even during a hard 1944-45 winter. The worst suffering, though, fell on soldiers in the Burma campaign, especially in the Chindit columns. In one unit the only food available at one time was the chaplain's store of Communion wafers. Many men died unnecessarily from the results of poor feeding. The work has been compiled from documents in the Royal Logistic Corps Museum at Deepcut, from memoirs, letters and interviews, and from the superb collection of regimental histories in the library of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. All royalties from this book will be given to the Army Benevolent Fund.
The United States is in the midst of the largest military demobilization in its history. This is leading to an increase in the demand for mental health clinicians who can provide services to hundreds of thousands of military veterans and members of the military. Nearly two million Americans have been deployed to the wars in the Middle East, and thousands of them have been deeply affected, either psychologically, physically, or both. Projections suggest that 300,000 are returning with symptoms of PTSD or major Depression; 320,000 have been exposed to probable Traumatic Brain Injuries; and hundreds of thousands are dealing with psychological effects of physical injuries. Other veterans and members of the military without injuries will seek treatment to help them with the psychological impact of serving in the military, being deployed, or transitioning and reintegrating back into the civilian world. As an example, hundreds of thousands of service members are also leaving the armed forces earlier than they anticipated and will need to quickly adjust to life as civilians after assuming that they would have many more years in the military. Many will be leaving the military because of demobilizations and downsizing due to budget cuts. Current proposed cuts will shrink the military force to the same size it was in 1940. The Pew Center reports that 44% of veterans from the current wars are describing their readjustment to civilian life as "difficult," and many of them are and will be turning to civilian mental health and primary care clinicians for assistance. The Handbook of Psychosocial Interventions for Veterans and Service Members is a "one stop" handbook for non-military clinicians working with service members, veterans, and their families. It brings together experts from the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, veteran service organizations, and academia to create the first comprehensive guidebook for civilian clinicians. In addition to covering psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD, this book also offers information about psychosocial topics that impact military personnel and their loved ones and can become part of treatment (e.g., employment or education options, financial matters, and parenting concerns), providing the most recent and cutting-edge research on the topics. Chapters are concise and practical, delivering the key information necessary to orient clinicians to the special needs of veterans and their families. The Handbook of Psychosocial Interventions for Veterans and Service Members is an essential resource for private practice mental health clinicians and primary care physicians, as well as a useful adjunct for VA and DOD psychologists and staff.
Sexual assault and harassment in the military have been a critical subject for years. Many victims may be reluctant to press charges because of fear of retaliation, damage to their careers, and widespread uncertainty regarding the military justice system. However, when circumstances arise, there are resources available to assist victims and families in their efforts to report, seek help, and recover from the effects of sexual assault. Yet, finding those resources can be challenging, especially in a time of crisis. Sexual Assault in the Military serves as an easy-to-use, comprehensive reference guide for military members and their families about sexual assault and harassment. While more and more attention focuses on getting victims to report their abuse, accessing information can still be difficult for service-members. Understanding that the military is making changes, and offering support is a necessary step towards how best to treat these cases and how to get help and justice. Cheryl Lawhorne-Scott and Don Philpott discuss the current state of affairs, the systems in place, and the supports available to victims and families. They provide documents that outline how reporting can and should take place, how cases should be handled through the military justice system, and how and where victims can access resources, including counseling. By providing this information in one ready resource, the authors hope to assist in changing the culture of silence and fear, as well as provide education surrounding military sexual assault and harassment.
The Persian Gulf is arguably the most militarized region in the world. The authors of this insightful book examine military expenditures, arms imports and military deployment to analyze how and why this came to be. Muslim teachings have much to say about peace, war and economics, and this book explores the ways in which Islamic thought affects military and economic developments.The authors find that heavy militarization is the result of a combination of factors, including oil wealth disparities among the countries in the region, high oil revenues, corruption and foreign interference. The authors detail and discuss these factors, and follow this analysis with an assessment of the effects of high military expenditures - wars, conflicts, regional instability - and their heavy economic toll in retarding development and growth. The book concludes by suggesting ways that military expenditures may be reduced to benefit regional peace, stability and economic prosperity. Scholars and students in economics, political science and international affairs as well as anyone interested in the Middle East will find this book timely and illuminating.
How much power does the Soviet military exert on the politics of the Kremlin? This is one of the most controversial questions in the study of the Soviet Union, here addressed by eight top Western specialists on Soviet politics and security policy. While the authors assert that the civil-military relationship has been less turbulent than often believed, they also point out that Gorbachev's reforms threaten the system of buffers that have until now shielded the military-industrial world from disruption and change. Introduced by Timothy Colton's essay, "Perspectives on Civil-Military Relations," the volume discusses civil-military relations in relation to political change (Bruce Parrott), the KGB (Amy Knight), resource stringency and civil-military resource allocation (Robert Campbell), the defense industry (Julian Cooper), response to technological challenge (Thane Gustafson), social change (Ellen Jones), and consequences of external expansion (Bruce D. Porter). Gustafson has written a concluding chapter, "Toward a Crisis in Civil-Military Relations?" Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
Military Recruiting is a war. It's just a different kind of war than what you were prepared and trained to fight for. Recruiting is a war for talent. Smart, competent, and capable people are rare and in high demand. Every organization, from commercial enterprises, healthcare, non-profit, sports, and education, to the military is in an outright battle to recruit and retain these bright and talented people. Rather than bullets and bombs, the war for talent is won through high-impact prospecting activity, time discipline, intellectual agility, emotional intelligence, and human to human relationships. On this highly competitive, ever changing, asymmetrical battlefield, to win, you must operate at a level of excellence beyond anything asked of military recruiters before. Yet, in this new paradigm, many recruiters are struggling, and most recruiting units are staring down the barrel at 50 percent or more of their recruiters consistently missing Mission. It is imperative that we arm military recruiters with the skills they need to win in this challenging environment. The failure to make Mission is an existential threat to the strength and readiness of America's fighting forces and our democracy. Fanatical Military Recruiting begins where the Recruiting and Retention colleges of the various branches of the military leave off. It is an advanced, master's level training resource designed specifically for the unique demands of Military Recruiting. In FMR, you'll learn: The Single Most Important Discipline in Military Recruiting How to Get Out of a Recruiting Slump The 30-Day Rule and Law of Replacement Powerful Time and Territory Management Strategies that Put You in Control of Your Day The 7 Step Telephone Prospecting Framework The 4 Step Email and Direct Messaging Framework The 5 C's of Social Recruiting The 7 Step Text Message Prospecting Framework How to Leverage a Balanced Prospecting Methodology to Keep the Funnel Full of Qualified Applicants Powerful Human Influence Frameworks that Reduce Resistance and Objections The 3 Step Prospecting Objection Turn-Around Framework Mission Drive and the 5 Disciplines of Ultra-High Performing Military Recruiters In his signature right-to-the-point style that has made him the go-to trainer to a who's who of the world's most prestigious organizations, Jeb Blount pulls no punches. He slaps you in the face with the cold, hard truth about what's really holding you back. Then, he pulls you in with stories, examples, and lessons that teach you exactly what you need to do right now to become an ultra-high performing recruiter. Fanatical Military Recruiting is filled with the high-powered strategies, techniques, and tools you need to keep your funnel packed with qualified applicants. As you dive into these powerful insights, and with each new chapter, you'll gain greater and greater confidence. And, with this new-found confidence, your performance as a military recruiter will soar and you will Make Mission, Fast. |
![]() ![]() You may like...
Economic Transformation of a Developing…
Lakhwinder Singh, Nirvikar Singh
Hardcover
R2,963
Discovery Miles 29 630
Applications of Image Processing and…
Navid Razmjooy, Vania Vieira Estrela
Hardcover
R5,571
Discovery Miles 55 710
Soybeans - Chemistry, Production…
Lawrence A. Johnson, Pamela J White, …
Hardcover
R5,035
Discovery Miles 50 350
Agricultural Research for Sustainable…
Ranjith Premalal De Silva, Gamini Pushpakumara, …
Hardcover
R4,450
Discovery Miles 44 500
Plant Bioinformatics - Decoding the…
Khalid Rehman Hakeem, Adeel Malik, …
Hardcover
R6,217
Discovery Miles 62 170
What Is a Nazarene? - Understanding Our…
Wes Tracy, Stan Ingersol
Paperback
|