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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Theory of warfare & military science

Walzer, Just War and Iraq - Ethics as Response (Paperback): Ronan O'Callaghan Walzer, Just War and Iraq - Ethics as Response (Paperback)
Ronan O'Callaghan
R1,368 Discovery Miles 13 680 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

In recent years questions of ethical responsibility and justice in war have become increasingly significant in international relations. This focus has been precipitated by United States (U.S.) led invasions in Afghanistan and Iraq. In turn, Western conceptions of ethical responsibility have been largely informed by human rights based understandings of morality. This book directly addresses the question of what it means to act ethically in times of war by drawing upon first-hand accounts of U.S. war fighting in Iraq during the 2003 invasion and occupation. The book focuses upon the prominent rights based justification of war of Michael Walzer. Through an in-depth critical reading of Walzer's work, this title demonstrates the broader problems implicit to human rights based justifications of war and elucidates an alternative account of ethical responsibility: ethics as response. Putting forward a compelling case for people to remain troubled and engaged with questions of ethical responsibility in war, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars in a range of areas including international relations theory, ethics and security studies.

Technology, Ethics and the Protocols of Modern War (Paperback): Artur Gruszczak, Pawel Frankowski Technology, Ethics and the Protocols of Modern War (Paperback)
Artur Gruszczak, Pawel Frankowski
R1,375 Discovery Miles 13 750 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Contemporary security has expanded its meaning, content and structure in response to globalisation and the emergence of greatly improved world-wide communication. The protocols of modern warfare, including targeted killing, enhanced interrogations, mass electronic surveillance and the virtualisation of war have changed the moral landscape and brought diverse new interactions with politics, law, religion, ethics and technology. This book addresses how and why the nature of security has changed and what this means for the security actors involved and the wider society. Offering a crossdisciplinary perspective on concepts, meanings and categories of security, the book brings together scholars and experts from a range of disciplines including political, military studies and security studies, political economy and international relations. Contributors reflect upon new communication methods, postmodern concepts of warfare, technological determinants and cultural preferences to provide new theoretical and analytical insights into a changing security environment and the protocols of war in the 21st century. A useful text for scholars and students of security studies, international relations, global governance, international law and ethics, foreign policy, comparative studies and contemporary world history.

War Transformed - The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict (Hardcover): Mick Ryan War Transformed - The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict (Hardcover)
Mick Ryan
R1,441 R782 Discovery Miles 7 820 Save R659 (46%) Ships in 12 - 19 working days

War Transformed: The Future of Twenty-First-Century Great Power Competition and Conflict provides insights for those involved in the design of military strategy, and the forces that must execute that strategy. Emphasizing the impacts of technology, new era strategic competition, demography, and climate change, Mick Ryan uses historical as well as contemporary anecdotes throughout the book to highlight key challenges faced by nations in a new era of great power rivalry. Just as previous industrial revolutions have advanced societies, the nascent fourth industrial revolution will have a similar impact on how humans fight, compete, and build military power in the twenty-first century. After reviewing the principle catalysts of change in the security environment, War Transformed seeks to provide a preview of the shape of war and competition in the twenty-first century. Ryan examines both the shifting character of war and its enduring nature. In doing so, he proposes important trends in warfare that will shape all aspects of human competition and conflict in the coming decades. The remainder of the book analyzes how military institutions must prepare for future competition and conflict. Competing and engaging in combat in this new era involves new and evolved strategies and warfighting concepts, as well as adapting our current military organizations. It will also demand building an intellectual edge in military personnel through evolved concepts of training, education, and development. As the competitive environment and potential battlefields continue to change, conceptions of combat, competition and conflict must also evolve. Mick Ryan makes the case for transforming how Western military institutions view war in this century.

Preventive Force - Drones, Targeted Killing, and the Transformation of Contemporary Warfare (Paperback): Kerstin Fisk, Jennifer... Preventive Force - Drones, Targeted Killing, and the Transformation of Contemporary Warfare (Paperback)
Kerstin Fisk, Jennifer M. Ramos
R804 Discovery Miles 8 040 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Examines the recent rise in the United States' use of preventive force More so than in the past, the US is now embracing the logic of preventive force: using military force to counter potential threats around the globe before they have fully materialized. While popular with individuals who seek to avoid too many "boots on the ground," preventive force is controversial because of its potential for unnecessary collateral damage. Who decides what threats are 'imminent'? Is there an international legal basis to kill or harm individuals who have a connection to that threat? Do the benefits of preventive force justify the costs? And, perhaps most importantly, is the US setting a dangerous international precedent? In Preventive Force, editors Kerstin Fisk and Jennifer Ramos bring together legal scholars, political scientists, international relations scholars, and prominent defense specialists to examine these questions, whether in the context of full-scale preventive war or preventive drone strikes. In particular, the volume highlights preventive drones strikes, as they mark a complete transformation of how the US understands international norms regarding the use of force, and could potentially lead to a 'slippery slope' for the US and other nations in terms of engaging in preventive warfare as a matter of course. A comprehensive resource that speaks to the contours of preventive force as a security strategy as well as to the practical, legal, and ethical considerations of its implementation, Preventive Force is a useful guide for political scientists, international relations scholars, and policymakers who seek a thorough and current overview of this essential topic.

United States Military Assistance - An Empirical Perspective (Hardcover): William H. Mott IV United States Military Assistance - An Empirical Perspective (Hardcover)
William H. Mott IV
R2,815 Discovery Miles 28 150 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This interdisciplinary study examines the relationships between the provision of military assistance and success in achieving donor aims in history and theory, based upon an initial proposition that the relationship between donor and recipient is a critical determinant of success or failure. Mott builds upon his previous research of general historical and Soviet case studies which focuses on four initial features of the wartime donor-recipient relationship: convergence of aims; donor control, commitment of donor military forces, and coherence of donor policies and strategies. To this foundation, he adds additional variables, recipient success, and regional efforts. The study presents a pattern for policy development and theoretical analysis in which military assistance is a viable, robust policy option and bilateral relationship with clear set of requirements, features, processes, and predictable results.

Mott's primary methodology is the search for uniformities across historical observations through low-level, ordinary, multivariate regressions. He examines a set of 25 discrete and significant U.S. donor-recipient relationships, and analyzes the features of wartime and Soviet relationships in each. Each chapter focuses on U.S. military assistance in a region and refines the relevant features of the observed relationships into a common profile for comparison with other regions. Mott's conclusions about the donor-recipient relationship narrow the gap between economics, political science, and military strategy; link history and theory to policy; and offer new insights into a complex feature of international relationships and foreign policy.

The Hybrid Age - International Security in the Era of Hybrid Warfare (Hardcover): Brin Najzer The Hybrid Age - International Security in the Era of Hybrid Warfare (Hardcover)
Brin Najzer
R3,553 Discovery Miles 35 530 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Humankind has always sought out innovative and new ways of waging war, establishing new forms of warfare. Set against a background of global strategic instability this process of innovation has, over the last two decades, produced a new and complex phenomenon, hybrid warfare. Distinct from other forms of modern warfare in several key aspects, it presents a unique challenge that appears to baffle policymakers and security experts, while giving the actors that employ it a new way of achieving their goals in the face of long-standing Western conventional, doctrinal, and strategic superiority. The Hybrid Age analyses the phenomenon of hybrid warfare through theoretical frameworks and a range global case studies from the 2006 Lebanon War to the Russian intervention in Ukraine in 2014. This book aims to establish a unified theory of hybrid warfare, which not only outlines what the term means, but also places it in its context, and provides the tools which enable an observer to identify and react to a future instance of hybrid warfare.

Honor in the Modern World - Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Paperback): Laurie M. Johnson, Dan Demetriou Honor in the Modern World - Interdisciplinary Perspectives (Paperback)
Laurie M. Johnson, Dan Demetriou; Contributions by Anthony Cunningham, Dan Demetriou, Amitai Etzioni, …
R1,378 Discovery Miles 13 780 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

After a century-long hiatus, honor is back. Academics, pundits, and everyday citizens alike are rediscovering the importance of this ancient and powerful human motive. This volume brings together some of the foremost researchers of honor to debate honor's meaning and its compatibility with liberalism, democracy, and modernity. Contributors-representing philosophy, sociology, political science, history, psychology, leadership studies, and military science-examine honor past to present, from masculine and feminine perspectives, and in North American, European, and African contexts. Topics include the role of honor in the modern military, the effects of honor on our notions of the dignity and "purity" of women, honor as a quality of good statesmen and citizens, honor's role in international relations and community norms, and how honor's egalitarian and elitist aspects intersect with democratic and liberal regimes.

Failed Transition, Bleak Future? - War and Instability in Central Asia and the Caucasus (Hardcover): Hooman Peimani Failed Transition, Bleak Future? - War and Instability in Central Asia and the Caucasus (Hardcover)
Hooman Peimani
R3,150 Discovery Miles 31 500 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

Peimani challenges the practical indifference of many Western and non-Western countries with interests in Central Asia and the Caucasus to their plight. Independence in 1991 suddenly worsened all the economic and social problems of the countries of the Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan). Their failure to address their numerous economic problems and to develop their economies has created a suitable ground for the rise of social and political popular dissent, including ethnic conflicts, in all these multi-ethnic countries.

Concerned about the stability of their political systems, their ruling elites have all opted for authoritarianism. The prevailing intolerance of dissent and the suppression of opposition, political parties have paved the way for the emergence of anti-government extremist ideologies and political groups. The domestic situation has become ripe for the rise of violent political activities and ethnic conflicts, with a great possibility for their escalation to civil wars. The ethnic structure of both the Caucasus and Central Asia makes their development into inter-state wars a strong possibility. The unsettled ethnic and territorial conflicts within and between countries, which turned into wars in the early 1990s, could easily re-emerge. There is a potential for the further escalation of military conflicts in those regions because of the intentional or unintentional intervention of Iran, China, Turkey, Russia, and the United States, which have long-term interests in the two regions. Given the geographical characteristics of the Caucasus and Central Asia as a link between Asia and Europe, war and instability in those regions could destabilize the two continents hosting six declared nuclear powers. Of particular interest to scholars and other researchers involved with Eurasian, Central Asian, and Caucasian countries.

Restoring America's Military Prowess - Creating Reliable Civil-Military Relations, Sound Campaign Planning and... Restoring America's Military Prowess - Creating Reliable Civil-Military Relations, Sound Campaign Planning and Stability-Counter-insurgency Operations (Hardcover)
John E. Peters
R1,399 Discovery Miles 13 990 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

The U.S. military spends more than 14 countries combined and possesses state-of-the art weapons and equipment, yet after 13 years of effort, $1.4 trillion, and some 6,000 casualties, it still has been unable to defeat its enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq. The book explains why and how it can be remedied. It first demonstrates the negative effects of four factors that are prerequisites for military success and that have undermined U.S. military performance since the end of the Cold War. These include uneven civil-military relations; an inability to formulate and execute sound campaign plans; a mistaken approach to counter-insurgency, irregular warfare, and stability operations; and inattention to military options other than regime change. It also acknowledges that other factors often also intervene, and that the enemy plays a decisive role in military outcomes. Still, if the United States is to preserve the use of military force as a reasonable (albeit last resort) policy option, it must develop the means to maintain healthy, reliable civil-military relations, design and execute sound campaign plans appropriate to the adversary in question and the threat it poses to U.S. interests, conduct effective counter-insurgency and irregular warfare campaigns suitable given the size and capabilities of today's all volunteer armed forces, and develop a menu of military options beyond regime change. The intent is to bring attention to the under-performance of the U.S. armed forces in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere and prescribe remedies. These solutions cannot be left solely in the hands of the Department of Defense and congressional action and oversight will be essential to favorable outcomes. This is a timely survey as the military is facing downsizing in response to budget pressure that will constrain defense and counter-terrorism spending.

The New Wars (Hardcover, New): Munkler The New Wars (Hardcover, New)
Munkler
R1,978 Discovery Miles 19 780 Ships in 10 - 15 working days

This important new book deals with the changing nature of war in the post-Cold War era and the emergence of new forms of warfare in which warlords, mercenaries and terrorists play an increasingly important role.


In the modern era, warfare came to play a crucial role in the formation of states, whereas the new wars emerging at the beginning of the 21st century have mostly gone together with the failure or collapse of states. The author draws out the key shifts involved in this process: from symmetrical conflicts between states to asymmetrical global relationships of force; from national armies to increasingly private or commercial bands of warlords, child soldiers and mercenaries; from pitched battles to protracted conflicts in which there is often little fighting and most of the violence is directed against civilians. Changes in weapons technology have combined with complex economic factors to make the prospect of endlessly simmering wars a real danger in the years to come.


Against this background, the author outlines the rise of a novel form of international terrorism, conceived more as a political method of communication than as an element in a military strategy. The resulting challenges faced by Western governments, and the costs and benefits associated with any response, are taken up in a concluding section that contrasts the characteristic European and American approaches and examines the implications for the future of international law.

This book will be of important to students of political science, international relations, war and peace studies, conflict studies and peace studies. It will also appeal to the general reader with an interest inthis topical subject.

Policing Wars - On Military Intervention in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover): Caroline Holmqvist Policing Wars - On Military Intervention in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)
Caroline Holmqvist
R1,884 Discovery Miles 18 840 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This interdisciplinary study provides an original account of the US-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to show how, why and with what consequences, twenty-first century wars became seen as policing wars.
Holmqvist starts from the assumption that wars always reflect the societies that wage them and combines the analysis of western strategic thinking with a philosophical examination of the core ideas that structure the contemporary liberal imagination. She argues that the US-led interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq were characterised by a widespread understanding of war as 'policing' - that is, waged against opponents deemed 'criminal' rather than political, and directed at the creation and maintenance of a certain type of 'order'. Holmqvist turns to themes of social theory and philosophy to offer new perspectives on why the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were waged in the way they were, and why the fantasy of policing wars came to resonate so widely amongst policy makers and academics alike.
This unique contribution to the study of war and international politics will appeal to scholars of the philosophy and sociology of war, military strategy and international relations.

The Body and Military Masculinity in Late Qing and Early Republican China - The Art of Governing Soldiers (Hardcover): Nicolas... The Body and Military Masculinity in Late Qing and Early Republican China - The Art of Governing Soldiers (Hardcover)
Nicolas Schillinger
R4,393 R3,095 Discovery Miles 30 950 Save R1,298 (30%) Ships in 12 - 19 working days

In 1894-1895, after suffering defeat against Japan in a war primarily fought over the control of Korea, the Qing government initiated fundamental military reforms and established "New Armies" modeled after the German and Japanese military. Besides reorganizing the structure of the army and improving military training, the goal was to overcome the alleged physical weakness and lack of martial spirit attributed to Chinese soldiers in particular and to Chinese men in general. Intellectuals, government officials, and military circles criticized the pacifist and civil orientation of Chinese culture, which had resulted in a negative attitude towards its armed forces and martial values throughout society and a lack of interest in martial deeds, glory on the battlefield, and military achievements among men. The book examines the cultivation of new soldiers, officers, and civilians through new techniques intended to discipline their bodies and reconfigure their identities as military men and citizens. The book shows how the establishment of German-style "New Armies" in China between 1895 and 1916 led to the re-creation of a militarized version of masculinity that stressed physical strength, discipline, professionalism, martial spirit, and "Western" military appearance and conduct. Although the military reforms did not prevent the downfall of the Qing Dynasty or provide stable military clout to subsequent regimes, they left a lasting legacy by reconfiguring Chinese military culture and re-creating military masculinity and the image of men in China.

Barbarians and Brothers - Anglo-American Warfare, 1500-1865 (Hardcover): Wayne E. Lee Barbarians and Brothers - Anglo-American Warfare, 1500-1865 (Hardcover)
Wayne E. Lee
R1,419 Discovery Miles 14 190 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

The most important conflicts in the founding of the English colonies and the American republic were fought against enemies either totally outside of their society or within it: barbarians or brothers. In this work, Wayne E. Lee presents a searching exploration of early modern English and American warfare, looking at the sixteenth-century wars in Ireland, the English Civil War, the colonial Anglo-Indian wars, the American Revolution, and the American Civil War.
Crucial to the level of violence in each of these conflicts was the perception of the enemy as either a brother (a fellow countryman) or a barbarian. But Lee goes beyond issues of ethnicity and race to explore how culture, strategy, and logistics also determined the nature of the fighting. Each conflict contributed to the development of American attitudes toward war. The brutal nature of English warfare in Ireland helped shape the military methods the English employed in North America, just as the legacy of the English Civil War cautioned American colonists about the need to restrain soldiers' behavior. Nonetheless, Anglo-Americans waged war against Indians with terrifying violence, in part because Native Americans' system of restraints on warfare diverged from European traditions. The Americans then struggled during the Revolution to reconcile these two different trends of restraint and violence when fighting various enemies.
Through compelling campaign narratives, Lee explores the lives and fears of soldiers, as well as the strategies of their commanders, while showing how their collective choices determined the nature of wartime violence. In the end, the repeated experience of wars with barbarians or brothers created an American culture of war that demanded absolute solutions: enemies were either to be incorporated or rejected. And that determination played a major role in defining the violence used against them.

Learning War - The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898-1945 (Paperback): Trent Hone Learning War - The Evolution of Fighting Doctrine in the U.S. Navy, 1898-1945 (Paperback)
Trent Hone
R691 Discovery Miles 6 910 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Learning War examines the U.S. Navy's doctrinal development from 1898-1945 and explains why the Navy in that era was so successful as an organization at fostering innovation. A revolutionary study of one of history's greatest success stories, this book draws profoundly important conclusions that give new insight, not only into how the Navy succeeded in becoming the best naval force in the world, but also into how modern organizations can exploit today's rapid technological and social changes in their pursuit of success. Trent Hone argues that the Navy created a sophisticated learning system in the early years of the twentieth century that led to repeated innovations in the development of surface warfare tactics and doctrine. The conditions that allowed these innovations to emerge are analyzed through a consideration of the Navy as a complex adaptive system. Learning War is the first major work to apply this complex learning approach to military history. This approach permits a richer understanding of the mechanisms that enable human organizations to evolve, innovate, and learn, and it offers new insights into the history of the United States Navy.

War Time - First World War Perspectives on Temporality (Paperback): Louis Halewood, Adam Luptak, Hanna Smyth War Time - First World War Perspectives on Temporality (Paperback)
Louis Halewood, Adam Luptak, Hanna Smyth
R1,407 Discovery Miles 14 070 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

The International Society for First World War Studies' ninth conference, 'War Time', drew together emerging and leading scholars to discuss, reflect upon, and consider the ways that time has been conceptualised both during the war itself and in subsequent scholarship. War Time: First World War Perspectives on Temporality, stemming from this 2016 conference, offers its readers a collection of the conference's most inspiring and thought-provoking papers from the next generation of First World War scholars. In its varied yet thematically-related chapters, the book aims to examine new chronologies of the Great War and bring together its military and social history. Its cohesive theme creates opportunities to find common ground and connections between these sub-disciplines of history, and prompts students and academics alike to seriously consider time as alternately a unifying, divisive, and ultimately shaping force in the conflict and its historiography. With content spanning land and air, the home and fighting fronts, multiple nations, and stretching to both pre-1914 and post-1918, these ten chapters by emerging researchers (plus an introductory chapter by the conference organisers, and a foreword by John Horne) offer an irreplaceable and invaluable snapshot of how the next generation of First World War scholars from eight countries were innovatively conceptualising the conflict and its legacy at the midpoint of its centenary.

The Rise and Fall of British Crusader Medievalism, c.1825-1945 (Paperback): Mike Horswell The Rise and Fall of British Crusader Medievalism, c.1825-1945 (Paperback)
Mike Horswell
R1,402 Discovery Miles 14 020 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This book investigates the uses of crusader medievalism - the memory of the crusades and crusading rhetoric and imagery - in Britain, from Walter Scott's The Talisman (1825) to the end of the Second World War. It seeks to understand why and when the crusades and crusading were popular, how they fitted with other cultural trends of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, how their use was affected by the turmoil of the First World War and whether they were differently employed in the interwar years and in the 1939-45 conflict. Building on existing studies and contributing the fruits of fresh research, it brings together examples of the uses of the crusades from disparate contexts and integrates them into the story of the rise and fall crusader medievalism in Britain.

Islam in the Balance - Ideational Threats in Arab Politics (Hardcover): Lawrence Rubin Islam in the Balance - Ideational Threats in Arab Politics (Hardcover)
Lawrence Rubin
R2,543 Discovery Miles 25 430 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

"Islam in the Balance: Ideational Threats in Arab Politics" is an analysis of how ideas, or political ideology, can threaten states and how states react to ideational threats. It examines the threat perception and policies of two Arab, Muslim majority states, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in response to the rise and activities of two revolutionary "Islamic states," established in Iran (1979) and Sudan (1989).
Using these comparative case studies the book provides important insight about the role of religious ideology for the international and domestic politics of the Middle East and, in doing so, advances our understanding of how, why, and when ideology affects threat perception and state policy.
Rubin makes clear that transnational ideologies may present a greater and more immediate national security threat than shifts in the military balance of power: first because ideology, or ideational power, triggers threat perception and affects state policy; second because states engage in ideational balancing in response to an ideological threat.
The book has significant implications for international relations theory and engages important debates in comparative politics about authoritarianism and Islamic activism. Its findings about how an Islamist regime or state behaves will provide vital insight for policy creation by the US and its Middle East allies should another such regime or state emerge.

Just War Theory and Non-State Actors - Using an Historical Body of Knowledge in Modern Circumstances (Hardcover): Eric E. Smith Just War Theory and Non-State Actors - Using an Historical Body of Knowledge in Modern Circumstances (Hardcover)
Eric E. Smith
R4,469 Discovery Miles 44 690 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This book uses an historical body of knowledge, Just War Theory, as the basis for analyzing modern conflicts involving Armed Non-State Actors who employ force against states. As the global community faces the challenges of globalization, terrorism, 24-hour international news coverage, super power collapse, weapons of mass destruction, and failed states, the author explores whether the historic bodies of knowledge governing decision makers during conflict remain relevant. Tracing the evolution of Just War Theory, he analyzes circumstances involving Armed Non-State Actor (ANSA) groups possessing powerful and destructive capabilities and a desire to use them, and pursues answers to the central research question: how does Just War Theory apply in modern scenarios involving ANSA groups who challenge the state and international institution's monopoly on use of force? The study finds that Just War Theory still has the capacity to accommodate modern day statecraft and application in scenarios involving Armed Non-State Actors. This book will be of great interest to those researching and studying in the fields of political theory, security studies, international relations, war and conflict studies, and public ethics.

Global Security Upheaval - Armed Nonstate Groups Usurping State Stability Functions (Hardcover, New): Robert Mandel Global Security Upheaval - Armed Nonstate Groups Usurping State Stability Functions (Hardcover, New)
Robert Mandel
R3,358 Discovery Miles 33 580 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

This book calls into question the commonly held contentions that central governments are the most important or even the sole sources of a nation's stability, and that subnational and transnational nonstate forces are a major source of global instability.
By assessing recent real-world trends, Mandel reveals that areas exist where it makes little sense to rely on state governments for stability, and that attempts to bolster such governments to promote stability often prove futile. He demonstrates how armed nonstate groups can sometimes provide local stability better than states, and how power-sharing arrangements between states and armed nonstate groups may sometimes be viable. He concludes that these trends in the international setting call for major shifts in our understanding of what constitutes stable governance--proposing that we adopt a fluid "emergent actor" approach. And he calls for significant deviation from standard policy responses to the opportunities and dangers posed by nontraditional sources of national authority.

Watching War (Paperback, New): Jan Mieszkowski Watching War (Paperback, New)
Jan Mieszkowski
R690 Discovery Miles 6 900 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

What does it mean to be a spectator to war in an era when the boundaries between witnessing and perpetrating violence have become profoundly blurred? Arguing that the contemporary dynamics of military spectatorship took shape in Napoleonic Europe, "Watching War" explores the status of warfare as a spectacle unfolding before a mass audience. By showing that the battlefield was a virtual phenomenon long before the invention of photography, film, or the Internet, this book proposes that the unique character of modern conflicts has been a product of imaginary as much as material forces.
Warfare first became total in the Napoleonic era, when battles became too large and violent to be observed firsthand and could only be grasped in the imagination. Thenceforth, fantasies of what war was or should be proved critical for how wars were fought and experienced. As war's reach came to be limited only by the creativity of the mind's eye, its campaigns gave rise to expectations that could not be fulfilled. As a result, war's modern audiences have often found themselves bored more than enthralled by their encounters with combat. Mieszkowski takes an interdisciplinary approach to this major ethical and political concern of our time, bringing literary and philosophical texts into dialogue with artworks, historical documents, and classics of photojournalism.

Watching War (Hardcover, New): Jan Mieszkowski Watching War (Hardcover, New)
Jan Mieszkowski
R2,545 Discovery Miles 25 450 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

What does it mean to be a spectator to war in an era when the boundaries between witnessing and perpetrating violence have become profoundly blurred? Arguing that the contemporary dynamics of military spectatorship took shape in Napoleonic Europe, "Watching War" explores the status of warfare as a spectacle unfolding before a mass audience. By showing that the battlefield was a virtual phenomenon long before the invention of photography, film, or the Internet, this book proposes that the unique character of modern conflicts has been a product of imaginary as much as material forces.
Warfare first became total in the Napoleonic era, when battles became too large and violent to be observed firsthand and could only be grasped in the imagination. Thenceforth, fantasies of what war was or should be proved critical for how wars were fought and experienced. As war's reach came to be limited only by the creativity of the mind's eye, its campaigns gave rise to expectations that could not be fulfilled. As a result, war's modern audiences have often found themselves bored more than enthralled by their encounters with combat. Mieszkowski takes an interdisciplinary approach to this major ethical and political concern of our time, bringing literary and philosophical texts into dialogue with artworks, historical documents, and classics of photojournalism.

The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare (Paperback, New Ed): Jim Bradbury The Routledge Companion to Medieval Warfare (Paperback, New Ed)
Jim Bradbury
R1,197 Discovery Miles 11 970 Ships in 9 - 17 working days

Providing easily accessible factual material, and covering the whole geographical area of medieval Europe, including Eastern Europe, this comprehensive volume is the perfect companion to all aspects of medieval warfare.

Setting the Companion in themed, illustrated sections, each preceded by a narrative outline offering a brief introduction, Jim Bradbury presents clear information on battles and sieges, and generals and leaders.

Practical topics examined include:

  • castle architecture, with examinations of specific castles
  • ship building techniques
  • improvements in armour
  • specific weapons
  • developments in areas such as arms and armour fortifications, tactics and supply.

Readable and engaging, this detailed volume provides students with an excellent collection of archaeological information and clear discussions of controversial issues.

Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover): Hew Strachan, Andreas Herberg-Rothe Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century (Hardcover)
Hew Strachan, Andreas Herberg-Rothe
R3,683 Discovery Miles 36 830 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

Clausewitz's On War has, at least until very recently, been regarded as the most important work of theory on its subject. But since the end of the Cold War in 1990, and even more since the 9/11 attacks on the United states in 2001, an increasing number of commentators have argued that On War has lost its analytical edge as a tool for understanding war. They have argued that Clausewitz was concerned solely with inter-state war and with properly defined armies, and that the sorts of conflicts which he discussed are therefore part of a historical pattern which dominated Europe between 1648, the end of the Thirty Years War, and 1990 itself. Some have gone further, and suggested that Clausewitz's best known aphorism, that war is a continuation of policy by other means, is not only irrelevant today but also inapplicable historically. Clausewitz in the Twenty-First Century reconsiders the principal themes in Clausewitz's writings from a contemporary perspective, and finds in them much more inspiration and insight than these generalisations allow. Embracing the perspectives of history, philosophy and political science, the book reconsiders both the text and its current implications. Traditional interpretations of On War are put into fresh light; neglected passages are re-examined; and new insights are derived from the conjunction between Clausewitz's text and today's challenges. This book is a project of the Oxford Leverhulme Programme on the Changing Character of War.

Clausewitz and Contemporary War (Hardcover): Antulio J. Echevarria II Clausewitz and Contemporary War (Hardcover)
Antulio J. Echevarria II
R2,357 Discovery Miles 23 570 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

While many scholars agree that Clausewitz's On War is frequently misunderstood, almost none have explored his methodology to see whether it might enhance our understanding of his concepts. This book lays out Clausewitz's methodology in a brisk and straightforward style. It then uses that as a basis for understanding his contributions to the ever growing body of knowledge of war. The specific contributions this study addresses are Clausewitz's theories concerning the nature of war, the relationship between war and politics, and several of the major principles of strategy he examined.
These theories and principles lie at the heart of the current debates over the nature of contemporary conflict. They also underpin much of the instruction that prepares military and civilian leaders for their roles in the development and execution of military strategy. Thus, they are important even in circles where Clausewitz is only briefly studied. While understanding On War is no more a prerequisite for winning wars than knowledge is a requirement for exercising power, Clausewitz's opus has become something of an authoritative reference for those desiring to expand their knowledge of war. By linking method and concept, this book contributes significantly to that end.

Crisis of the State - War and Social Upheaval (Paperback): Bruce Kapferer, Bjorn Enge Bertelsen Crisis of the State - War and Social Upheaval (Paperback)
Bruce Kapferer, Bjorn Enge Bertelsen
R895 Discovery Miles 8 950 Ships in 12 - 19 working days

"The variety of the essays and empirical cases demonstrate clearly the necessity of careful analysis of local situations and provide strong arguments for avoiding the overemphasis of singular explanations, such as those based on human rights...Because of its theoretical sophistication as well as empirical force the volume deserves a careful reading." Helsinki Review of Global Governance

."..this volume...provides rich theoretical and empirical inputs for discussions of some of the most important current issues concerning the state, globalization, and the use of violence." Anthropos

Analyzing both historical contexts and geographical locations, this volume explores the continuous reformation of state power and its potential in situations of violent conflict. The state, otherwise understood as an abstract and transcendent concept in many works on globalization in political philosophy, is instead located and analyzed here as an embedded part of lived reality. This relationship to the state is exposed as an integral factor to the formation of the social - whether in Africa, the Middle East, South America or the United States. Through the examination of these particular empirical settings of war or war-like situations, the book further argues for the continued importance of the state in shifting social and political circumstances. In doing so, the authors provide a critical contribution to debates within a broad spectrum of fields that are concerned with the future of the state, the nature of sovereignty, and globalization.

Bruce Kapferer is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Bergen. He has held academic positions in Zambia, Manchester, Adelaide, London and Queensland and carried out extensive fieldwork in Zambia, Sri Lanka, India, Australia and South Africa.

Bjorn Enge Bertelsen is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Bergen. His work focuses on violence, history, sovereignty, and the post-colonial state and is based mainly on fieldwork in Mozambique.

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