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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Theory of warfare & military science
This is one of the most significant military books of the twentieth
century. By an outstanding soldier of independent mind, it pushed
forward the evolution of land warfare and was directly responsible
for German armoured supremacy in the early years of the Second
World War. Published in 1937, the result of 15 years of careful
study since his days on the German General Staff in the First World
War, Achtung Panzer! argues how vital the proper use of tanks and
supporting armoured vehicles would be in the conduct of a future
war. When that war came, just two years later, he proved it,
leading his Panzers with distinction in the Polish, French and
Russian campaigns. Panzer warfare had come of age, exactly as he
had forecast.This first English translation of Heinz Guderian's
classic book - used as a textbook by Panzer officers in the war -
has an introduction and extensive background notes by the modern
English historian Paul Harris.
Where the implications of war and peace are open to question, the
possibility of change depends more on politics than economics. This
book asks whether the region's great powers can overcome opposing
interests and commit to political restraint. The concept of
regional security is based on great power support for regional
order. However, there are many pitfalls to consider: notably, the
politics of contested nationalisms; the Asia-Pacific rivalry of
China and the US; and India's inclinations to function - or be seen
- as a benevolent hegemon for the region. Yet there are signs of
renewed determination to move the region in new directions. While
China's Silk Road projects are long-term regional investments that
hinge on regional stability, the US is attempting to fashion new
partnerships and India strives to reconcile regional differences to
promote a peaceful environment.This book, as it sets out the
emerging agendas of the great powers and local powers, makes a
significant contribution to a better understanding of the
international relations and diplomatic politics of South Asia.
"When I became secretary of defense," Ashton B. Carter said when
announcing that the Pentagon would open all combat jobs to women,
"I made a commitment to building America's force of the future. In
the twenty-first century, that requires drawing strength from the
broadest possible pool of talent." That "pool of talent"-and how
our nation's civilian and military leaders have tried to fill it-is
what Military Service and American Democracy is all about. William
Taylor chronicles and analyzes the long and ever-changing history
of that often contentious and controversial effort, from the
initiation of America's first peacetime draft just before our entry
into World War II up to present-day conflicts in Iraq and
Afghanistan. A history that runs from the selective service era of
1940-1973 through the era of the All-Volunteer Force of 1973 to the
present, his book details the many personnel policies that have
shaped, controlled, and defined American military service over the
last eight decades. Exploring the individual and group identities
excluded from official personnel policy over time-African
Americans, women, and gays among others-Taylor shows how military
service has been an arena of contested citizenship, one in which
American values have been tested, questioned, and ultimately
redefined. Yet, we see how this process has resulted in greater
inclusiveness and expanded opportunities in military service while
encouraging and shaping similar changes in broader society. In the
distinction between compulsory and voluntary military service,
Taylor also examines the dichotomy between national security and
individual liberty-two competing ideals that have existed in
constant tension throughout the history of American democracy.
When the U.S. military invaded Iraq, it lacked a common
understanding of the problems inherent in counterinsurgency
campaigns. It had neither studied them, nor developed doctrine and
tactics to deal with them. It is fair to say that in 2003, most
Army officers knew more about the U.S. Civil War than they did
about counterinsurgency.
"The U.S. Army / Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual "was
written to fill that void. The result of unprecedented
collaboration among top U.S. military experts, scholars, and
practitioners in the field, the manual espouses an approach to
combat that emphasizes constant adaptation and learning, the
importance of decentralized decision-making, the need to understand
local politics and customs, and the key role of intelligence in
winning the support of the population. The manual also emphasizes
the paradoxical and often counterintuitive nature of
counterinsurgency operations: sometimes the more you protect your
forces, the less secure you are; sometimes the more force you use,
the less effective it is; sometimes doing nothing is the best
reaction.
An new introduction by Sarah Sewall, director of the Carr Center
for Human Rights Policy at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government,
places the manual in critical and historical perspective,
explaining the significance and potential impact of this
revolutionary challenge to conventional U.S. military
doctrine.
An attempt by our military to redefine itself in the aftermath of
9/11 and the new world of international terrorism, "The U.S. Army /
Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual "will play a vital role
in American military campaigns for years to come.
The University of Chicago Press willdonate a portion of the
proceeds from this book to the Fisher House Foundation, a
private-public partnership that supports the families of America's
injured servicemen. To learn more about the Fisher House
Foundation, visit www.fisherhouse.org.
This book explores the causes, operations, endings, and
justifications of war. In the process, it demolishes many currently
fashionable illusions, such as that peace is always preferable to
war, that wars occur because of accidents or misunderstandings, and
that technology changes the nature of war. Abundant historical and
contemporary examples show, the authors contend, that all wars are
deliberate political choices, that military operations follow
timeless principles, and that, as Aristotle taught, the natural aim
of war is victory. This new edition of the book that Eugene Rostow
called "a gem," Michael Howard called "shrewd and trenchant," and
Library Journal called "persuasive" devotes substantial attention
to the wars of the post-Cold War period, including "the war on
terrorism."
Since World War II, civil wars have replaced interstate wars as the
most frequent and deadly form of armed conflict globally. How do we
account for when and where civil wars are likely to occur, when and
how they are likely to end, and whether or not they will recur? In
this timely book, leading scholars guide us through what the latest
research tells us about the onset, duration, outcomes, and
recurrence of civil wars, as well as the ongoing consequences of
conflicts in war-torn countries such as Syria, Sudan, and Rwanda.
In mapping out the current state of our knowledge about civil
conflicts, the authors also identify what we do not know about
civil wars. The book describes new directions in civil-war
research, including transitional justice institutions in
post-conflict environments, the "resource curse," the role of
women, and the relationship between the environment and civil
conflict. The authors also highlight new trends in civil-war data
collection that have enabled scholars to examine the geographic and
temporal patterns of armed conflict. This authoritative text offers
both an accessible and current overview of current knowledge and an
agenda for future research. With contributions by Halvard Buhaug,
David E. Cunningham, Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, Jacqueline H.
R. DeMeritt, Karl DeRouen Jr., Paul F. Diehl, Andrew Enterline,
Erika Forsberg, Scott Gates, Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, Nils Petter
Gleditsch, Caroline A. Hartzell, Cullen Hendrix, Jacob Kathman,
Christopher Linebarger, T. David Mason, Erik Melander, Sara
McLaughlin Mitchell, Alyssa K. Prorok, Idean Salehyan, Lee J. M.
Seymour, Megan Shannon, Benjamin Smith, David Sobek, Clayton L.
Thyne, Henrik Urdal, Joseph K. Young
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THE TIMES 100 BEST BOOKS FOR SUMMER AN ECONOMIST BOOK OF THE YEAR
'AN IMPORTANT BOOK' Sir Richard Dearlove, Former Director of MI6
'The Freakonomics of modern warfare' Conn Iggulden Everything you
think you know about war is wrong. The rules have changed, and we
are dangerously unprepared. In Goliath, former paratrooper and
Professor of Strategy Sean McFate teaches us the ten new rules of
war for today. __________ War is timeless. Some things change -
weapons, tactics, leadership - but our desire to go into battle
does not. We are living in an age of conflict: global terrorism,
Russia's resurgence and China's rise, international criminal
empires, climate change and dwindling natural resources. But while
the West has been playing the same old war games, the enemy has
changed the rules. Sean McFate has been on the front lines of
conflict. He has seen first-hand the horrors of battle, and as a
strategist, he understands the complexity of the current military
situation. In this new age of war: - Technology will not save us -
Victory will belong to the cunning, not the strong - Plausible
deniability is more potent than firepower - New types of world
powers will rule Learn how to triumph in the coming age of conflict
in ten new rules. Adapt and we can prevail. Fail, and size and
strength won't protect us. This is The Art of War for the 21st
century. __________ 'Some of what he says makes more sense than
much of what comes out of the Pentagon and the Ministry of Defence'
Max Hastings, Sunday Times 'Thought-provoking' Johnathon Evans,
Former Head of MI5 'Fascinating and disturbing' Economist
Civil-Military Relations in Southeast Asia reviews the historical
origins, contemporary patterns, and emerging changes in
civil-military relations in Southeast Asia from colonial times
until today. It analyzes what types of military organizations
emerged in the late colonial period and the impact of colonial
legacies and the Japanese occupation in World War II on the
formation of national armies and their role in processes of
achieving independence. It analyzes the long term trajectories and
recent changes of professional, revolutionary, praetorian and
neo-patrimonial civil-military relations in the region. Finally, it
analyzes military roles in state- and nation-building; political
domination; revolutions and regime transitions; and military
entrepreneurship.
Why do so many states adopt a position of non-recognition of gains
from war?Despite being proven ineffective as a coercive tool or
deterrent, the international community has actively withheld
recognition in numerous instances of territorial conquest since the
1930s. Joseph O'Mahoney systematically analyses 21 case studies
including the Manchurian Crisis, the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and
Russia's annexation of Crimea to explore why so many states have
adopted a policy of non-recognition of the spoils of war. By
drawing on historical sources including recently declassified
archival documents, he evaluates states' decision-making. He
develops a new theory for non-recognition as a symbolic sanction
aimed at reproducing common knowledge of the rules of international
behaviour.Key FeaturesChapter-length case studies of two major
instances of non-recognition: the Japanese conquest of Manchuria
and the establishment of Manchukuo in the 1930s, and the Turkish
invasion of Cyprus in 1974 and the subsequent declaration of the
Turkish Republic of Northern CyprusIncludes discussion of cases
including Russia's annexation of CrimeaCompares non-recognised
cases with two cases where force was used but the results were
recognised as legitimate: the Italian conquest of Abyssinia
(Ethiopia) in 1935 and the Indian invasion of East Pakistan and the
creation of Bangladesh in 1971Challenges conventional IR theory
that symbolic sanctions are either failed attempts at coercion or
mere posturing for domestic audiencesElucidates a model of rule
maintenance, combining rationalist and constructivist insights,
which could be applied to other fields in international politics
What essential leadership lessons do we learn by distilling the
actions and ideas of great military commanders such as George
Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Colin Powell? The Art of
Command demonstrates that great leaders become great through a
commitment not only to develop vital skills but also to surmount
personal shortcomings. In the second edition of this classic
resource, Harry S. Laver, Jeffrey J. Matthews, and the other
contributing authors identify eleven core characteristics of highly
effective leaders, such as integrity, determination, vision, and
charisma, and eleven significant figures in American military
history who embody those qualities. Featuring new chapters on
transitional leadership, innovative leadership, and authentic
leadership, this insightful book offers valuable perspectives on
the art of military command in American history.
Azar Gat sets out to resolve one of the age-old questions of human
existence: why people fight and can they stop. Spanning warfare
from prehistory to the 21st century, the book shows that, neither
an irresistible drive nor a cultural invention, deadly violence and
warfare have figured prominently in our behavioural toolkit since
the dawn of our species. People have always alternated between
cooperation, peaceful competition, and violence to attain
evolution-shaped human desires. A marked shift in the balance
between these options has occurred since the onset of the
industrial age. Rather than modern war becoming more costly (it
hasn't), it is peace that has become more rewarding. Scrutinizing
existing theories concerning the decline of war - such as the
'democratic peace' and 'capitalist peace' - Gat shows that they in
fact partake of a broader Modernization Peace that has been growing
since 1815. By now, war has disappeared within the world's most
developed areas. Finally, Gat explains why the Modernization Peace
has been disrupted in the past, as during the two World Wars, and
how challenges to it may still arise. They include claimants to
alternative modernity - such as China and Russia - anti-modernists,
and failed modernizers that may spawn terrorism, potentially
unconventional. While the world has become more peaceful than ever
before, there is still much to worry about in terms of security and
no place for complacency.
In today's information era, the use of specific words and language
can serve as powerful tools that incite violence—or sanitize and
conceal the ugliness of war. This book examines the complex,
"twisted" language of conflict. Why is the term "collateral damage"
used when military strikes kill civilians? What is a "catastrophic
success"? What is the difference between a privileged and
unprivileged enemy belligerent? How does deterrence differ from
detente? What does "hybrid warfare" mean, and how is it different
from "asymmetric warfare"? How is shell shock different from battle
fatigue and PTSD? These are only a few of the questions that
Talking Conflict: The Loaded Language of Genocide, Political
Violence, Terrorism, and Warfare answers in its exploration of
euphemisms, "warspeak," "doublespeak," and propagandistic terms.
This handbook of alphabetically listed entries is prefaced by an
introductory overview that provides background information about
how language is used to obfuscate or minimize descriptions of armed
conflict or genocide and presents examples of the major rhetorical
devices used in this subject matter. The book focuses on the
"loaded" language of conflict, with many of the entries
demonstrating the function of given terms as euphemisms,
propaganda, or circumlocutions. Each entry is accompanied by a list
of cross references and "Further Reading" suggestions that point
readers to pertinent sources for further research. This book is
ideal for students—especially those studying political science,
international relations, and genocide—as well as general readers.
In this innovative theoretical book, Elizabeth Kier uses a cultural
approach to take issue with the conventional wisdom that military
organizations inherently prefer offensive doctrines. Kier argues
instead that a military's culture affects its choices between
offensive and defensive military doctrines. Drawing on
organizational theory, she demonstrates that military organizations
differ in their worldview and the proper conduct of their mission.
It is this organizational culture that shapes how the military
responds to constraints, such as terms of conscription set by
civilian policymakers. In richly detailed case studies, Kier
examines doctrinal developments in France and Great Britain during
the interwar period. She tests her cultural argument against the
two most powerful alternative explanations and illustrates that
neither the functional needs of military organizations nor the
structural demands of the international system can explain
doctrinal choice. She also reveals as a myth the argument that the
lessons of World War I explain the defensive doctrines in World War
II. Imagining War addresses two important debates. It tackles a
central debate in security studies: the origins of military
doctrine. And by showing the power of a cultural approach, it
offers an alternative to the prevailing rationalist explanations of
international politics. Originally published in 1999. 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 editions preserve the
original texts of these important books while presenting them in
durable paperback and hardcover 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.
The prohibition of the use of force in international law is one of
the major achievements of international law in the past century.
The attempt to outlaw war as a means of national policy and to
establish a system of collective security after both World Wars
resulted in the creation of the United Nations Charter, which
remains a principal point of reference for the law on the use of
force to this day. There have, however, been considerable
challenges to the law on the prohibition ofThe prohibition of the
use of force in international law is one of the major achievements
of international law in the past century. The attempt to outlaw war
as a means of national policy and to establish a system of
collective security after both World Wars resulted in the creation
of the United Nations Charter, which remains a principal point of
reference for the law on the use of force to this day. There have,
however, been considerable challenges to the law on the prohibition
of the use of force over the past two decades. This Oxford Handbook
is a comprehensive and authoritative study of the modern law on the
use of force. Over seventy experts in the field offer a detailed
analysis, and to an extent a restatement, of the law in this area.
The Handbook reviews the status of the law on the use of force, and
assesses what changes, if any, have occurred in consequence to
recent developments. It offers cutting-edge and up-to-date
scholarship on all major aspects of the prohibition of the use of
force. The work is set in context by an extensive introductory
section, reviewing the history of the subject, recent challenges,
and addressing major conceptual approaches. Its second part
addresses collective security, in particular the law and practice
of the United Nations organs, and of regional organizations and
arrangements. It then considers the substance of the prohibition of
the use of force, and of the right to self-defence and associated
doctrines. The next section is devoted to armed action undertaken
on behalf of peoples and populations. This includes
self-determination conflicts, resistance to armed occupation, and
forcible humanitarian and pro-democratic action. The possibility of
the revival of classical, expansive justifications for the use of
force is then addressed. This is matched by a final section
considering new security challenges and the emerging law in
relation to them. Finally, the key arguments developed in the book
are tied together in a substantive conclusion. The Handbook will be
essential reading for scholars and students of international law
and the use of force, and legal advisers to both government and
NGOs.
As a region with abundant resources and rapidly growing transit
potential surrounded by nuclear-armed powers, Central Asia is
increasingly drawing the attention of global players. Russia is
actively seeking to rebuild its economic influence via the newly
created Eurasian Economic Union. China is expanding its reach
through a recently launched Silk Road Economic Belt. Other actors
are jockeying for their share of the regions pie, as well. But the
United States and India are enjoying only very limited presence in
what is increasingly becoming a critical part of the world. This
book explains why India lags behind other actors in the region and
what needs to be done to unlock its potential as a rising great
power and shore up its strategic presence in Central Asia. It
explores Indian nuclear policy approaches and views, and makes a
major contribution to our understanding of this factor of growing
significance in Asian security.
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