![]() |
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
|
Your cart is empty |
||
|
Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Weapons & equipment
In 2002 the Group of Eight industrialized nations - in which
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, the USA and
representatives of the European Union participate - formed the
Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of
Mass Destruction. The G8 pledged to raise up to $20 billion to
carry out the Global Partnership projects over a 10-year period,
initially in Russia but with the intention to expand the scope of
projects to include other countries. These projects will help to
specify the quantities and locations of weapons and materials and
ensure that stocks are held under safe and secure custody to
prevent diversion to unauthorized users or inappropriate uses. If
the weapons or materials are not required, this practical
assistance can also help to eliminate the surplus.
A recent National Security Strategy report singles out nuclear proliferation as one of the gravest threats to the United States. Much of this fear is focused on North Korea and Iran, two "rogue states" that have violated nonproliferation rules and engaged in provocative actions, including nuclear and ballistic missile tests. Conventional wisdom dictates that the regimes in these countries have a uniquely defiant and dangerous nature, and that coercive measures such as sanctions and preemptive strikes are the most effective way to deal with them. But how do the neighbors of these two states view them, and how does this perception map onto the regional landscape in East Asia and the Middle East? Global Rogues and Regional Orders offers a systematic analysis of the intersection of nuclear proliferation and regional order in East Asia and the Middle East. It does so by exploring the causes and consequences of the regional perceptions and policies with regard to the North Korean and Iranian challenges. The U.S. depiction of North Korea and Iran as archetypical global rogues is fundamentally at odds with the regional debate, which centers on multiple understandings of what these nations respectively mean for the regional order. While some regional actors, such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Japan, side with the United States, others seek to challenge, or dissociate from, the U.S. position as a means to enhance their countries' regional role and foreign policy autonomy. By turning the analytical focus onto regional actors and the regional dimension of nuclear proliferation, this book offers a novel way to analyze global proliferation challenges and provides new insights into the making of regional orders in East Asia and the Middle East.
The immense impact of technology on both warfare and security has been clearly demonstrated and has heightened concerns relating to the proliferation of military technology and misuse by irresponsible actors. Technology control regimes are a vital component of national security strategies. This report presents evidence of the increasing relevance of technology in the 21st century and a brief review of the control regimes, as well as the perspectives of progressive developing nations. It highlights the need for a new approach to the management of technology and security issues. Meeting future challenges to arms control and non-proliferation will require wider cooperation among nations in a rapidly changing and interdependent world in which some of the new technologies will further accentuate security sensitivities. The report advocates the abandonment of cold war mindsets and makes a case for a broader cooperative approach to the management of technology controls. International cooperation will be vital for achieving the objectives of non-proliferation, disarmament and global socio-economic progress and will facilitate steps towards the elimination of weapons of mass destruction and the dangers posed by terrorism, thereby fostering enhanced international peace and stability.
This book traces the development of the Russian Army in reaction to the rise of Hitler. Caught by surprise in 1941, the Red Army had achieved superiority over the Germans by 1943, and had no real need for Western military assistance. The Russians, as this book establishes, won because they had better organization and equipment--i.e., a better and more effective army. By delaying the second front, the Allies gave Stalin the opportunity to enslave Eastern Europe.
This is vital history, based on first-hand know-how, and thus not overtaken by current events. Students in the fields of history, political science, and military studies will gain by reading this prime. It gives a unique overview of the INF Treaty showing what happened and why in the 1980s in terms of arms control and offering some points about the future of arms control regimes at the turn of this century. George Rueckert delineates the origins of INF negotiations and how they proceeded in Geneva and Reykjavik. He analyzes the INF Treaty and gives a comprehensive overview of it and supplemental agreements and interpretations. He describes implementing organizations and structures, matters relating to on-site inspection and portal monitoring, and related measures. In the end he considers what may lie ahead of us in the 1990s in terms of arms control. Appendices list INF inspection sites in the United States and Russia, present documents describing appendices to the INF treaty. The selected bibliography is a good guide to further reading on the subject.
In the new world disorder, U.S. forces and military doctrine are being reconfigured to deal with the threat posed by regional powers. This change in military doctrine has resulted from the perceived intentions of various regional powers to build advanced conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction. Gupta argues that such a strategy is a response to the announced or supposed intentions of regional powers rather than to their actual capabilities. He follows the pathologies of the Cold War where the Soviet Union's military intentions were countered without taking into account its actual military capability. The result was an escalating arms race. In the post-Cold War context, continuing such Cold War pathologies not only sustains high defense spending but also leads to losing opportunities for co-opting regional powers into institutional mechanisms for creating a more peaceful and stable international system. In order to study the gap between intentions and capabilities, Gupta carries out an in-depth analysis of the weapons acquisition process in India, Israel, and Brazil. He then uses his analyses of regional power military capability to examine the sort of role that this class of countries can play in the emerging international system.
The author, a historian and former Swiss Armoured Corp officer,
uses primary documents to describe tank tactics during the first
two years of World War II, a period in which armour was employed in
the Polish, Western and Russian campaigns. The first year of
'Operation Barbarossa' is examined in great detail using the files
of the second Panzer Army whose commander, Guderian, who has been
called the father of the German armoured force.
This comprehensive discussion of airborne early warning (AEW) system concepts encompasses a wide range of issues, including capabilities and limitations, developmental trends, and opportunities for improvement. With sections suited for both the specialist and the generalist, it provides broad coverage of AEW system concepts and enabling technologies. The book is supported by 202 equations and 170 illustrations.
Since World War I, nose art has adorned military aircraft around the world. Intended for friendly rather than enemy eyes, these images--with a wide range of artistic expression--are part of the personal and unit histories of pilots and aircrews. As civilian and military attitudes and rationales for war change from one conflict to the next, changes can also be seen in the iconography of nose art. This analysis from a cultural perspective compares nose art in the United States, Great Britain and France from World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
In an unanticipated flurry of atomic weapons testing--a total of 10 tests over 20 days in 1998--India and Pakistan announced to the world their emergence as full-fledged nuclear powers. How, Nizamani asks, did nuclear escalation come to dominate the agendas of both nations? In a comparative analysis, Nizamani reveals the political underpinnings of nuclear weapons development, arguing that Indian and Pakistani nuclearization is linked to processes of national formation. Working within the Critical Security Studies framework, Nizamani traces the development of nuclear discourses in India and Pakistan from early nationhood to the present. Nizamani defers conclusive identification of real or objective national threats, and instead examines the historical specificities and internal tensions of the dominant Indian and Pakistani security discourses. Additionally, Nizamani provides an overview of anti-nuclear dissent in South Asia.
A concise history of the development and use of incendiary weapons--flamethrowers, incendiary bombs, napalm, and more--by the American military in the twentieth century, with a focus on World War II. * Describes how the U.S. created its incendiary weapons program virtually from scratch during World War II * Pivotal episodes include Omaha Beach on D-Day and the skilled performance of an armored flamethrower battalion in the Pacific * Also covers the history of incendiaries from ancient times to World War II and through Korea, Vietnam, and Desert Storm
First envisioned by Leonardo da Vinci and first deployed in World War II, the helicopter is now a universal icon of modern warfare, a key component of combat planning around the world, and one of the military's most versatile and effective tools. Helicopters: An Illustrated History of Their Impact covers the development of helicopters from a concept in Leonardo daVinci's mind to the first successful machines in the early 1900s to the latest tilt-rotor designs. Time and again, in a story of constant innovation, designers answered the concerns of military planners with more maneuverable, more capable rotorcraft. With expert analysis and specific details of every significant model ever used, Helicopters shows how these once denigrated machines became essential to a variety of missions (reconnaissance, transport, attack, support, evacuation, urban combat, quick strikes behind enemy lines, and more). In addition, the book looks at the impact of rotorcraft beyond the military, including their ever-widening role in emergency medical care, police work, traffic control, agriculture, news reporting, and more.
The United States faces a small number of rogue states that either have or are working to acquire weapons of mass destruction. These NASTIs, or NBC-Arming Sponsors of Terrorism and Intervention, include such states as North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Syria. U.S. nonproliferation programs and policies have helped to keep this number small, but U.S. and allied counterproliferation programs are essential to reduce the danger. It is up to deterrence, active defenses, passive defenses, decontamination, and counterforce to turn enemy weapons of mass destruction into instruments of limited destructive effect. Warfighters will also have to adopt a different strategy and concept of operations in fighting an adversary that is so heavily armed. This strategy will feature a combination of deception, dispersion, mobility and maneuver, diffused logistics, remote engagement, missile defense bubbles, non-combatant evacuation operations, and large area decontamination. It will also involve upgrades to NBC passive defense measures and equipment, as well as a counterforce capability that can find and destroy a variety of adversary targets, including mobile launchers and deeply buried and hardened underground structures.
An essential reference for journalists, activists, and students, this book presents scientifically accurate and accessible overviews of twenty-four of the most important issues in the nuclear realm, including: health effects, nuclear safety and engineering, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, nuclear medicine, food irradiation, transport of nuclear materials, spent fuel, nuclear weapons, and global warming. Each 'brief' is based on interviews with named scientists, engineers, or administrators in a nuclear specialty, and each has been reviewed by a team of independent experts. The objective is not to make a case for or against nuclear-related technologies, but rather to provide definitive background information. (The approach is based on that of ""The Reporter's Environmental Handbook"", published in 1988, which won a special award for journalism from the Sigma Delta Chi Society of professional journalists.) Other features of the book include: a glossary of hundreds of terms; an introduction to risk assessment; environmental and economic impacts, and public perceptions; an article by an experienced reporter with recommendations about how to cover nuclear issues; quick guides to the history of nuclear power in the United States, important federal legislation and regulations, nuclear position statements, and key organizations; and, references for print and electronic resources.
An essential reference for journalists, activists, and students, this book presents scientifically accurate and accessible overviews of twenty-four of the most important issues in the nuclear realm, including: health effects, nuclear safety and engineering, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, nuclear medicine, food irradiation, transport of nuclear materials, spent fuel, nuclear weapons, and global warming. Each 'brief' is based on interviews with named scientists, engineers, or administrators in a nuclear specialty, and each has been reviewed by a team of independent experts. The objective is not to make a case for or against nuclear-related technologies, but rather to provide definitive background information. (The approach is based on that of ""The Reporter's Environmental Handbook"", published in 1988, which won a special award for journalism from the Sigma Delta Chi Society of professional journalists.) Other features of the book include: a glossary of hundreds of terms; an introduction to risk assessment; environmental and economic impacts, and public perceptions; an article by an experienced reporter with recommendations about how to cover nuclear issues; quick guides to the history of nuclear power in the United States, important federal legislation and regulations, nuclear position statements, and key organizations; and, references for print and electronic resources.
"The Nuclear Weapons World: Who, How, and Where" is a unique guide to nuclear weapons decisionmaking and decisionmakers in the five official nuclear weapons states and the two nuclear alliances. No other book describes in such detail the complex structures in which decisions to produce and deploy nuclear weapons are made, and lists alphabetically with full biographies the names of the 750 people who make decisions about nuclear weapons production and deployment. Case studies on nuclear weapons procurement and deployment decisions make this book informative and necessary reading for both specialists in the field and generalists seeking up-to-date information on this important subject. "The Nuclear Weapons World: Who, How, and Where" is a unique guide to nuclear weapons decisionmaking and decisionmakers in the five official nuclear weapons states and two nuclear alliances: the USA, the Soviet Union, Britain, France, China, NATO, and the Warsaw Pact. No other book describes in detail the complex structures in which decisions to produce and deploy nuclear weapons are made and also provides the names of the key decisionmakers. Divided into seven chapters, one for each of the official nuclear weapons states and the nuclear alliances, The Nuclear Weapons World also lists alphabetically with full biographies the names of the 750 people--scientists, armed forces members, top industrialists, permanent government officials, and politicians--who make the decisions about nuclear weapons production and deployment. Addresses and, where available, telephone numbers for entries are presented along with a full description of the decisionmaking structures: councils, committees, departments and institutes; organizational charts; descriptions of structures and biographies cross-referenced; complete name and subject indices; and a full glossary.
Controversy over Iranian nuclear policy has been mounting in both legal and political circles since the early 2000s. Most recently, the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), tasked with verifying compliance of Member States with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has been expressing concern that Iran's nuclear efforts are directed not solely toward peaceful uses, but also for military purposes. In response, various States have tried, individually and collectively, to engage Iran in agreed frameworks of action that would include an Iranian self-imposed restraint regarding its nuclear development. This volume documents the Iranian nuclear issue, tracing the evolution of international interest and concern with Iran's nuclear policy since the 1970s, when Iran began earnest efforts to acquire nuclear capabilities. Emphasis is nonetheless placed on events since 2002-2003, when it was established that Iran had concealed certain aspects of its nuclear activities from the IAEA. Alongside reports of the IAEA and Security Council documents, the volume covers diverse sources rather than relying solely on UN organs and agencies, international organizations, or dedicated ad hoc bodies.
The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the United States came to nuclear war during the Cold War era. Facing down the buildup of Soviet missiles in Cuba in 1962, President John F. Kennedy took a calculated risk and succeeded in negotiating the removal of those weapons after weeks of teetering on the brink of war. This riveting narrative and ready-reference guide captures the drama of that crisis. Eleven chapters trace the unfolding of events from the United States, Cuban, and Soviet perspectives. Ready reference features include: a blow-by-blow chronology of daily events during the Crisis, lengthy biographical profiles of the nine key players, including Cuba's Fidel Castro, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, and key Kennedy Cabinet members who were part of Kennedy's Crisis team; the text of 19 primary documents, including conversations in the Oval Office and memoranda that put the reader inside the crisis room, and Kennedy's speeches to the nation; and an annotated bibliography of print and electronic sources suitable for student research. James Nathan, an expert on the Cuban Missile Crisis, provides an interesting narrative with all the high drama of the Crisis, along with a contemporary historical perspective that will help readers to gain an understanding of the event that symbolized the height of the Cold War and its long-term significance.
The mechanized infantry is one of the least-studied components of the U.S. Army's combat arms, and its most visable piece of equipment, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, is one of the military's most controversial pieces of equipment. This study traces the idea of mechanized infantry from its roots in the early armored operations of World War I, through its fruition in World War II, to its drastic transformation in response to the threat of a nuclear, biological, and chemical battlefield. The U.S. Army's doctrinal migration from the idea of specialized "armored infantry" to that of more generalized "mechanized infantry" led to problematic consequences in training and equipping the force. Haworth explores the origins, conduct, and outcome of the Bradley controversy, along with its implications for Army institutional cultures, force designs, and doctrines. Challenging traditional partisan views of the Bradley program, Haworth goes to the roots of the issue. The author details the mechanized infantry's problematic status in the Army's traditional division of roles and missions between its Infantry and Armored branches. While new conditions demand new equipment, old institutions and current commitments inevitably complicate matters; thus, traditional infantry considerations have driven the Bradley's requirements. The raw capability of the vehicle and the fortitude and ingenuity of its users have to some extent compensated for the conflicting pressures in its design. However, the reluctance of the Army to see mechanized infantry as a specialty has led to the problem the vehicle has faced, as this book clearly shows.
|
You may like...
Teaching English, Language and Literacy
Dominic Wyse, Helen Bradford, …
Paperback
R708
Discovery Miles 7 080
|