Often the only time a nation evaluates the education of its armed forces is during the aftermath of a great military disaster. Even in the light of an overwhelming victory, such as the Gulf War, questions about how well military education was addressing the study of asymmetric warfare, the Revolution in Military Affairs, the role of non-state actors and international relations in the new world order were the subject of debate in and around the various staff colleges and military universities in the West. This work brings together the ideas of international scholars, all recognized as leaders in their fields, to examine the professional military education experience of various nations during the last 250 years. Case studies of each branch of the military reveal success and failure in the past and present, with a goal of improving military education in the future.

Underlying themes clearly reveal the need for those questioning military education to utilize history as the preferred method and model of imperial analysis. These include economics and defense spending; national psyches and the proper maintenance of armed forces; and the importance of individuals, both military and civilian, with a clear vision, determination, and the moral courage to formulate and support military education programs. In practice, training often predominates over education, and the result has frequently been an officer corps that has not functioned well in peacetime preparations and has ultimately failed on the battlefield due to an inability to think effectively. This study highlights the role of civilian educators as vital in the creation of successful educational programs.

Historians often ignore, treat cursorily, or relegate to footnotes specific incidents in international relations in order to facilitate the construction of a larger narrative. The contributors to this volume argue that researchers do so to their peril, as individual or seemingly isolated incidents can play significant roles in the overall course of history. Incidents are crucial in determining the mental maps that decision makers form regarding the countries and individuals with whom they interact. Incidents can either initiate or block new policies with consequences that are both far-reaching and unexpected.

People make foreign policy and an understanding of what elements of an incident were important to these individuals at key points essential to an appreciation of policies subsequently advocated. How individuals view other cultures and nations, how they react to the actions of such nations, and their perceptions of such actions all form key components in this study. Using a variety of examples, these essays show the value of detailed examinations of events, illuminating such matters as British policy in the Far East, French imperial policy, Italian military actions in the interwar period, British attitudes toward Hitler, and the effect of the Soviet Union on British thinking in the 1930s.