The history of military mobilization does not fit neatly into national boxes, not even in the modern era. The traditional military history narrative, at least as far as Europe is concerned, sees the French Revolution as an important turning point in the 'nationalization' of military service. The essays in this volume seek to challenge this view by examining largely overlooked aspects of military mobilization from the eighteenth century to the present. Whether as colonial troops, ideological volunteers, mercenaries, adventurers or soldiers who were recruited in prisoner of war camps, men and women have often found themselves fighting for a country other than their own. On numerous occasions, pressing wartime needs have compelled states to turn to transnational recruitment. At the same time, the willingness of individuals to commit to cross-border military service has endured despite the advent of nation-states; a trend that could become more prevalent in the twenty-first century.

Under Mussolini's leadership, Fascist Italy sought to increase its influence in the Middle East. This volume, now available for the first time in paperback, examines the motivations behind Italy's policy, the diverse methods the regime employed and the reasons why Italian efforts ultimately failed. By looking at the interplay between foreign, colonial, cultural and military policies, Fascist Italy and the Middle East provides a new and challenging interpretation of the ambitions and contradictions that characterized Mussolini's Italy. It analyses the ways in which the Fascist regime sought to befriend the Islamic world and looks at how Italian policies were propagated and received by Middle Eastern societies. It also uncovers for the first time the grandiose plans that were prepared in the summer of 1940 for Fascist territorial expansion in Africa and the Middle East.

An examination of why and how Fascist Italy sought to increase its influence in the Middle East, and why Italian efforts ultimately failed. Offering fresh insights into Fascist Italy's foreign and colonial policies, this book makes an important contribution to the complex history of relations between Europe and the Arab world.

Warfare in the modern era has often been described in terms of national armies fighting national wars. This volume challenges the view by examining transnational aspects of military mobilization from the eighteenth century to the present. Truly global in scope, it offers an alternative way of reading the military history of the last 250 years.