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War and Religion in the Secular Age: Faith and Interstate Armed Conflict Onset (Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics)
by Davis BrownIs religion a factor in initiating interstate armed conflict, and do different religions have different effects? Breaking new ground in political science, this book explores these questions both qualitatively and quantitively, concluding that the answer is yes. Previous studies have focused on conflict within states or interstate aggression with overtly religious motivations; in contrast, Brown shows how religion affects states’ propensities to militarize even disputes that are not religious in nature. Different religions are shown to have different influences on those propensities, and those influences are linked to the war ethics inculcated in those religions. The book analyses and classifies war ethics contained in religious scripture and other religious classics, teachings of religions’ contemporary epistemic communities, and religions’ historical narratives. Using data from the new Religious Characteristics of States dataset project, qualitative studies are combined with empirical measurements of governments’ institutional preferences and populations’ cultures. This book will provide interesting insights to scholars and researchers in international security studies, political science, international law, sociology, and religious studies.
War and Rights: The Impact of War on Political and Civil Rights
by David RousseauWarfare in Europe contributed to the development of the modern state. In response to external conflict, state leaders raised armies and defended borders. The centralization of power, the development of bureaucracies, and the integration of economies all maximized revenue to support war. But how does a persistent external threat affect the development of a strong state? The “Garrison State” hypothesis argues that states that face a severe security threat will become autocracies. Conversely, the “Extraction School,” argues that warfare indirectly promotes the development of democratic institutions. ? Execution of large-scale war requires the mobilization of resources and usually reluctant populations. In most cases, leaders must extend economic or political rights in exchange for resolving the crisis. Large-scale warfare thus expands political participation in the long run. The authors use empirical statistical modeling to show that war decreases rights in the short term, but the longer and bigger a war gets, the rights of the citizenry expand with the conflict. The authors test this argument through historical case studies—Imperial Russia, Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, African Americans in World War I and II, and the Tirailleurs Senegalese in World War I—through the use of large-N statistical studies—Europe 1900–50 and Global 1893–2011—and survey data. The results identify when, where, and how war can lead to the expansion of political rights.
War and Society
by Elaine Enriquez Miguel A. CentenoWar is a paradox. On the one hand, it destroys bodies and destroys communities. On the other hand, it is responsible for some of the strongest human bonds and has been the genesis of many of our most fundamental institutions. War and Society addresses these paradoxes while providing a sociological exploration of this enigmatic phenomenon which has played a central role in human history, wielded an incredible power over human lives, and commanded intellectual questioning for countless generations. The authors offer an analytical account of the origins of war, its historical development, and its consequences for individuals and societies, adopting a comparative approach throughout. It ends with an appraisal of the contemporary role of war, looking to the future of warfare and the fundamental changes in the nature of violent conflict which we are starting to witness.This short, readable and engaging book will be an ideal reading for upper-level students of political sociology, military sociology, and related subjects.
War and State Building in Medieval Japan
by John A. Ferejohn Frances Mccall RosenbluthCriss-crossing the line between history and social science, scholars in Japan and the US examine the early samurai and the imperial courts, lords and retainers, community vitality, religious opposition to political consolidation in 16th-century Japan, autonomy and war in the 16th-century Iga region and the birth of the ninja phenomenon, and organizational technology and the consolidation of regional power in Japan 1333-1600. Annotation ©2010 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
War and Strategy in the Modern World: From Blitzkrieg to Unconventional Terror (Cass Military Studies)
by Azar GatThis volume brings together some of Professor Azar Gat's most significant articles on the evolution of strategic doctrines and the transformation of war during the 20th and early 21st centuries. It sheds new light on the rise of the German Panzer arm and the doctrine of Blitzkrieg between the two world wars; explores the factors behind the formation of strategic policy and military doctrine in the world war era and during the cold war; and explains why counterinsurgency has become such a problem. The book concludes with the spread of peace in the developed world, challenged as it is by the rise of the authoritarian-capitalist great powers – China and Russia – and by the chilling prospect of unconventional terrorism. This last essay summarizes the author's latest research and has not previously been published in article form. This collection will be of much interest to students of strategic studies, military history, and international relations.
War and the American Presidency
by Arthur Meier Schlesinger"Historical reflections that deftly challenge the political and ideological foundations of President Bush's foreign policy."--Charles A. Kupchan, New York Times In a book that brings a magisterial command of history to the most urgent of contemporary questions, two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., explores the war in Iraq, the presidency, and the future of democracy. Describing unilateralism as "the oldest doctrine in American history," Schlesinger nevertheless warns of the dangers posed by the fatal turn in U.S. policy from deterrence and containment to preventive war. He writes powerfully about George W. Bush's expansion of presidential power, reminding us nevertheless of our country's distinguished legacy of patriotism through dissent in wartime. And in a new chapter written especially for the paperback edition, he examines the historical role of religion in American politics as a background for an assessment of Bush's faith-based presidency.
War and the Body: Militarisation, Practice and Experience (War, Politics and Experience)
by Kevin McSorleyThis edited volume places the body at the centre of critical thinking about war and its consequences. War is fundamentally embodied. The reality of war is not just politics by any other means but politics incarnate, politics written on and experienced through the thinking, feeling bodies of men and women. From steeled combatants to abject victims, war occupies innumerable bodies in a multitude of ways, profoundly shaping lives and ways of being human. Giving the body an analytic recognition that it warrants and has often been denied in conventional war studies, this book brings together new interdisciplinary scholarship that explores the numerous affective, sensory and embodied practices through which war lives and breeds. It focuses on how war is prepared, enacted and reproduced through embodied action, suffering and memory. As such, the book promotes new directions in theorising war and transformations in warfare, via an explicit focus on the body. This book will be of much interest to students and scholars of war studies, security studies, sociology, anthropology, military studies, politics and IR in general.
War and the City
by Gregory J. AshworthCities have evolved from small urban systems designed to withstand attack from without. The demands of the modern city have shifted the focus to the dangers of internal violence. War and the City analyses the role of cities in war and the effects of war on cities.
War and the State: The Theory of International Politics
by R. Harrison WagnerWar and the Stateexposes the invalid arguments employed in the unproductive debate about Realism among international relations scholars, as well as the common fallacy of sharply distinguishing between conflict among states and conflict within them. As R. Harrison Wagner demonstrates, any understanding of international politics must be part of a more general study of the relationship between political order and organized violence everywhere--as it was in the intellectual tradition from which modern-day Realism was derived. War and the Statedraws on the insights from Wagner's distinguished career to create an elegantly crafted essay accessible to both students and scholars. "Possibly the most important book on international relations theory since Kenneth Waltz'sTheory of International Politics. " ---James Fearon, Stanford University "This is one of the best books on international relations theory I have read in a very long time. It is required reading for any student of modern IR theory. Once again, Wagner has shown himself to be one of the clearest thinkers in the field today. " ---Robert Powell, Robson Professor of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley "Painting on a vast canvas, and tackling and integrating topics such as state formation, domestic politics, and international conflict, R. Harrison Wagner'sWar and the Stateoffers many brilliant insights into the nature of international relations and international conflict. War and the Statecompellingly highlights the importance of constructing rigorous and valid theorizing and sets a high standard for all students of international relations. The field has much to gain if scholars follow the trail blazed by Wagner in this book. " ---Hein Goemans, University of Rochester R. Harrison Wagner is Professor of Government at the University of Texas.
War and Trade in the West Indies
by Richard ParesFirst published in 1963. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
War and Warriors Volume 1: Legion Rising, Travesty of Justice, Saving Sandoval (War and Warriors #1)
by Don Brown Jeff Morris Craig W. DrummondThree real-life accounts of the struggles of American soldiers from the Iraq and Afghanistan battlefields to, in two cases, US military tribunals. Legion Rising: Surviving Combat and the Scars It Left Behind by Jeff Morris Follow Jeff through up-close, fast-paced accounts of the thrills and dangers of combat as a Platoon Leader in Iraq. Feel the weight of the gruesome and tragic loss of eight men whose lives were taken in the line of duty. Journey through his battle to face the scars and shadows that followed him long after his time serving in the military was over. Travesty of Justice: The Shocking Prosecution of Lt. Clint Lorance by Don BrownThe Book That Won a Presidential Pardon! On July 2, 2012, three Afghan males crowded on a motorcycle and sped down a Taliban-controlled dirt road toward Lt. Clint Lorance&’s men. In a split-second decision, Lorance ordered his men to fire. When no weapons were found on the Afghan bodies, the Army prosecuted Lorance for murder. &“The most powerful case to date for the exoneration of imprisoned Army Lt. Clint Lorance.&” —Sun-Sentinel Saving Sandoval by Craig W. Drummond While deployed in Iraq, Sandoval, an airborne infantryman and elite sniper, was instructed to &“take the shot&” and kill an enemy insurgent wearing civilian clothes. Two weeks later, Army Criminal Investigation Command descended upon Sandoval&’s unit, trying to link Sandoval and others to war crimes, including murder. &“A revealing, real-life courtroom drama, reminiscent of A Few Good Men.&” —Hunter R. Clark, International Law and Human Rights Program and Drake University Law School
War as Business: Technological Change and Military Service Contracting
by Armin KrishnanThe privatization of defence assets and the outsourcing of military services from the armed forces to the private sector is an increasing trend. This book approaches the issue of military privatization by linking it to the transformation of the defence industries since the early 1990s, and shows the extent to which many military functions and activities, ranging from military research to military consulting/training to operational support services, have already been outsourced in the US and in Europe. This detailed study provides new and updated information on the ongoing privatization of the defence sector and offers an original theoretical explanation as to why the most modern armed forces throughout the world have come increasingly to rely on private companies for nearly everything they do. Contributing to a better understanding of military privatization and its close connection to technological change, the book explains the complexity of the whole phenomenon and discusses its implications for national and international security.
War as Experience: Contributions from International Relations and Feminist Analysis (War, Politics and Experience)
by Christine SylvesterThis book is a major new contribution to our understanding of war and international relations (IR). Divided into two sections, the first part surveys the state of war and war studies in international relations, security studies and in feminist international relations. The second part addresses a missing area of IR studies of war that feminism is well-placed to fill in: the emotional and physical aspects of war. The author examines a wide variety of conflict situations, such as the Israel/Palestine dispute, the Cold War, Vietnam, Nicaragua, wars of liberation in Africa, genocidal war in Rwanda; humanitarian interventionist war in the Balkans, the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and the 'war on terror'. Drawing on the latest feminist thinking, the author demonstrates how war is experienced as a body-based politics and in so doing provides an innovative and challenging corrective to traditional theories of war in international relations. This will be essential reading for all those with an interest in gender, war and international relations.
War as Paradox: Clausewitz and Hegel on Fighting Doctrines and Ethics
by Youri CormierTwo centuries after Carl von Clausewitz wrote On War, it lines the shelves of military colleges around the world and even showed up in an Al Qaeda hideout. Though it has shaped much of the common parlance on the subject, On War is perceived by many as a "metaphysical fog," widely known but hardly read. In War as Paradox, Youri Cormier lifts the fog on this iconic work by explaining its philosophical underpinnings. Building up a genealogy of dialectical war theory and integrating Hegel with Clausewitz as a co-founders of the method, Cormier uncovers a common logic that shaped the fighting doctrines and ethics of modern war. He explains how Hegel and Clausewitz converged on method, but nonetheless arrived at opposite ethics and military doctrines. Ultimately, Cormier seeks out the limits to dialectical war theory and explores the greater paradoxes the method reveals: can so-called "rational" theories of war hold up under the pressures of irrational propositions, such as lone-wolf attacks, the circular logic of a "war to end all wars," or the apparent folly of mutually assured destruction? Since the Second World War, commentators have described war as obsolete. War as Paradox argues that dialectical war theory may be the key to understanding why, despite this, it continues.
War as Paradox: Clausewitz and Hegel on Fighting Doctrines and Ethics (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas #67)
by Youri CormierTwo centuries after Carl von Clausewitz wrote On War, it lines the shelves of military colleges around the world and even showed up in an Al Qaeda hideout. Though it has shaped much of the common parlance on the subject, On War is perceived by many as a “metaphysical fog,” widely known but hardly read. In War as Paradox, Youri Cormier lifts the fog on this iconic work by explaining its philosophical underpinnings. Building up a genealogy of dialectical war theory and integrating Hegel with Clausewitz as a co-founders of the method, Cormier uncovers a common logic that shaped the fighting doctrines and ethics of modern war. He explains how Hegel and Clausewitz converged on method, but nonetheless arrived at opposite ethics and military doctrines. Ultimately, Cormier seeks out the limits to dialectical war theory and explores the greater paradoxes the method reveals: can so-called “rational” theories of war hold up under the pressures of irrational propositions, such as lone-wolf attacks, the circular logic of a “war to end all wars,” or the apparent folly of mutually assured destruction? Since the Second World War, commentators have described war as obsolete. War as Paradox argues that dialectical war theory may be the key to understanding why, despite this, it continues.
War as Performance: Conflicts in Iraq and Political Theatricality
by Lindsey MantoanThis book examines performance in the context of the 2003 Iraq War and subsequent conflicts with Daesh, or the so-called Islamic State. Working within a theater and performance studies lens, it analyzes adaptations of Greek tragedy, documentary theater, political performances by the Bush administration, protest performances, satiric news television programs, and post-apocalyptic narratives in popular culture. By considering performance across genre and media, War as Performance offers an interdisciplinary approach to the study of culture, warfare, and militarization, and argues that spectacular and banal aesthetics of contemporary war positions performance as a practice struggling to distance itself from appropriation by the military for violent ends. Contemporary warfare has infiltrated our narratives to such an extent that it holds performance hostage. As lines between the military and performance weaken, this book analyzes how performance responds to and potentially shapes war and conflict in the new century.
War as Risk Management: Strategy and Conflict in an Age of Globalised Risks (Contemporary Security Studies)
by Yee-Kuang HengThis major new study shows how war can be thought of in terms of proactive risk management rather than in terms of conventional threat response. It addresses why the study of ‘risk management’ has helped fields such as sociology and criminology conceptualize new policy challenges but has made limited impact on Strategic Studies with new case studies of recent Anglo-American military campaigns in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. The author shows how ‘risk' is now a key defining feature of our globalized era, encompassing issues from global financial meltdown, terrorism, infectious diseases, to environmental degradation and how its vocabulary, such as the Precautionary Principle, now permeates the way we think about war, and how it now appears in US and UK defence policy documents, and speeches from both civilian and military staff. This book will be of great interest to all students and scholars of strategic studies, war studies, international relations and globalization.
War at the Speed of Light: Directed-Energy Weapons and the Future of Twenty-First-Century Warfare
by Louis A. Del MonteWar at the Speed of Light describes the revolutionary and ever-increasing role of directed-energy weapons (such as laser, microwave, electromagnetic pulse, and cyberspace weapons) in warfare. Louis A. Del Monte delineates the threat that such weapons pose to disrupting the doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction, which has kept the major powers of the world from engaging in nuclear warfare. Potential U.S. adversaries, such as China and Russia, are developing hypersonic missiles and using swarming tactics as a means to defeat the U.S. military. In response, the U.S. Department of Defense established the 2018 National Security Strategy, emphasizing directed-energy weapons, which project devastation at the speed of light and are capable of destroying hypersonic missiles and enemy drones and missile swarms. Del Monte analyzes how modern warfare is changing in three fundamental ways: the pace of war is quickening, the rate at which weapons project devastation is reaching the speed of light, and cyberspace is now officially a battlefield. In this acceleration of combat called &“hyperwar,&” Del Monte shows how disturbingly close the world is to losing any deterrence to nuclear warfare.
War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir and Tibet
by Eric S. MargolisWhat will the post-Taliban government of Afghanistan look like? How will the war in Afghanistan affect the already unstable politics of Central Asia? In War at the Top of the World, veteran foreign correspondent Eric Margolis presents a revelatory history of the complicated and volatile conflicts that have entangled Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States, the Soviet Union, and many others. By 1999, Pakistan had proven they have medium-range nuclear weapons, and now the threat that their government could be taken over by a radical Islamic fundamentalist faction is stronger than ever. In fact, Osama bin Laden has already claimed to have a nuclear weapon. How could this have happened? Margolis plays witness to the escalating conflicts of the past decade, tracing disputes over Afghanistan, as well as those ever neighboring Kashmir and Tibet, back to their Cold War roots, exploring clashes that continue to threaten to destabilize the region today.Combining vivid first-hand accounts of a war correspondent with a historical and strategic overview of the region, Margolis guides the reader through the geopolitical complexities of the area and its key players. He offers a clear, concise analysis of a complicated and little-understood part of the world that is home to a quarter of the world's population. Fascinating and now more timely than ever, War at the Top of the World is an extraordinary read for anyone interested in the current global balance of power.
The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War
by Andrew DelbancoThe devastating story of how fugitive slaves drove the nation to Civil War <P><P>For decades after its founding, America was really two nations--one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this composite nation ultimately broke apart, but the fact that enslaved black people repeatedly risked their lives to flee their masters in the South in search of freedom in the North proved that the "united" states was actually a lie. <P><P>Fugitive slaves exposed the contradiction between the myth that slavery was a benign institution and the reality that a nation based on the principle of human equality was in fact a prison-house in which millions of Americans had no rights at all. By awakening northerners to the true nature of slavery, and by enraging southerners who demanded the return of their human "property," fugitive slaves forced the nation to confront the truth about itself. <P><P>By 1850, with America on the verge of collapse, Congress reached what it hoped was a solution-- the notorious Compromise of 1850, which required that fugitive slaves be returned to their masters. Like so many political compromises before and since, it was a deal by which white Americans tried to advance their interests at the expense of black Americans. <P><P>Yet the Fugitive Slave Act, intended to preserve the Union, in fact set the nation on the path to civil war. It divided not only the American nation, but also the hearts and minds of Americans who struggled with the timeless problem of when to submit to an unjust law and when to resist. The fugitive slave story illuminates what brought us to war with ourselves and the terrible legacies of slavery that are with us still.
The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives
by Ernest ScheyderAn unprecedented look inside the global battle to power our lives from acclaimed Reuters reporter Ernest Scheyder.A new economic war for critical minerals has begun, and The War Below is an urgent dispatch from its front lines. To build electric vehicles, solar panels, cell phones, and millions of other devices means the world must dig more mines to extract lithium, copper, and other vital building blocks. But mines are deeply unpopular, even as they have a role to play in fighting climate change and powering crucial technologies. These tensions have sparked a worldwide reckoning over the sourcing of necessary materials, and no one understands the complexities of these issues better than Ernest Scheyder, whose exclusive access to sites around the globe has allowed him to gain unparalleled insights into a future without fossil fuels. The War Below reveals the explosive brawl among industry titans, conservationists, community groups, policymakers, and many others over whether some places are too special to mine or whether the habitats of rare plants, sensitive ecosystems, Indigenous holy sites, and other places should be dug up for their riches. With vivid and engaging writing, Scheyder shows the human toll of this war and explains why recycling and other newer technologies have struggled to gain widespread use. He also expertly chronicles Washington&’s attempts to wean itself off supplies from China, the global leader in mineral production and processing. The War Below paints a powerfully honest and nuanced picture of what is at stake in this new fight for energy independence, revealing how America and the rest of the world&’s hunt for the &“new oil&” directly affects us all.
The War Between the State and the Family: How Government Divides and Impoverishes
by Patricia MorganPatricia Morgan's core assumption is that the family is an extremely effective vehicle for raising the welfare of its members. If this is correct it is quite possible that the state can best support the family by doing very little--by not taxing the family heavily and by minimizing the subsidization of those who choose alternatives to financially self-sustaining family life.At one level, Morgan argues, the family can be seen as a unit within which there occurs enormous transfer of economic resources between husband and wife, parents and children, and, on a wider scale, within extended families. The family is the most important vehicle of welfare and the welfare vehicle of first resort. Within the family many services are provided by family members to each other, rarely for direct personal benefit. Basic economic analysis, Morgan asserts, suggests that the family could be seriously undermined if the state provided significant support for dependents who are not brought up within self-sustaining family units, and if it also provided services, such as childcare, that are generally provided within families. This work shows that this is precisely what has happened in the last twenty-five years.The driving force of significantly reduced family formation is not economic but social. Perhaps social changes have led to a desire by individuals to bring up children in family circumstances different from those of a generation or two ago, but evidence does not support this hypothesis. Rather, tax and benefit systems seem to be important determinants of family structure worldwide. Patricia Morgan does not simply analyze the problem, she also suggests policy solutions. The author argues that divorce laws should be reformed to ensure that those who make commitments are held financially responsible. The author's argument is compelling because it is backed up with strong evidence and is argued from an unemotional economic perspective--individuals within families are rational agents who respond to incentives.
War by Land, Sea, and Air
by David JablonskyIn this book a retired U.S. Army colonel and military historian takes a fresh look at Dwight D. Eisenhower's lasting military legacy, in light of his evolving approach to the concept of unified command. Examining Eisenhower's career from his West Point years to the passage of the 1958 Defense Reorganization Act, David Jablonsky explores Eisenhower's efforts to implement a unified command in the U.S. military--a concept that eventually led to the current organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and that, almost three decades after Eisenhower's presidency, played a major role in defense reorganization under the Goldwater-Nichols Act. In the new century, Eisenhower's approach continues to animate reform discussion at the highest level of government in terms of the interagency process.
War By Other Means: The Pacifists of the Greatest Generation Who Revolutionized Resistance
by Daniel AkstPacifists who fought against the Second World War faced insurmountable odds—but their resistance, philosophy, and strategies fostered a tradition of activism that shaped America right up to the present day. <p><p>In this provocative and deeply researched work of history, Akst takes readers into the wild, heady, and uncertain times of America on the brink of a world war, following four fascinating resisters—four figures who would subsequently become famous political thinkers and activists—and their daring exploits: David Dellinger, Dorothy Day, Dwight MacDonald, and Bayard Rustin. The lives of these diverse anti-war advocates—a principled and passionate seminary student, a Catholic anarchist, a high-brow intellectual leftist, and an African-American pacifist and agitator—create the perfect prism through which to see World War II from a new angle, that of the opposition, as well as to show how great and lasting their achievements were. <p><p>The resisters did not stop the war, of course, but their impact would be felt for decades. Many of them went on to lead the civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War movements, the two most important social stands of the second half of the twentieth century. The various World War II resisters pioneered non-violent protest in America, popularized Gandhian principles, and desegregated the first prison mess halls. Theirs is a story that has never been told.