Military and defence strategy Books

This book, first published in 1981, offers an analysis of the ways in which one strategic situation in Cold War politics impinged on another, and the interplay of historical forces and trends shaping national policies and the world pattern of power...

This book, first published in 1991, examines Britain's defence and foreign policy of the 1980s , and explores a variety of alternative roles for Britain in the radically changed circumstances of the 1990s. The authors analyse the full range of major...

This book, first published in 1965, examines the doctrine for fighting a conventional war against a nuclear power. Troops must be deployed as if they were fighting a nuclear war: dispersed over a greatly extended battlefield, conducting mobile...

An indispensable guide to how wars are fought, James F. Dunnigan's classic text has been enormously popular with citizens, professional soldiers, and journalists alike. Now, it's been revised to include a stunning array of new subjects. From the cutting...

This edited volume addresses the relationship between the essential nature of war and its character at the beginning of the twenty-first century.  

This book investigates the use and utility of military force in modern war.After the Cold War, Western armed forces have increasingly been called upon to intervene in internal conflicts in the former Third World. These forces have been called upon to...

There is no recipe for democratisation that can be readily applied to all countries. Every country presents unique factors that influence the fate of its democratic reforms, which must therefore be evaluated within their specific socio-political,...

Russia's resurgence as an assertive actor in the global diplomatic arena after a long period of introspection and preoccupation with domestic troubles, and the economic revival that underpins it, are among the most striking developments in international...

WALLFLOWERS is the codename given to one of the Security Service's most treasured possessions, the daily journal dictated from August 1939 to June 1945 by MI5's Director of Counter-Espionage, Guy Liddell, to his secretary, Margo Huggins. The document was...

Military Strategy of Middle Powers explores to what degree twenty-first-century middle powers adjust their military strategies due to changes in the international order, such as the decline in US power.The overarching objective of the book is to explain...

Is there a place left in international politics for the real use of violence as an instrument of policy in the nuclear age? Originally published in 1981, Dr Atkinson attempts to answer this question with new considerations in the presentation of a...

This volume explores and develops new social-scientific tools for the analysis and understanding of contemporary military missions in theatre.Despite the advent of new types of armed conflict, the social-scientific study of militaries in action continues...

Recent challenges to US maritime predominance suggests a return to great power competition at sea, and this new volume looks at how navies in previous eras of multipolarity grappled with similar challenges.The book follows the theme of multipolarity by...

This book explains both the strategic and the operational aspects of exercising control of the sea.The struggle for sea control consists of three mutually related and overlapping phases: obtaining, maintaining and exercising sea control. It is in the...

It is argued that since the US and its allies appear unbeatable when fighting on their own terms, future opponents will fight differently. The West will therefore face opponents who will follow strategies that contradict the Western Way of Warfare.The...

This book examines the complex phenomena of modern maritime piracy.The work offers a cutting-edge analysis of modern maritime piracy in the two most pirate-prone regions - southeast Asia and northeast Africa - from the late twentieth century to the...

In the interwar period, Red Army commanders headed by Tukhachevskii developed a new raw doctrine of mobile warfare and "deep operations." The military requirements of armaments and industrial production in the event of war was a central parameter in...

Virtuous War is the first book to map the emergence and judge the consequences of a new military-industrial-media-entertainment network. James Der Derian takes the reader from a family history of war and genocide to new virtual battlespaces in the Mojave...

This timely book provides a general overview of Great Power politics and world order from 1500 to the present. Jeremy Black provides several historical case-studies, each of which throws light on both the power in question and the international system of...

This book describes the origin and development of the Proliferation Security Initiative, its Asian geopolitical context, and the legal and political issues and obstacles it faces.

Originally published in 1985, Deterrence in the 1980s offers analyses by leading American and Canadian scholars and decision-makers in the field of strategic studies of the current problems and dilemmas of contemporary international security with...

As nuclear weapons become ever more sophisticated, so the deterrence debate becomes increasingly complex. The 'Ban the Bomb' slogans of the 1950s had been replaced by cries for 'nuclear-free zones', and talk of 'megatonnage' and 'fallout' had given way...

Europe has everything to lose from nuclear war, and nothing to gain from it. Yet it is nuclear deterrence that we are relying on to shield us from war. More and more people are coming to believe that security under a nuclear shield is an illusion, and...

The book explores how small states adjust their military strategies in response to external shocks.Using primary sources from four Nordic countries, (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden), this volume explores how small states have adjusted their...

Brissot De Warville: A Study In The History Of The French Revolution (1915) by Eloise Ellery is a comprehensive examination of the life and political career of Jacques Pierre Brissot, a prominent figure in the French Revolution. The book delves into...

The major aim of Cyberspace and the State is to provide conceptual orientation on the new strategic environment of the Information Age. It seeks to restore the equilibrium of policy-makers which has been disturbed by recent cyber scares, as well as to...

This edited volume re-assesses the relationship between the United States, the Soviet Union and key regional players in waging and halting conflict in the Middle East between 1967 and 1973. These were pivotal years in the Arab-Israeli conflict, with the...

This volume covers a timely debate in contemporary security studies: can armed forces adjust to the rising challenge of insurgency and terrorism, the greatest transformation in warfare since the birth of the international system?  Containing essays...

The Russo-Japanese War was the major conflict of the earliest decade of the twentieth century. The struggle for mastery in northeast Asia, specifically for control of Korea, was watched at the time very closely by observers from many other countries keen...

This book argues that postwar Britain's "imperial over-extension" has been exaggerated. Britain developed and adjusted its defense strategy based upon the perceived Communist threat and available resources. It was especially successful at adapting to...

The navies of China, India and to a lesser extent Japan are expanding rapidly at present. This has the potential to alter the US-dominated naval balance in Asia-Pacific but it also raises a question: are the region's powers involved in a naval arms...

The second edition of Strategic Studies: A Reader brings together key essays on strategic theory by some of the leading contributors to the field. This revised volume contains several new essays and updated introductions to each section. The volume...

The book interrogates the disciplinary biases and firewalls that inform mainstream international relations today, and problematises the several tropes that have come to typify the strategic histories of post-colonial societies such as India. Questioning...

It has been said that the taking of a fortress depends primarily on the making of a good plan to take it, and the proper implementation and application of the resources to make the plan work. Long before a fortress has been besieged and conquered, it...

A remarkable compendium of the worst military decisions and the men who made themThe annals of history are littered with horribly bad military leaders. These combat incompetents found amazing ways to ensure their army's defeat. Whether it was a lack of...

International demand for military crisis-management missions continues to grow and demand for troops continues to outstrip supply. Like other Western democracies, European Union member states, because of their wealth, relative military competence and...

The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the summer of 2005 thrust Iran into the international limelight in a way that few would have predicted. Robust, confrontational and given to bombastic rhetoric,...

This book demonstrates how Clausewitzian thought influenced American strategic thinking between the Vietnam War and the current conflict in Iraq. Carl von Clausewitz's thought played a part in the process of military reform and the transition in US...

The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 marked a turning point in international politics, representing a new type of threat that could not easily be anticipated or prevented through state-based structures of security alone. Opening up...

The threat that is posed by "cyber-warriors" is illustrated by recent incidents such as the Year 2000 "Millennium Bug". Strategies to reduce the risk that cyber-attack poses, at both individual and national level, are described and compared with the...

Policy-relevant; realistic and low-cost recommendations for improving Europe's defence capability.