Endurance and war : the national sources of military cohesion / Jasen J. Castillo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Castillo, Jasen, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Unit cohesion (Military science)--Case studies.

Sociology, Military.

Military history, Modern--20th century.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 308 pages) : illustration (black and white), maps (black and white)

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford Security Studies, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Scholars and military practitioners alike have long sought to understand why some country's militaries fight hard when facing defeat while others collapse. In Endurance and War, Jasen Castillo presents a new unifying theory—cohesion theory—to explain why national militaries differ in their staying power. His argument builds on insights from the literatures on group solidarity in general and military effectiveness in particular, which argue that the stronger the ties binding together individuals in a group of any kind, the higher the degree of cohesion that a group will exhibit when taking collective action, including fighting in war. Specifically, he argues that two types of ties determine the cohesion, and therefore the resilience, of a nation's armed forces during war: the degree of control a regime holds over its citizens and the amount of autonomy the armed forces possess to focus on training for warfighting. Understanding why armed forces differ in their cohesion should help U.S. military planners better assess the military capabilities of potential adversaries, like Iran and North Korea. For scholars of international politics, cohesion theory can help provide insights into how countries create military power and how they win wars.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Figure, Maps, and Tables

Acknowledgments

Preface

1. Introduction

2. Cohesion Theory

3. Germany, 1944-45

4. France, 1940

5. The Soviet Union, 1941

6. North Vietnam, 1965–73

7. The United States, 1968–72

8. Conclusion

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780804790727

0804790728

OCLC:

923708920