Making sense of war : strategy for the 21st century / Alan Stephens and Nicola Baker.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stephens, Alan, 1944- author.

Baker, Nicola, Dr., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Strategy.

Military policy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiii, 291 pages) : digital, PDF file(s)

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2006.

System Details:

text file

PDF

Summary:

Making Sense of War provides a comprehensive and clear analysis of the complex business of waging war. It gives readers a thorough understanding of the key concepts in strategic thought, concepts that have endured since the Athenian general Thucydides and the Chinese philosopher/warrior Sun Tzu first wrote about strategy some 2500 years ago. It also examines the influence on strategic choice and military strategy of political, legal and technological change. This book discusses strategy at every level of competition, employing a thematic approach and using historical examples from 500 BCE to the present. It discusses the contraints and opportunities facing military commanders in the 21st century, and demonstrates that the formulation of military strategy will continue to be perhaps the single most important responsibility for senior security officials. Making Sense of War offers original insights into the imperatives of military success in the era of asymmetric warfare.

Contents:

How to win : the nature of strategy

Stove-piped strategy : the schools of strategic thought

Traditional warfighting concepts and practices : what strategy has been

Manoeuvre and the application of force : applying strategy

Shaping the strategic environment : making strategy work

Strategic paralysis : strategy as an ideal

Contemplating war : political imperatives and strategic considerations

Constraints on war : strategy, legality, and prudence

Controlling war : soldiers, civilians, and the optimum use of force

Peacemaking : intervening to protect and repair

War in the twenty-first century : the end of strategy?

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Other Format:

Print version:

ISBN:

9780511810497

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.