1st Edition
Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War
Bringing together leading contributors in the field, this new volume analyzes how victory and defeat in modern war can be understood and explained.
It does so by confronting two inter-related research problems: the nature of victory and defeat in modern war and the explanations of victory and defeat. By first questioning the extent to which the concepts of victory and defeat are meaningful to describe the outcomes of modern wars, and whether the contents of these concepts are changing, it then evaluates different theories purporting to explain the outcomes of war and the impact of variables, ranging from technology to culture. The book tackles several key questions:
- What is the definition of victory in the ‘War on Terror’?
- What is the meaning of victory and defeat in contemporary insurgencies, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- Are the counterstrategies that were developed in the mid-twentieth century valid in order to deal with present and future conflicts?
With case studies ranging from the Malayan Emergency to the current conflict in Iraq, Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War will be of great interest to students of war and conflict studies, security studies, military history and international relations.
Preface Notes on contributors 1. The Problem of Victory and Defeat in Modern War Jan Angstrom Part One: The Nature of Victory and Defeat in Modern War 2. Defining Post-War Victory Robert Mandel 3. In the Eye of the Beholder: Victory and Defeat in U.S. Military Operations Dominic Johnson & Dominic Tierney 4. Victory, Counter-insurgency and Iraq Ian Beckett 5. The United States Perspective on Victory in a War on Terrorism Jan Angstrom Part Two: Explaining Victory and Defeat in Modern War 6. The Paradoxes of the Strategy of Terrorism Isabelle Duyvesteyn 7. How to Lose a War on Terror: A Comparative Analysis of Counterinsurgency Successes and Failures Ivan Arreguin-Toft 8. The Origins and Implications of Western Counterinsurgency Failures Gil Merom 9. Toppling the Taliban in Afghanistan Stephen Biddle 10. Culture and the Outcome of Military Intervention: Developing some Hypotheses Kersti Larsdotter 11. Understanding Victory and Defeat: Some Conclusions Isabelle Duyvesteyn
Biography
Bringing together leading contributors in the field, this new volume analyzes how victory and defeat in modern war can be understood and explained.
It does so by confronting two inter-related research problems: the nature of victory and defeat in modern war and the explanations of victory and defeat. By first questioning the extent to which the concepts of victory and defeat are meaningful to describe the outcomes of modern wars, and whether the contents of these concepts are changing, it then evaluates different theories purporting to explain the outcomes of war and the impact of variables, ranging from technology to culture. The book tackles several key questions:
- What is the definition of victory in the ‘War on Terror’?
- What is the meaning of victory and defeat in contemporary insurgencies, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan?
- Are the counterstrategies that were developed in the mid-twentieth century valid in order to deal with present and future conflicts?
With case studies ranging from the Malayan Emergency to the current conflict in Iraq, Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War will be of great interest to students of war and conflict studies, security studies, military history and international relations.
