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Why Leaders Choose War: The Psychology of Prevention (Praeger Security International)
by Jonathan RenshonPreventive war has a long history in international politics, but until it became an instrumental part of the Bush Doctrine, it was mostly overlooked. Renshon argues that the best avenue for understanding decisions to initiate preventive action is through a close examination of the individual leader responsible for such decisions. In this work, he develops a theory of psychological motivations for preventive action. By examining five situations, including the Iraq war, he pinpoints the factors that matter most in decisions to take preventive military action.There have been preventive wars throughout history, but the motivations behind them have remained elusive, and many crucial questions remain unanswered. What exactly constitutes preventive action? What differentiates preventive action from pre-emptive action? Are there significant differences between preventive strikes and full-on preventive wars? What is the relationship of preventive action to traditional concepts of deterrence, compellence, and international law? Finally, why do states initiate preventive action?Renshon argues that the best avenue for understanding decisions to initiate preventive action is through a close examination of the individual leader responsible for such decisions.
Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe (War, Technology, and History)
by Steven D. MercatanteThis book offers a unique perspective for understanding how and why the Second World War in Europe ended as it did—and why Germany, in attacking the Soviet Union, came far closer to winning the war than is often perceived.Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe challenges this conventional wisdom in highlighting how the re-establishment of the traditional German art of war—updated to accommodate new weapons systems—paved the way for Germany to forge a considerable military edge over its much larger potential rivals by playing to its qualitative strengths as a continental power. Ironically, these methodologies also created and exacerbated internal contradictions that undermined the same war machine and left it vulnerable to enemies with the capacity to adapt and build on potent military traditions of their own.The book begins by examining topics such as the methods by which the German economy and military prepared for war, the German military establishment's formidable strengths, and its weaknesses. The book then takes an entirely new perspective on explaining the Second World War in Europe. It demonstrates how Germany, through its invasion of the Soviet Union, came within a whisker of cementing a European-based empire that would have allowed the Third Reich to challenge the Anglo-American alliance for global hegemony—an outcome that by commonly cited measures of military potential Germany never should have had even a remote chance of accomplishing. The book's last section explores the final year of the war and addresses how Germany was able to hang on against the world's most powerful nations working in concert to engineer its defeat.
Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe (War, Technology, and History)
by Steven D. MercatanteThis book offers a unique perspective for understanding how and why the Second World War in Europe ended as it did—and why Germany, in attacking the Soviet Union, came far closer to winning the war than is often perceived.Why Germany Nearly Won: A New History of the Second World War in Europe challenges this conventional wisdom in highlighting how the re-establishment of the traditional German art of war—updated to accommodate new weapons systems—paved the way for Germany to forge a considerable military edge over its much larger potential rivals by playing to its qualitative strengths as a continental power. Ironically, these methodologies also created and exacerbated internal contradictions that undermined the same war machine and left it vulnerable to enemies with the capacity to adapt and build on potent military traditions of their own.The book begins by examining topics such as the methods by which the German economy and military prepared for war, the German military establishment's formidable strengths, and its weaknesses. The book then takes an entirely new perspective on explaining the Second World War in Europe. It demonstrates how Germany, through its invasion of the Soviet Union, came within a whisker of cementing a European-based empire that would have allowed the Third Reich to challenge the Anglo-American alliance for global hegemony—an outcome that by commonly cited measures of military potential Germany never should have had even a remote chance of accomplishing. The book's last section explores the final year of the war and addresses how Germany was able to hang on against the world's most powerful nations working in concert to engineer its defeat.
Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? (Routledge Global Security Studies)
by Jane K. Cramer A. Trevor ThrallThis edited volume presents the foremost scholarly thinking on why the US invaded Iraq in 2003, a pivotal event in both modern US foreign policy and international politics. In the years since the US invasion of Iraq it has become clear that the threat of weapons of mass destruction was not as urgent as the Bush administration presented it and that Saddam Hussein was not involved with either Al Qaeda or 9/11. Many consider the war a mistake and question why Iraq was invaded. A majority of Americans now believe that the public were deliberately misled by the Bush administration in order to bolster support for the war. Public doubt has been strengthened by the growing number of critical scholarly analyses and in-depth journalistic investigations about the invasion that suggest the administration was not candid about its reasons for wanting to take action against Iraq. This volume begins with a survey of private scholarly views about the war’s origins, then assesses the current state of debate by organising the best recent thinking by foreign policy and international relations experts on why the US invaded Iraq. The book covers a broad range of approaches to explaining Iraq – the role of the uncertainty of intelligence, cognitive biases, ideas, Israel, and oil, highlighting areas of both agreement and disagreement. This book will be of much interest to students of the Iraq War, US foreign and security policy, strategic studies, Middle Eastern politics and IR/Security Studies in general.
Why Did the United States Invade Iraq? (Routledge Global Security Studies)
by Jane K. Cramer A. Trevor ThrallThis edited volume presents the foremost scholarly thinking on why the US invaded Iraq in 2003, a pivotal event in both modern US foreign policy and international politics. In the years since the US invasion of Iraq it has become clear that the threat of weapons of mass destruction was not as urgent as the Bush administration presented it and that Saddam Hussein was not involved with either Al Qaeda or 9/11. Many consider the war a mistake and question why Iraq was invaded. A majority of Americans now believe that the public were deliberately misled by the Bush administration in order to bolster support for the war. Public doubt has been strengthened by the growing number of critical scholarly analyses and in-depth journalistic investigations about the invasion that suggest the administration was not candid about its reasons for wanting to take action against Iraq. This volume begins with a survey of private scholarly views about the war’s origins, then assesses the current state of debate by organising the best recent thinking by foreign policy and international relations experts on why the US invaded Iraq. The book covers a broad range of approaches to explaining Iraq – the role of the uncertainty of intelligence, cognitive biases, ideas, Israel, and oil, highlighting areas of both agreement and disagreement. This book will be of much interest to students of the Iraq War, US foreign and security policy, strategic studies, Middle Eastern politics and IR/Security Studies in general.
Why Containment Works: Power, Proliferation, and Preventive War (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs)
by Wallace J. ThiesWhy Containment Works examines the conduct of American foreign policy during and after the Cold War through the lens of applied policy analysis. Wallace J. Thies argues that the Bush Doctrine after 2002 was a theory of victory—a coherent strategic view that tells a state how best to transform scarce resources into useful military assets, and how to employ those assets in conflicts. He contrasts prescriptions derived from the Bush Doctrine with an alternative theory of victory, one based on containment and deterrence, which US presidents employed for much of the Cold War period. There are, he suggests, multiple reasons for believing that containment was working well against Saddam Hussein's Iraq after the first Gulf War and that there was no need to invade Iraq in 2003.Thies reexamines five cases of containment drawn from the Cold War and the post-Cold War world. Each example, Thies suggests, offered US officials a choice between reliance on traditional notions of containment and reliance on a more forceful approach. To what extent did reliance on rival theories of victory—containment versus first strike—contribute to a successful outcome? Might these cases have been resolved more quickly, at lower cost, and more favorably to American interests if US officials had chosen a different mix of the coercive and deterrent tools available to them? Thies suggests that the conventional wisdom about containment was often wrong: a superpower like the United States has such vast resources at its disposal that it could easily thwart Libya, Iraq, and Iran by means other than open war.
Why Britain is at War: With a New Introduction by Andrew Roberts
by Harold Nicolson"If we in Great Britain are resolute and wise there will emerge from this catastrophe something which may well give hope to the world" First published in 1939 as a Penguin Special, this is the original best-selling account of why Britain went to war with Germany. In simple terms it describes the stages of Adolf Hitler's ruthless pursuit for power, identifies his methods of deception and false diplomacy, and details his terrifying use of force that rendered peaceful negotiation increasingly difficult, and finally impossible. Shining a light on Hitler's early life and character, Harold Nicolson reveals the dictator's political theories in Mein Kampf, and explains the strategies he adopted in seizing the Rhineland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and later Poland. Written with clarity and insight, and read widely by soldiers during World War II, the final message of hope and peace is as relevant today as it was in 1939.This facsimile edition includes a new introduction by Andrew Roberts, best-selling author of The Storm of War; Masters and Commanders and Hitler and Churchill: Secrets of Leadership.
Why The Allies Won
by Dr Richard OveryThe Allied victory in 1945 - though comprehensive - was far from inevitable. By 1942 almost the entire resources of continental Europe were in German hands and Japan had wiped out the western colonial presence in Asia. Democracy appeared to have had its day. In this remarkable study, Richard Overy provides a reinterpretation of the war through an account of the decisive military campaigns that created the astonishing revival in Allied fortunes. He also explores the deeper factors that determined success and failure: industrial stength, fighting ability, the skills of leaders and the moral contrasts between the two sides. Today the modern world is once more in the throes of painful transformation. It is essential to establish why and how the last great war was won. Richard Overy casts a brilliant light on the most important turning-point of the modern age.
Why ABM: Policy Issues in the Missile Defense Controversy
by Johan J. Holst William SchneiderWhy ABM?: Policy Issues in the Missile Defense Controversy focuses on the problems of invention and deployment of defenses against anti-ballistic missiles (ABM). The book first discusses early, present, and future missile defense systems, including the efficiency of missile defense and the use of missiles in penetration aids and tactics. The deployment of ballistic missile defense (BMD) is explained. The text takes a look at the missile defense systems of the Soviet Union and their participation in the arms race. The reactions of the Soviet Union on the use of BMD and positions of Soviets and Americans on arms race issues are underscored. The selection reviews the implications of missile defense on Europe. Concerns include arms control and the prospects of European settlement; impact on the future of NATO; and attitude toward China. The possible effects of ABM on non-proliferation are also discussed. The text also takes a look at strategic arms control and stability. This topic includes effects on diplomatic relationships and debates on the use and deployment of missiles in defense strategies. The book is a vital source of reference for readers interested in international security, particularly the use of missiles in defense systems.
Why 1914?: The Causes of the Great War
by Derek RobinsonShort, brisk and highly readable, this account stands out from the flood of books written for the Centenary of the Great War. In Why 1914?, Derek Robinson - trained as a historian, shortlisted for the Booker Prize - applies his novelist's skills to asking how and why Europe hurried into such a massive disaster. He captures a world of kings and Kaisers, generals and infantrymen. None of them knew what a big European war meant. All the combatant nations assumed it would be short, and each expected to win. The roots of such folly began in the nineteenth century. Robinson traces the earliest warning signs, leading to a sudden crisis and an impulsive war that went massively wrong from the start. This book is the ideal introduction to the key question of the Great War: why did Europe explode?
Whose Life Is Worth More?: Hierarchies of Risk and Death in Contemporary Wars
by Yagil LevyModern democracies face tough life-and-death choices in armed conflicts. Chief among them is how to weigh the value of soldiers' lives against those of civilians on both sides. The first of its kind, Whose Life Is Worth More? reveals that how these decisions are made is much more nuanced than conventional wisdom suggests. When these states are entangled in prolonged conflicts, hierarchies emerge and evolve to weigh the value of human life. Yagil Levy delves into a wealth of contemporary conflicts, including the drone war in Pakistan, the Kosovo war, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the US and UK wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cultural narratives about the nature and necessity of war, public rhetoric about external threats facing the nation, antiwar movements, and democratic values all contribute to the perceived validity of civilian and soldier deaths. By looking beyond the military to the cultural and political factors that shape policies, this book provides tools to understand how democracies really decide whose life is worth more.
Who's Feckin' Who in Irish History (The Feckin' Collection)
by Colin MurphyDid an Irish monk discover America? Which rebel died of having a feckin’ tooth pulled? And who in the name of Jaysus was responsible for the Pledge? If you've ever wondered how much of our rabble-rousing history is true, and how much a load of wojus oul' bull, then look no further. From the great to the gormless, this book is a hilarious parade of the life stories of Ireland's favourite heroes and gougers. Gathered in a collection of the best anecdotes from our chequered past, it will tell you everything you need to know about our writers, revolutionaries, and rogues. You never know - it might help you win the odd pub quiz as well... The Feckin' collection returns with a funny, original and quirky take on some of Ireland's most famous faces! Illustrated with photographs and cartoons, the book covers key Irish figures across the millenia like: William Butler Yeats - Nobel Prize winning poet Saint Patrick - Patron Saint of Ireland Sir Ernest Shacklton - legendary Antarctic explorer Jonathan Swift - the man who wrote Gulliver's Travels Grace O'Mally - the pirate queen who ran Queen Elizabeth's troups ragged Brian Boru - the last High King of Ireland And many more!
A Whole Life
by Robert SeethalerShortlisted for the Man Booker International PrizeAndreas lives his whole life in the Austrian Alps, where he arrives as a young boy taken in by a farming family. He is a man of very few words and so, when he falls in love with Marie, he doesn't ask for her hand in marriage, but instead has some of his friends light her name at dusk across the mountain. When Marie dies in an avalanche, pregnant with their first child, Andreas' heart is broken. He leaves his valley just once more, to fight in WWII - where he is taken prisoner in the Caucasus - and returns to find that modernity has reached his remote haven . . . Like John Williams' Stoner or Denis Johnson's Train Dreams, A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler is a tender book about finding dignity and beauty in solitude. An exquisite novel about a simple life, it has already demonstrated its power to move thousands of readers with a message of solace and truth. It looks at the moments, big and small, that make us what we are.
Who Will Write Our History?: Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto (The\helen And Martin Schwartz Lectures In Jewish Studies)
by Samuel. D KassowIn the Autumn of 1940 the Jews of Warsaw were forced into a crowded ghetto, enduring unimaginable conditions until most were killed. Yet, amid this, one man, Emanuel Ringelblum, started an extraordinary clandestine organization dedicated to recording life under Nazi occupation. His aim: to ensure that, if he died, his people's history would still be written.Codenamed Oyneg Shabes, this underground group painstakingly gathered together an archive of some 35,000 documents - letters, poems, photographs, personal testimonies, menus, sketches, songs and official papers - which was buried in tin boxes and milk bottles just before the ghetto was razed to the ground. This secret cache lay deep beneath the rubble for years, long after most of the Oyneg Shabes's members had perished, until one of the few survivors led the way to its secret location.Only now can the story of this incredible historical record, and the people behind it, be fully told. It is a testament to an extraordinary act of defiance in the face of tyranny, and to the triumph of history.
Who Will Take Our Children?: The Story of the Evacuation in Britain 1939–1945 (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #46)
by Carlton JacksonThis book, first published in 1985, is a scholarly examination of the of the British wartime evacuation of 4 million people, mostly children, from the cities to the countryside – and how it affected social life during the war years. It uses hitherto unpublished material from the collections of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board and the Mass Observation Archive.
Who Will Take Our Children?: The Story of the Evacuation in Britain 1939–1945 (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #46)
by Carlton JacksonThis book, first published in 1985, is a scholarly examination of the of the British wartime evacuation of 4 million people, mostly children, from the cities to the countryside – and how it affected social life during the war years. It uses hitherto unpublished material from the collections of the Children’s Overseas Reception Board and the Mass Observation Archive.
Who Rules the World?: Reframings
by Noam ChomskyThe essential account of geopolitics right now, from one of our greatest living intellectuals - including a new afterword on President Donald Trump Noam Chomsky: philosopher, political writer, fearless activist. No one has done more to question the hidden actors who govern our lives, calling the powers that be to account. Here he presents Who Rules the World?, his definitive account of those powers, how they work, and why we should be questioning them.From the dark history of the US and Cuba to China's global rise, from torture memos to sanctions on Iran, this book investigates the defining issues of our times and exposes the hypocrisy at the heart of America's policies and actions. The world's political and financial elite are now operating almost totally unconstrained by the so-called democratic structure. With climate change and nuclear proliferation threatening our very survival, dissenting voices have never been more necessary.Fiercely outspoken and rigorously argued, Who Rules the World? is an indispensable guide to how things really are.
Who Pays the Ferryman?: The Great Scottish Ferries Swindle
by Roy PedersenWho Pays the Ferryman? is an informative and critical analysis of Scotland's ferry services. It describes the 'glory days' of how, from modest beginnings, Scotland once led the world in maritime development. It contrasts the achievements of the past with the failures, waste and inadequacy of much of today's state-owned ferry provision. In addition to showing how a more equitable fares regime can be devised, Roy Pedersen also addresses sensitive issues such as CO2 and other emissions, state versus private ownership, the place of trade unions and, most importantly of all how, the lot of our island and peninsular communities can be bettered through provision of efficient cost effective ferry services. Drawing on best practice at home and overseas, it sets out how Scottish ferry services can be revolutionised to be, once again, among the best in the world.
Who Owned Waterloo?: Battle, Memory, and Myth in British History, 1815-1852
by Luke ReynoldsBetween 1815 and the Duke of Wellington's death in 1852, the Battle of Waterloo became much more than simply a military victory. While other countries marked the battle and its anniversary, only Britain actively incorporated the victory into their national identity, guaranteeing that it would become a ubiquitous and multi-layered presence in British culture. By examining various forms of commemoration, celebration, and recreation, Who Owned Waterloo? demonstrates that Waterloo's significance to Britain's national psyche resulted in a different kind of war altogether: one in which civilian and military groups fought over and established their own claims on different aspects of the battle and its remembrance. By weaponizing everything from memoirs, monuments, rituals, and relics to hippodramas, panoramas, and even shades of blue, veterans pushed back against civilian claims of ownership; English, Scottish, and Irish interests staked their claims; and conservatives and radicals duelled over the direction of the country. Even as ownership was contested among certain groups, large portions of the British population purchased souvenirs, flocked to spectacles and exhibitions, visited the battlefield itself, and engaged in a startling variety of forms of performative patriotism, guaranteeing not only the further nationalization of Waterloo, but its permanent place in nineteenth century British popular and consumer culture.
Who Owned Waterloo?: Battle, Memory, and Myth in British History, 1815-1852
by Luke ReynoldsBetween 1815 and the Duke of Wellington's death in 1852, the Battle of Waterloo became much more than simply a military victory. While other countries marked the battle and its anniversary, only Britain actively incorporated the victory into their national identity, guaranteeing that it would become a ubiquitous and multi-layered presence in British culture. By examining various forms of commemoration, celebration, and recreation, Who Owned Waterloo? demonstrates that Waterloo's significance to Britain's national psyche resulted in a different kind of war altogether: one in which civilian and military groups fought over and established their own claims on different aspects of the battle and its remembrance. By weaponizing everything from memoirs, monuments, rituals, and relics to hippodramas, panoramas, and even shades of blue, veterans pushed back against civilian claims of ownership; English, Scottish, and Irish interests staked their claims; and conservatives and radicals duelled over the direction of the country. Even as ownership was contested among certain groups, large portions of the British population purchased souvenirs, flocked to spectacles and exhibitions, visited the battlefield itself, and engaged in a startling variety of forms of performative patriotism, guaranteeing not only the further nationalization of Waterloo, but its permanent place in nineteenth century British popular and consumer culture.
Who Killed Kitchener?: The Life and Death of Britain's most famous War Minister
by David LawsIn June 1916, Field Marshal Lord Kitchener set sail from Orkney on a secret mission to bolster the Russian war effort. Just a mile off land and in the teeth of a force 9 gale, HMS Hampshire suffered a huge explosion, sinking in little more than fifteen minutes. Crew and passengers numbered 749; only twelve survived. Kitchener’s body was never found.Remembered today as the face of the famous First World War recruitment drive, at the height of his career Kitchener was fêted as Britain’s greatest military hero since Wellington. By 1916, however, his star was in its descent. A controversial figure who did not make friends easily in Cabinet, he was considered by many to be arrogant, secretive and high-handed.From the moment his death was announced, rumours of a conspiracy began to flourish, with the finger pointed variously at the Bolsheviks, Irish nationalist saboteurs and even the British government.Using newly released files kept secret for almost 100 years, former Cabinet minister David Laws unravels the true story behind the demise of this complex figure, debunking the conspiracy theories and revealing the crucial blunders that the government and military sought to cover up. The result is the definitive account of an event that shook the country and which has been shrouded in mystery ever since.
Who Fights for Reputation: The Psychology of Leaders in International Conflict (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics #156)
by Keren Yarhi-MiloHow psychology explains why a leader is willing to use military force to protect or salvage reputationIn Who Fights for Reputation, Keren Yarhi-Milo provides an original framework, based on insights from psychology, to explain why some political leaders are more willing to use military force to defend their reputation than others. Rather than focusing on a leader's background, beliefs, bargaining skills, or biases, Yarhi-Milo draws a systematic link between a trait called self-monitoring and foreign policy behavior. She examines self-monitoring among national leaders and advisers and shows that while high self-monitors modify their behavior strategically to cultivate image-enhancing status, low self-monitors are less likely to change their behavior in response to reputation concerns.Exploring self-monitoring through case studies of foreign policy crises during the terms of U.S. presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, Yarhi-Milo disproves the notion that hawks are always more likely than doves to fight for reputation. Instead, Yarhi-Milo demonstrates that a decision maker's propensity for impression management is directly associated with the use of force to restore a reputation for resolve on the international stage.Who Fights for Reputation offers a brand-new understanding of the pivotal influence that psychological factors have on political leadership, military engagement, and the protection of public prestige.
Who Fights for Reputation: The Psychology of Leaders in International Conflict (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics #156)
by Keren Yarhi-MiloHow psychology explains why a leader is willing to use military force to protect or salvage reputationIn Who Fights for Reputation, Keren Yarhi-Milo provides an original framework, based on insights from psychology, to explain why some political leaders are more willing to use military force to defend their reputation than others. Rather than focusing on a leader's background, beliefs, bargaining skills, or biases, Yarhi-Milo draws a systematic link between a trait called self-monitoring and foreign policy behavior. She examines self-monitoring among national leaders and advisers and shows that while high self-monitors modify their behavior strategically to cultivate image-enhancing status, low self-monitors are less likely to change their behavior in response to reputation concerns.Exploring self-monitoring through case studies of foreign policy crises during the terms of U.S. presidents Carter, Reagan, and Clinton, Yarhi-Milo disproves the notion that hawks are always more likely than doves to fight for reputation. Instead, Yarhi-Milo demonstrates that a decision maker's propensity for impression management is directly associated with the use of force to restore a reputation for resolve on the international stage.Who Fights for Reputation offers a brand-new understanding of the pivotal influence that psychological factors have on political leadership, military engagement, and the protection of public prestige.
Who Defends Rome?: The Forty-Five days, July 25–September 8, 1943 (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #45)
by Melton S. DavisThis book, first published in 1972, examines the tumultuous period between Mussolini’s dismissal and the German occupation of Rome 45 days later. Double-dealing, treachery, vindictiveness, cowardliness, contradictory orders are the hallmarks of this time, and the protagonists include Mussolini, Hitler, Eisenhower, Maxwell Taylor, the Italian King, Churchill and Badoglio. Its was then that Italy arranged a virtually meaningless armistice with the Allies, the terms of which were never clear to anyone. This book reconstructs these days with a clear and thorough analysis, using new evidence not previously available to researchers.
Who Defends Rome?: The Forty-Five days, July 25–September 8, 1943 (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #45)
by Melton S. DavisThis book, first published in 1972, examines the tumultuous period between Mussolini’s dismissal and the German occupation of Rome 45 days later. Double-dealing, treachery, vindictiveness, cowardliness, contradictory orders are the hallmarks of this time, and the protagonists include Mussolini, Hitler, Eisenhower, Maxwell Taylor, the Italian King, Churchill and Badoglio. Its was then that Italy arranged a virtually meaningless armistice with the Allies, the terms of which were never clear to anyone. This book reconstructs these days with a clear and thorough analysis, using new evidence not previously available to researchers.