Strategic Studies: A Reader

by Mahnken; Thomas G.

• ISBN13: 9780415772228
• ISBN10: 0415772222
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2008-04-03
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This Reader brings together key essays on strategic theory by some of the leading contributors in the field. Filling a large gap in the market, it guides students through a wide-ranging survey of the theoretical and practical aspects of strategic studies. Providing an introduction to the key ideas and themes, it includes seven extensive sections on: the uses of strategic theory reinterpretation of the classics instruments of war: land, sea, and air power intelligence, perception and deception nuclear strategy limited war, small wars and terrorism war termination. Overall, Strategic Studies strikes a balance between theoretical works, which seek to discover generalizations about the nature of modern strategy, and case studies, which attempt to ground the study of strategy in the realities of modern war. Thiswill be essential reading for all students of strategic studies, security and modern warfare, as well as for professional military students.

Author Biography

Thomas G. Mahnken currently serves as the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning. He previously served as a Professor of Strategy at the US Naval War College and a Visiting Fellow at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at the Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). Joseph A. Maiolo is Senior Lecturer in War Studies at the Department of War Studies, Kings College London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. viii
General introduction	p. 1
The uses of strategic theory	p. 5
Introduction	p. 5
Strategy as a science	p. 8
Strategic studies and the problem of power	p. 22
What is a military lesson?	p. 34
Interpretation of the classics	p. 51
Introduction	p. 51
"The Art of War"	p. 53
Strategy: the indirect approach	p. 82
Arms and influence	p. 86
Instruments of war: land, sea, and air power	p. 105
Introduction	p. 105
J.F.C. Fuller's theory of mechanized warfare	p. 108
Some principles of maritime strategy	p. 122
Air power and the origins of deterrence theory before 1939	p. 135
Kosovo and the great air power debate	p. 156
Nuclear strategy	p. 181
Introduction	p. 181
The absolute weapon	p. 183
The delicate balance of terror	p. 224
Irregular warfare and small wars	p. 241
Introduction	p. 241
Science of guerrilla warfare	p. 244
Problems of strategy in China's civil war	p. 252
Counterinsurgency warfare: theory and practice	p. 287
Why big nations lose small wars: the politics of asymmetric conflict	p. 308
Countering global insurgency	p. 326
Strategic terrorism: the framework and its fallacies	p. 342
Future warfare, future strategy	p. 361
Introduction	p. 361
Cavalry to computer: the pattern of military revolutions	p. 364
From Kadesh to Kandahar: military theory and the future of war	p. 377
Why strategy is difficult	p. 391
The 'war on terror' in historical perspective	p. 398
The lost meaning of strategy	p. 421
Index	p. 437
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.