The Use of Force: Military Power and International Politics

By Robert J. Art

Book Overview

The Use of Force, long considered a classic in its own right, brings together enduring and influential works on the role of military power in foreign policy and international politics. Now in its seventh edition, the reader includes ten new selections to take account of key current international issues. Meticulously chosen and edited by leading scholars Robert J. Art and Kenneth N. Waltz, the selections are grouped under three headings: theories, key case studies, and contemporary issues. The first section includes essays that cover the security dilemma, terrorism, the sources of military doctrine, the nuclear revolution, and the fungibility of force. The second section includes case studies in the use of force that span the period from World War I through the war in Iraq. The final section considers issues concerning the projection of U.S. military power, the spread of biological and nuclear weapons, intervention in internal conflicts, and coping with terrorism and insurgencies. Continuing the tradition of previous editions, this fully updated reader collects the best analysis by influential thinkers on the use of force in international affairs.

Contributions by: Bruce J. Allyn, Robert J. Art, James G. Blight, McGeorge Bundy, Audrey Kurth Cronin, David M. Edelstein, Benjamin H. Friedman, John Lewis Gaddis, Alexander L. George, Morton H. Halperin, Robert Jervis, Chaim Kaufmann, David Kilcullen, Gregory Koblentz, Christopher Layne, John J. Mearsheimer, Louis Morton, Michael O'Hanlon, Robert A. Pape, Paul R. Pillar, Barry R. Posen, Christopher Preble, Ehsaneh I. Sadr, Scott D. Sagan, Sir George Sansom, Harvey M. Sapolsky, Jack L. Snyder, Stephen M. Walt, Barbara F. Walter, Kenneth N. Waltz, and David Welch

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0742556700
• ISBN13: 9780742556706
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Length: 552 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.1" x 1.1" x 6.1"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

American Defense Policy

This book is a collection of scholarly articles that demonstrate, both historically and politically, what the United State's defense policy has been during major and minor conflicts, cold war era, and through the present day war on terrorism. It is an excellent insight into the past with a good idea into where this countries policy are heading with an analysis of where it should be through varying perspectives. I found the book a good read and even though I disagreed with some of the conclusions it certainly demonstrated the arguments from all sides.

Understanding Strategy

This book, a collection of essays by some of the world's leading historians and political scientists gives a reader a glimpse into both the theroetical structure and real life examples of military structure. This is not a textbook on military strategy however, and the examples may not always directly illustrate every given aspect of the theory. But if you want a taste for strategy - it is highly recommended.