The Art of War in an Asymmetric World


Book Description

The work examines the rise of the movements against globalization, modernization, and Western dominance that followed the collapse of the bipolar world and the end of the Cold War and that culminated with today's global jihadist movements. It describes how the U.S. had to adapt to this new, asymmetrical world of conflict with its strategic, doctrinal and theoretical responses to the threats of terrorism and insurgency that defined the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Unique in the breadth of its scope, the book connects movements from the Zapatista uprising to Al Qaeda's global jihad within a broader historical framework, connecting pre and post-9/11 conflicts under the unifying theme of a struggle against the forces of modernization. Featuring the works of key theorists such as John Arquilla, Thomas P.M. Barnett, Arthur K. Cebrowski, Jim Gant, Samuel P. Huntington, Robert D. Kaplan, David J. Kilcullen, William H. McRaven, and David Ronfeldt, this book bridges the fields of counterinsurgency, homeland security, counterterrorism, cyberwarfare, and technology of war, and will be a must-read for academics, policymakers and strategists.




Coping with the Bounds: Speculations on Nonlinearity in Military Affairs


Book Description

This book is about the implications of the new nonlinear sciences for national security and military affairs. Uncertainty abounds, and chaos theory rooted in physics and chemistry tells one why it is inevitable, pervasive, and won't go away. Fortunately, there is the "companion" new science of complexity, rooted in biology, that provides insights into what one can do about that. The author has adopted the term nonlinearity as a convenient umbrella for all of the various terminology and concepts that have proliferated in the field -- deterministic chaos, fractals, complexity and complex adaptive systems, self-organizing criticality, cellular automata, solitons -- because they all globally share this property. Nonlinearity reflects the science of the Information Age, rather than its technology. Currently, the awareness level about that science is low in comparison to the omnipresent technology. This book is intended to help correct this dangerous imbalance. The Information Age and its technology are largely considered to be synonymous in both the public and the military mind. The Revolution in Military Affairs debate to date has largely been shaped by that technology, including the pervasive rush of chip advances, computer utilities, and an increasingly Internetted world. The science is in its infancy, and is more about biology than about physics. It is some 20 years old, and required the computer to be invented before it could itself be discovered. This science has its own jargon: phase states, bifurcations, strange attractors, emergence, criticality and path-dependence. However, its message is post-Newtonian. Post-Newtonian means that the arrangement of nature -- life and its complications, such as warfare -- are nonlinear, where inputs and outputs are not proportional; where phenomena are unpredictable, but within bounds are self-organizing; where unpredictability frustrates conventional planning; and where a premium is placed on nonlinear reductionism.







Reversibility – Politics under Conditions of Uncertainty


Book Description

Western modernity is characterized by instrumental relations between humans and nature, as well as between humans themselves, that have caused irreversible environmental and social exploitation and degradation. Many policy documents, such as those by the United Nations Environment Programme, warn of the uncertainty and unpredictability of our precarious conditions due to our social and ecological interrelations and interdependencies. Accepting that our position in the world does not allow us secure knowledge of the consequences of politics, Reversibility – Politics under Conditions of Uncertainty asks how we can act politically in a responsible way when we cannot predict the outcomes of our decisions. Hartmut Behr diagnoses Western modernity and its manifold crises as dominated by the view that fellow humans and natural environments are merely means to our individual ends. Behr introduces a novel ethics of self-restraint and the principle of reversibility – a commitment to political actions whose effects shall not be indefinite or immutable – to build a policy framework that demands both ethical and practical reflection on the conditions of action and that accounts for the limitations under which we act and live. Identifying an urgent need for re-thinking political progress and for policy reform, Reversibility – Politics under Conditions of Uncertainty presents a new understanding of the self and of political responsibility centred in a genuine acknowledgment of the human condition.




The Art of War


Book Description

If you're looking for one of the world's most revered books on strategy that speaks to all ages and want to get insights how to manage conflict wisely, efficiently, and victoriously then keep reading... About Sun Tzu & The Art of War Sun Tzu, also known as Sunzi, was born around 500 BC in China in the Kingdom of Wu and was a Chinese general and military strategist. His work, The Art of War, is considered to be the earliest known contribution on strategy and is still one of the most important to this day. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" was written in China over 2500 years ago. The work is considered to be the first attempt to formulate a rational basis for the organization and execution of military operations. This Chinese classic is still an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the non-violent handling of conflicts and decisions. Psychological leadership of all parties involved, flexibility and tactics towards the opponent, extreme discipline in one's own ranks - these are principles that are universally valid and are of decisive importance not only in the army, but in all organizations, even in personal life. A complete translation of The Art of War This official edition of The Art of War is the unaltered, uncommented, edited text as written by Sun Tzu, edited and formated for enhanced clarity and readability. The intention of this version is to create an Art of War similar to what the famed Thirteen Letters from Sun Tzu would have read like without modern alterations. It is by far the most concise, definitive, unabridged and original version. In the Art of War book, you will learn: nbsp; To find ways to win the battle and the war,--without undue conflict A fresh view to seemingly intractable challenges How to more effectively respond to resistance, reaction, conflict, and chaos How to foster a knowledge and see clearly, leading to effective action To know how to utilize or remove resources in order to increase flexibility How to choose and fight battles you are destined to win How to use military strategy to build better habits To treat with humanitarianism but control by the means of iron discipline How to become the best version of yourself 3 Famous quotes from The Art of War "The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting." "If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." "All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. " So if you want to read one of the most important texts on warfare and strategy ever written, click the "Add to Cart" button!




Deciphering Sun Tzu


Book Description

As the People's Republic's seemingly inexorable rise to economic and military power continues, never has the need for a better grasp of Chinese strategic thought by the West been more acute. In Deciphering Sun Tzu, Derek Yuen seeks to reclaim for the reader the hidden contours and lost Chinese and Taoist contexts of Sun Tzu's renowned treatise The Art of War, a literary classic and arguably one of the most influential books ever written. He also explains its historical, philosophical, strategic, and cross-cultural significance. His comprehensive analysis of Sun Tzu, based on a close reading of the Chinese sources, also reconstructs the philosophy, Taoist methodology and worldview that effectively form the cornerstones of Chinese strategic thinking, which are arguably as relevant today as at any moment in history. Yuen's innovative reading and analysis of Sun Tzu within and from a Chinese context is a new way of approaching the strategic master's main concepts, which he compares with those of Clausewitz, Liddell-Hart and other Western strategists. Deciphering Sun Tzu offers illuminating analysis and contextualization of The Art of War in a manner that has long been sought by Western readers and opens new means of getting to grips with Chinese strategic thought.




The Realist Tradition in International Relations


Book Description

This comprehensive foundation for the study of realism will introduce students in disciplines as varied as philosophy, international relations, and strategic studies to the majestic breadth of the realist tradition that unifies them all. The Realist Tradition in International Relations: The Foundations of Western Order introduces the principal theorists who have shaped and defined the realist tradition. This once-dominant theory of international politics has reemerged to provide a shared foundation for understanding political theory, international relations theory, and strategic studies. The work is comprised of four volumes, each focusing upon a distinct period and the pivotal contributors writing in that era. Volume 1, State of Hope, looks at the classical era when chaos reigned supreme. Volume 2, State of Fear, goes through the early-modern period and the emergence of the modern state. Volume 3, State of Awe, explores the age of total war with its unprecedented dangers. Volume 4, State of Siege, examines the present era of insurgency and asymmetrical conflict. A truly monumental work, this sweeping study will surely foster a new appreciation of the rich tapestry of realist thought and its continuing relevance to the study of world politics.




Risk Governance


Book Description

Risk Governance is a tour de force. Every risk manager, every risk analyst, every risk researcher must read this book - it is the demarcation point for all further advances in risk policy and risk research. Renn provides authoritative guidance on how to manage risks based on a definitive synthesis of the research literature. The skill with which he builds practical recommendations from solid science is unprecedented. Thomas Dietz, Director, Environmental Science and Policy Program, Michigan State University, USA A masterpiece of new knowledge and wisdom with illustrative examples of tested applications to realworld cases. The book is recommendable also to interested students in different disciplines as a timely textbook on 'risk beyond risk'. Norio Okada, Full Professor and Director at the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI), Kyoto University, Japan There are classic environmental works such as The Tragedy of the Commons by Hardin, Risk Society by Beck, The Theory of Communicative Action by Habermas, and the seminal volumes by Ostrom on governing the commons. Renns book fits right into this series of important milestones of environmental studies. Jochen Jaeger, Professor at Concordia University, Montreal, Canada Risk Governance provides a valuable survey of the whole field of risk and demonstrates how scientific, economic, political and civil society actors can participate in inclusive risk governance. Jobst Conrad, Senior Scientist, Social Science Research Center Berlin, Germany Renn offers a remarkably fair-minded and systematic approach to bringing together the diverse fields that have something to say about 'risk'. Risk Governance moves us along the path from the noisy, formative stage of thinking about risk to one with a stronger empirical, theoretical, and analytical foundation. Baruch Fischhoff, PhD, Howard Heinz University Professor, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA 'I cannot describe how impressed I am at the breadth and coherence of Renn's career's work! Written with remarkable clarity and minimal technical jargon... [this] should be required reading in risk courses!' John Graham, former director of the Harvard Risk Center and former deputy director of the Office of Budget and Management of the Unites States Administration This book, for the first time, brings together and updates the groundbreaking work of renowned risk theorist and researcher Ortwin Renn, integrating the major disciplinary concepts of risk in the social, engineering and natural sciences. The book opens with the context of risk handling before flowing through the core topics of assessment, evaluation, perception, management and communication, culminating in a look at the transition from risk management to risk governance and a glimpse at a new understanding of risk in (post)modern societies.