Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This book studies force, the coercive application of power against resistance, building from Thomas Hobbes' observation that all self-contained political orders have some ultimate authority that uses force to both dispense justice and to defend the polity against its enemies. This cross-disciplinary analysis finds that rulers concentrate force through cooperation, conveyance, and comprehension, applying common principles across history. Those ways aim to keep foes from concerting their actions, or by eliminating the trust that should bind them. In short, they make enemies afraid to cooperate, and now they are doing so in cyberspace as well.
Synopsis
Chapter 1: Introduction: Tools for Sovereignty: Power and Force
Chapter 2: Divide and Conquer: The Progress of Force to 1800
Chapter 3: "The Civilizing Mission" European Dominance to 1914
Chapter 4: The World Crisis:1914-1953
Chapter 5: A Frozen World, 1953-1990
Chapter 6: A Liberal Order?
Chapter 7: Information Wars
Conclusion: Force and Trust in the Future