Synopses & Reviews
This engrossing anthology gathers together a remarkable collection of writings on the use of strategy in war. Gand#233;rard Chaliand has ranged over the whole of human history in assembling this collectionand#151;the result is an integration of the annals of military thought that provides a learned framework for understanding global political history.
Included are writings from ancient and modern Europe, China, Byzantium, the Arab world, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. Alongside well-known militarists such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Walter Raleigh, Rommel, and many others are "irregulars" such as Cortand#233;s, Lawrence of Arabia, and even Gandhi. Contrary to standard interpretations stressing competition between land and sea powers, or among rival Christian societies, Chaliand shows the great importance of the struggles between nomadic and sedentary peoples, and of the conflicts between Christianity and Islam. With the invention of firepower, a relatively recent occurrence in the history of warfare, modes of organization and strategic conceptsand#151;elements reflecting the nature of a societyand#151;have been key to how war is waged.
Unparalleled in its breadth, this anthology will become the standard work for understanding a fundamental part of human historyand#151;the conduct of war.
"This anthology is not only an unparalleled corpus of information and an aid to failing memory; it is also and above all a reliable and liberating guide for research. . . . Ranging "from the origins to the nuclear age," it compels us to widen our narrow perspectives on conflicts and strategic action and open ourselves up to the universal."and#151;from the Foreword
Synopsis
While many books examine specific wars, few study the history of war worldwide and from an evolutionary perspective. A Global History of War is one of the first works to focus not on the impact of war on civilizations, but rather on how civilizations impact the art and execution of war. World-renowned scholar Gand#233;rard Chaliand concentrates on the peoples and cultures who have determined how war is conducted and reveals the lasting historical consequences of combat, offering a unique picture of the major geopolitical and civilizational clashes that have rocked our common history and made us who we are today. Chaliandand#8217;s questions provoke a new understanding of the development of armed conflict. How did the foremost non-European empires rise and fall? What critical role did the nomads of the Eurasian steppes and their descendants play? Chaliand illuminates the military cultures and martial traditions of the great Eurasian empires, including Turkey, China, Iran, and Mongolia. Based on fifteen years of research, this book provides a novel military and strategic perspective on the crises and conflicts that have shaped the current world order.
Synopsis
This authoritative work provides an essential perspective on terrorism by offering a rare opportunity for analysis and reflection at a time of ongoing violence, chilling threats, and renewed reprisals. In it, some of the best international specialists working on the subject today examine terrorism's long and complex history from antiquity to the present day and find that terror, long the weapon of the weak against the strong, is a tactic as old as warfare itself. Beginning with the Zealots of Antiquity, the contributors discuss the Assassins of the Middle Ages, the 1789 Terror movement in Europe, Bolshevik terrorism during the Russian Revolution, Stalinism, "resistance" terrorism during World War II, and Latin American revolutionary movements of the late 1960s. Finally, they consider the emergence of modern transnational terrorism, focusing on the roots of Islamic terrorism, al Qaeda, and the rise of the contemporary suicide martyr. Along the way, they provide a groundbreaking analysis of how terrorism has been perceived throughout history. What becomes powerfully clear is that only through deeper understanding can we fully grasp the present dangers of a phenomenon whose repercussions are far from over.
Includes essays by François Géré, Rohan Gunaratna, Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti, Ariel Merari, Philippe Migaux, Yves Ternon
Synopsis
This unique anthology of writings on revolutionary warfare and counterinsurgency covers almost all the major struggles of the modern world. Chaliand, who has had firsthand experience with guerrilla movements in Afghanistan, Africa, and Latin America, provides a concise yet panoramic overview of political and military strategies in revolutionary warfare, noting their strengths, limitations, and pathologies.
About the Author
Gérard Chaliand is an independent scholar who has held visiting professorships at the University of California, Berkeley, the University of California, Los Angeles, and Harvard University. He is the author of more than thirty-five works including The Art of War in History and Guerilla Strategies (both UC Press). Arnaud Blin is senior fellow at the French Institute for Strategic Analysis. He is coauthor, with Gérard Chaliand, of the Dictionnaire de stratégie militaire and America is Bac: Les nouveaux césars du pentagone, and, with Françoise Géré, of Puissances et influences: annuaire géopolitic et géostatégique.
Table of Contents
Preface
1. Introduction
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
2. Terrorism as a Strategy of Insurgency
Ariel Merari
PART I: THE PREHISTORY OF TERRORISM
3. Zealots and Assassins
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
4. Manifestations of Terror through the Ages
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
PART II: TERRORISM FROM 1789 TO 1968
5. The Invention of Modern Terror
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
6. Anarchist Terrorists of the Nineteenth Century
Olivier Hubac-Occhipinti
7. Russian Terrorism, 18781908
Yves Ternon
8. The Golden Age” of Terrorism
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
9. Lenin, Stalin, and State Terrorism
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
10. Terrorism in Time of War:
From War II to the Wars of National Liberation
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
PART III: TERRORISM SINCE 1968
11. From 1968 to Radical Islam
Gérard Chaliand and Arnaud Blin
12. The Roots of Islamic Radicalism
Philippe Migaux
13. Al Qaeda
Philippe Migaux
14. The Future of the Islamist Movement
Philippe Migaux
15. Suicide Operations: Between War and Terrorism
François Géré
16. The United States Confronting Terrorism
Arnaud Blin
17. Terrorism in South Asia
Rohan Gunaratna
Bibliography
Contributors
Index