These papers are an edited selection from the BESA conference of 1998. They present an overview of transformations in societal-military relations in the western world, and the specific manifestations in Israel.

Military Thought of Asia challenges the assertion that the generation of rational secular ideas about the conduct of warfare is the preserve of the West, by analysing the history of ideas of warfare in Asia from the ancient period to the present. The volume takes a transcontinental and comparative approach to provide a broad overview of the evolution of military thought in Asia. The military traditions and theories which have emerged in different parts of Eurasia throughout history are products of geopolitics and unique to the different regions. The book considers the systematic and tight representation of ideas by famous figures including Kautlya and Sun Tzu. At the same time, it also highlights publications on military affairs by small men like mid-ranking officers and scattered ideas regarding the origin, nature and societal impact of organised violence present in miscellaneous sources like coins, inscriptions, paintings and fictional literature. In so doing, the book fills a historiographical gap in scholarship on military thought, which marginalises Asia to the part of cameo, and historicises the evolution of theory and the praxis of warfare. The volume shows that the ‘East’ has a long unbroken tradition of conceptualising war and its place in society from the Classical Era to the Information Age. It is essential reading for those interested in the evolution of military thought throughout history, particularly in Asia.

An examination of the Middle East's leading armed forces and their role in both military and political affairs. The book considers their missions, doctrine, training, equipment and effectiveness as fighting forces.

By their nature, democracies clearly have greater constraints than autocratic regimes on their freedom of action as they have to meet constitutional, legal and moral criteria in their use of force. This collection analyses a number of case studies showing how democracies have won small wars.

This outstanding compendium of articles on Europe's militarysituation as we enter the new millennium has been compiled under the aegis of the GeorgeMarshall European Center for Security Studies. The leading analysts of military studies in everymajor nation of Europe are included, along with three overview pieces that set the tone andcontent for this nicely integrated volume. The opening pieces, by Martin Shaw on the evolutionof a "common risk" society, Christopher Dandeker on the military indemocratic societies, and Wilfried von Bredow on the re-nationaliation of military strategy setthe tone for the work as a whole. Althoughthe Cold War is now a decade removed from the new Europe, the challenges of transition to newdefense systems and institutional structures still confront those who plan the future for themilitary establishments of Europe. The individual country studies contained in this volume, aswell as the final analysis of the trends and probable future developments in Europe, should berequired reading throughout the national security structure, for politicians and decision makersseeking to understand the dilemmas facing European militaries and the societies they defend. The country chapters cover a wide range ofnations. Jean Callaghan examines the Bulgarian armed forces after its 1997 elections. MarieVlachova and Stefan Sarvas review civil-military relations in the Cech nation. Jano Sabo studiesthe role of the defense sector in Hungary. Adriana Stanescu sees Romania as a case of delayedmoderniation. Paul Klein and Jurgen Kuhlmann review the German armed forces in the context of apeace dividend. Bernard Boene and Didier Danet consider France in the light of the post draftsituation. Marina Nuciari and Giuseppe Caforio consider the Italian military in a democraticcontext. Finally, Jan van der Meulen and his colleagues, look upon the Netherlands military as acase study in post-moderniation. The final contribution is a summary report by the editors onthe lessons that have been learned in assessing the contemporary civil-military complex. In all,this is a state of the art volume on the state of the armed forces in Europe.

This major comparative study examines the development of military-society relations in central and eastern Europe since the collapse of communism. Soldiers and Societies in Post-Communist Europe explores how the interaction of the common challenges of postcommunism and the diverse circumstances of individual countries are shaping patterns of military-society relations in this changing region. Detailed country case studies, written by international experts to a common analytical framework, compare the experiences of Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia and Ukraine.

The response of an autocratic nation's armed forces is crucial to the outcome of democratization movements throughout the world. But how can military officers and defense officials in democratic nations persuade their counterparts in autocratic regimes to favor democratic transitions? Here, Admiral Dennis Blair confronts this hard-edged challenge with a primer on the factors that affect military behavior during democratic transitions. Military Engagement makes the strong case for why the armed forces of any country should favor democracy and why, contrary to conventional wisdom, many military leaders have supported democratic transitions in different regions of the world. Further, it explains why military support, active or tacit, is essential to the success of any demo cratic transition. Blair provides incisive commentary on civil-military relations and outlines the foundational elements of armed forces in a democratic country. He presents sound advice to defense officials and military leaders in established democracies that can be put into practice when interacting with colleagues in both autocratic regimes and those that have made the break with dictatorship. This succinct handbook analyzes democratic transitions in five major regions and surveys the internal power dynamics in countries such as Iran and North Korea, dictatorships that are hostile toward and fearful of democratic influences. Blair juxtaposes the roles, values, and objectives of military leaders in autocratic nations with those in democracies. In turn, Military Engagement highlights how crossnetworking with international military delegations can put external pressure on autocratic countries and persuade them that democracies are best not only for the country itself, but also for the armed forces. Volume one of this two-volume project provides the educational foundation necessary so that military officers from established democracies can raise their game in achieving effective dialogue on democratic development.

Commencing with Susan Sontag's line that "the only worthwhile answers are those that blow up the questions," ten contributions by UK and US academics critique the "democratic peace" (DP) prescription for inter-state peace of "just add liberal democracy." Contextualizing the DP literature historically and internationally, they call for reassessment of the complex inter-relationships among democracy, liberalism, and war in the global revolution; provide a table summarizing war and democracy by world order periods; and identify directions for future research. Based on US workshops in 1998 and 2000. Barkawi and Laffey are lecturers in international relations, the former at the U. of Wales, Aberystwyth and the latter at the U. of London.--