B.J.C. Mckercher – författare

.Through the lenses of history this important book probes the events in Southeast Asia in the thirty years after 1945. This book compiles the most current scholarly interpretations on the causes and outcome of the Vietnam War. The contributors reflect on and discuss various aspects of the Vietnam conflicts and clear away many of the misconceptions and myths that still surround the wars. They try to understand how and why events in Southeast Asia happened as they did, and the impact they had both regionally and globally. A useful reference for any scholar of the Vietnam War, The Vietnam War as History will appeal to the general reader as well, particularly those who served in Vietnam.The chapters offer a diverse set of approaches of the war. Many of the contributors disagree philosophically on the causes and nature of the conflict. Some--Thomas Cubbage and Harry Summers--write from their personal involvement in the war. Others take a more detached view. And still others seek to provide further insight into some of the twisted questions that surrounded the conflict. All are united in their attempts to come to terms with the wars in Vietnam as a distinct historical event.

For too long military history has ignored the role of intelligence. As a result, many people do not realize that military intelligence has played a significant role in history. However, intelligence gathering, evaluation, and analysis has always been part of war. Lack of knowledge of how intelligence has been utilized in wars makes for an incomplete and inaccurate picture of historical events. While many are aware of such things as the Allied code-breaking efforts in World War II, few know that similar activities were undertaken as early as the beginning of recorded history. By examining a number of case studies from Roman times to the present, Go Spy the Land reveals the essential continuity in military intelligence, the fact that many of the problems involved in military intelligence have remained constant, and the nature of the problems themselves.According to the authors, military intelligence has always been an important aspect of military planning and campaigns. Furthermore, military intelligence in its essentials has not changed over time: while technology and society have affected the ways in which this essential activity has been carried out, the problems inherent in the task have remained constant. The latter conclusion is something not generally appreciated in the intelligence field, which has been dominated by historians studying the twentieth century. This collection not only provides important case studies, but also shows that much of what is claimed as exclusively a product of the twentieth century has its roots as far back in time as the Roman Empire.

This collection examines various aspects of the efforts made to limit warfare through arms limitation and disarmament agreements in the period from the first Hague conference to the outbreak of World War II in Europe. The issue for each contributor is not necessarily to show whether individual endeavors, separate conferences, and the rest were successful or unsuccessful--though this is an important consideration. Rather, each chapter tends to offer differing points of view on accomplishments and failures because, as is so often the experience in historical study, the record is mixed; and this situation is certainly no less characteristic of arms limitation and disarmament between 1899 and 1939.Written by experts on disarmament issues, these chapters put into historical perspective how and why the effort, to restrain war were undertaken at the Hague conferences, the Washington conference, and among antiwar groups. Each contributor approaches this task using the method he or she deems most appropriate. Some employ an historiographical approach; others undertake to produce analyses based heavily on archival holdings in order to offer new interpretations of the past or revise existing ones. This book will be of interest to students and teachers alike of modern history and political science.

This study offers a new perspective on the origins of the Second World War by comparing and contrasting military planning in seven nations in the two decades before 1939 (and, in the case of the United States and Soviet Russia, before 1941). Developing themes over time and across military cultures allows the authors to provide a comparative framework in which to survey how military planning and foreign policy were interwoven and how these connections produced divergent national strategies in the context of differing nationalities, military organizations, and societies. The contributors to this volume have consciously employed a wide interpretation of military history by emphasizing the interplay of social, political, diplomatic, and economic factors with military concerns, as well as the relationship between war and society.For example, the German army developed its concept of blitzkrieg by examining military theory generated within the General Staff before 1918, and by considering the new political circumstances in which the Weimar state and its Nazi successor found themselves as a result of the Versailles Treaty. Despite its ultimate success, the German concept was merely abstract and theoretical until the combined use of armor and air power was employed effectively in Poland in the autumn of 1939 and in Western Europe during the spring of 1940. In contrast, the French defensive strategy built around the use of the Maginot Line was illustrative of a mainly defensive foreign policy, while British appeasement policy reflected the diminished level of military preparedness that was possible throughout the 1930s.

War proved a seminal influence on the shape of the 20th century. This collection provides various essays addressing the phenomenon of war as viewed through the eyes of the fin de siecle. Leading scholars of war, international relations, and international law offer general or specific insights into war's consequences during the last one hundred years. Combined, the essays demonstrate the centrality of 20th century war to the development of the modern state system, international jurisprudence, and contemporary society.Donald Watt provides an overview of the use of the term war in its legal and practical sense. John Lynn addresses the transformation of military professional forces through the century. Donna Arzt explores the slow convergence of humanitarian law with human rights laws as witnessed in the latter half of the century. The contours of the national security state that emerged in many forms through the late century are detailed in contributions by Lawrence Aronsen, Geoffrey Smith, and Gary Hess. Finally, efforts to avert war through arms control, disarmament, arms reduction, and peace-keeping are examined in essays by Norman Hillmer and Erik Goldstein.

Although remembered and even lauded in the public mind as the British prime minister during the Second World War who played a major role in Allied victory over the Axis Powers and Japan, Winston Churchill had a life and political career before 1939 conditioned by fighting other wars and, in peacetime, thinking about war. While historians debate his achievements and failures between 1939 and 1945, a less explored dimension is Churchill’s earlier connexion with war and warfare. This book explores Churchill’s earlier experience in fighting wars as a soldier and politician.

Although remembered and even lauded in the public mind as the British prime minister during the Second World War who played a major role in Allied victory over the Axis Powers and Japan, Winston Churchill had a life and political career before 1939 conditioned by fighting other wars and, in peacetime, thinking about war. While historians debate his achievements and failures between 1939 and 1945, a less explored dimension is Churchill’s earlier connexion with war and warfare. This book explores Churchill’s earlier experience in fighting wars as a soldier and politician.

Reflecting the profound changes in international society in the past decade and the challenges that all Powers’ diplomacy and statecraft face, whether opposing or encouraging these changes, this fully revised and updated edition provides a unique multifaceted assessment by experts of the new international order. Built around the thesis that Great Power rivalry dominated after the end of the Cold War, it examines how this multi-polarity has become more extreme. The Handbook assesses the diplomacy and statecraft of individual powers in seven key sections:• The Context of Diplomacy • The Great Powers • Middle Powers • Developing Powers • International Organisations and Military Alliances • The International Economy • Issues of Conflict and Co-operationIt shows how diplomacy and statecraft have transformed on issues such as the evolving "America First" strategy; the strengthening of the People’s Republic of China; the growth of non-state actors in foreign policy; the unravelling of international arms control agreements; the aggressive nature of Russian foreign policy; and the emergence of major armed conflicts and the rise of terrorism and armed insurgencies around the world. It will be of interest to government and non-governmental actors, established scholars and students in the fields of international relations, history, and military studies.

The North Atlantic Powers – Britain, the United States, and Canada – constitute an important element in modern international history. They form a North Atlantic triangle which, despite an important French-speaking minority in Canada, is united by language, cultural, liberal political beliefs, and a common economic philosophy. However, there exist significant foreign-policy differences within the triangle which derive from dissimilar perceptions of threat, the influence of public opinion on government, and economic, financial, and other constraints. The course of this tripartite relationship has therefore been marked by fluidity and divergence and has changed according to the world circumstances. As the twentieth century began, Britain was the only global power; by the late 1950s the United States had emerged from isolation and, building on its leading international economic and financial position and its development of nuclear and conventional military strength, had replaced Britain as the only global power. Canada also underwent a transformation in 1903 the northern dominion remained firmly within the British Empire. Sixty years later, by a convoluted process, Canada achieved sovereignty in foreign policy, changed direction in economic orientation, and emerged as leading middle power. Ottawa had broken its colonial links with London and gravitated into the American orbit. This book, by experts in Anglo-American-Canadian relations, examines North Atlantic triangle diplomacy from the Alaska boundary dispute to the Suez Crisis of 1956, providing an up-to-date assessment of this important configuration of powers in twentieth-century international history.