Desmond Ball – författare

From the war on terror to the rise of China, this book unlocks the major strategic themes and security challenges of the early twenty-first century. Strategy and Security in the Asia-Pacific provides the analytical frameworks needed to make sense of this complex but exciting strategic universe. Offering a unique mix of global strategic thinking and Asia-Pacific security analysis, this book is for readers from Sydney to Seoul who want to put their own local security challenges in a wider regional and global context. It is also for North American and European readers requiring an understanding of the dynamic security developments in the Asia-Pacific region around which so much of global strategy is increasingly based. The really vital questions facing the international community are dealt with here: Why do governments and groups still use armed force? Has warfare really changed in the information age? Why should we be concerned about non-traditional security challenges such as water shortages and the spread of infectious disease? Is a great clash imminent between the United States and China? What are the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula and between India and Pakistan? Can Southeast Asia survive the challenges of transnational terrorism? What does security mean for the Pacific island countries and for Australia and New Zealand? With contributions from leading commentators and analysts, Strategy and Security in the Asia-Pacific offers a comprehensive and authoritative introduction to the field.

Politics and Force Levels: The Strategic Missile Program of the Kennedy Administration offers a comprehensive analysis of the sweeping military build-up undertaken during John F. Kennedy's presidency, focusing specifically on the expansion of the United States' strategic missile forces. The book examines the pivotal collaboration between Kennedy and his Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, whose defense policies transformed the U.S. into a nuclear superpower. By increasing missile capabilities, including the deployment of Minuteman ICBMs, Titan II ICBMs, and Polaris submarines, the Kennedy Administration fundamentally reshaped America's strategic posture, emphasizing deterrence through overwhelming military strength.The book delves into the political, historical, and bureaucratic contexts that shaped these defense strategies. It explores the influence of pre-existing programs initiated under the Eisenhower Administration, the political climate of the missile-gap controversy, and the competing interests within the U.S. defense establishment. Through detailed accounts of policy decisions and their implementation, the study critiques the official justification for the missile build-up, revealing the complex interplay of intelligence limitations, bureaucratic bargaining, and political imperatives. This work serves both as a vital case study in defense policymaking and as a broader commentary on the influence of internal political dynamics on national security strategies.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

Politics and Force Levels: The Strategic Missile Program of the Kennedy Administration offers a comprehensive analysis of the sweeping military build-up undertaken during John F. Kennedy's presidency, focusing specifically on the expansion of the United States' strategic missile forces. The book examines the pivotal collaboration between Kennedy and his Secretary of Defense, Robert S. McNamara, whose defense policies transformed the U.S. into a nuclear superpower. By increasing missile capabilities, including the deployment of Minuteman ICBMs, Titan II ICBMs, and Polaris submarines, the Kennedy Administration fundamentally reshaped America's strategic posture, emphasizing deterrence through overwhelming military strength.The book delves into the political, historical, and bureaucratic contexts that shaped these defense strategies. It explores the influence of pre-existing programs initiated under the Eisenhower Administration, the political climate of the missile-gap controversy, and the competing interests within the U.S. defense establishment. Through detailed accounts of policy decisions and their implementation, the study critiques the official justification for the missile build-up, revealing the complex interplay of intelligence limitations, bureaucratic bargaining, and political imperatives. This work serves both as a vital case study in defense policymaking and as a broader commentary on the influence of internal political dynamics on national security strategies.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1980.

The security architecture of the Asia/Pacific region is in a profound transformation. Such changes are not without problems, which are discussed here.

The security architecture of the Asia/Pacific region is in a profound transformation. Such changes are not without problems, which are discussed here.

The terror campaign by pro-Indonesian armed groups before, during, and after East Timor's independence referendum in 1999 was a blatant challenge to the international community as many of the acts of murder, political intimidation, destruction, and mass deportation took place before the eyes of the world. Yet still the ultimate responsibility has been denied and obscured. Masters of Terror provides an authoritative analysis and documentation of the brutal operations carried out by the Indonesian army and its East Timorese allies. The authors carefully assemble detailed accounts of the actions of the major Indonesian officers and East Timorese militia commanders accused of gross human rights violations. This indispensable work explores a horrific frontal attack on democracy and calls for the establishment of an international tribunal for crimes against humanity in East Timor.

The terror campaign by pro-Indonesian armed groups before, during, and after East Timor's independence referendum in 1999 was a blatant challenge to the international community as many of the acts of murder, political intimidation, destruction, and mass deportation took place before the eyes of the world. Yet still the ultimate responsibility has been denied and obscured. Masters of Terror provides an authoritative analysis and documentation of the brutal operations carried out by the Indonesian army and its East Timorese allies. The authors carefully assemble detailed accounts of the actions of the major Indonesian officers and East Timorese militia commanders accused of gross human rights violations. This indispensable work explores a horrific frontal attack on democracy and calls for the establishment of an international tribunal for crimes against humanity in East Timor.

Intensifying geopolitical rivalries, rising defence spending and the proliferation of the latest military technology across Asia suggest that the region is set for a prolonged period of strategic contestation. None of the three competing visions for the future of Asian order – a US-led ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’, a Chinese-centred order, or the ASEAN-inspired ‘Indo-Pacific Outlook’ – is likely to prevail in the short to medium term. In the absence of a new framework, the risk of open conflict is heightened, and along with it the need for effective mechanisms to maintain peace and stability.As Asia’s leaders seek to rebuild their economies and societies in the wake of COVID-19, they would do well to reflect upon the lessons offered by the pandemic and their applicability in the strategic realm. The societies that have navigated the crisis most effectively have been able to do so by putting in place stringent protective measures. Crisis-management and -avoidance mechanisms – and even, in the longer term, wider arms control – can be seen as the strategic equivalent of such measures, and as such they should be pursued with urgency in Asia to reduce the risks of an even greater calamity.