| Contents |
Introduction : Military interventions : threats, capabilities, and responses / Stéfanie von Hlatky -- War made new? Cycles of revolutions in military affairs and intervention / Asa McKercher -- Disasters as security threats : mapping humanitarian assistance needs and priorities for the Canadian armed forces / Rachel Lea Heide -- The strategic impact of improvised explosive devices in the US military / Christopher Barron -- The decline of combat casualties : trends and implications / Peter Tikuisis -- War-weariness and Canadian debates on the use of force : back to peacekeeping? / Bob Martyn -- The patterns, implications, and risks of American military contracting / Aaron Ettinger -- Measuring success : a Canadian perspective of red teaming operations in Afghanistan / Paul Dickson, Anton Minkov, and Heather Hrychuk -- Going South? Europe's African "pivot" / Jan von der Felsen -- Canadian involvement in the Middle East / Ali Dizboni and Peter Gizewski -- Defence policy "Walmart style" : Canadian lessons in "not-so-grand" grand strategy / Christian Leuprecht and Joel J. Sokolsly -- Conclusion : Summary and implications : the will to war / H. Christian Breede. |
| Abstract |
"Drawing together researchers and practitioners from the academic, security, and defence community, this unique book investigates why countries go to war. It uncovers the conditions under which military deployments occur and what this means for future decisions involving the use of force. The book explores how recent experiences with military interventions, war weariness amongst publics, regional flash points, and the financial crisis, are factors that impact wartime decision-making. Given the diverse backgrounds of the contributors (academic experts, serving military officers, and defence scientists), the debate is vivid and rich, revealing the complexity of the issues that play into the decision to go to war. One of the key findings is that reasons for going to war have as much to do with domestic concerns as they do with international threats. Other conclusions of the book relate to the changing character of war, whether it is fewer military fatalities overall or the unpredictable impact the improvised explosive device had in Afghanistan and Iraq. As with all seemingly simple questions, the answers are multi dimensional. The authors in this volume demonstrate the depth and complexity of the question: Are we Going To War?"-- Provided by publisher. |
