Conflict And Victory

Sun Tzu’s Art of War is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest tools for understanding and resolving conflict ever. But how do you translate its military insights into practical tactics you can use in the corporate boardroom, the PTA meeting, or the family reunion? James Gimian and Barry Boyce take the principles born on ancient Chinese battlefields and show you how to relate them to the situations of your everyday life. By learning to identify the underlying dynamic of a situation, you can transform conflict into victory. The Rules of Victory features: • In-depth explanations of the essential principles, strategies, and skills of The Art of War • First-person success stories illustrating how these teachings can be applied to a wide variety of professional and personal challenges • Guidance on how to recognize, and even create, a critical turning point in any campaign or project you undertake • A complete translation of The Art of War

Bringing together leading contributors in the field, this new volume analyzes how victory and defeat in modern war can be understood and explained. It does so by confronting two inter-related research problems: the nature of victory and defeat in modern war and the explanations of victory and defeat. By first questioning the extent to which the concepts of victory and defeat are meaningful to describe the outcomes of modern wars, and whether the contents of these concepts are changing, it then evaluates different theories purporting to explain the outcomes of war and the impact of variables, ranging from technology to culture. The book tackles several key questions: What is the definition of victory in the ‘War on Terror’? What is the meaning of victory and defeat in contemporary insurgencies, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan? Are the counterstrategies that were developed in the mid-twentieth century valid in order to deal with present and future conflicts? With case studies ranging from the Malayan Emergency to the current conflict in Iraq, Understanding Victory and Defeat in Contemporary War will be of great interest to students of war and conflict studies, security studies, military history and international relations.

For millennia, policymakers and statesmen have grappled with questions about the concept of victory in war. How long does it take to achieve victory and how do we know when victory is achieved? And, as highlighted by the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq, is it possible to win a war and yet lose the peace? The premise of this book is that we do not have a modern theory about victory and that, in order to answer these questions, we need one. This book explores historical definitions of victory, how victory has evolved, and how it has been implemented in war. It also subsequently develops the intellectual foundations of a modern pre-theory of victory, and discusses the military instruments necessary for victory in the twenty-first century using case studies that include US military intervention in Panama, Libya, Persian Gulf War, Bosnia/Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

In Quality Peace, leading peace researcher Peter Wallensteen offers a broad analysis of peacebuilding, isolating what does and not work when settling conflicts. The book uses statistical analysis to compare two war outcomes-negotiated settlement and victory- in the post-Cold War era. Wallensteen finds that if peace is to last, three conditions must be met: a losing party must retain its dignity; security and the rule of law must be ensured for all; and the time horizon for the settlement must be long enough to ensure a sense of normalcy. Wallensteen breaks down the components of all of these conditions and applies them to interstate conflicts, civil wars in which rebels are aiming to take over the entire state, and separatist rebellions. He also delves into the issue of world order and the significance of major power relations for local peace efforts. Thus, the work provides a remarkable understanding of how different types of war outcomes deal with post-war conditions. Sharply argued and comprehensive, Quality Peace will invigorate peace research and stimulate peace practice, becoming an authoritative work in the field.

Richard Hobbs examines one of society’s greatest problems: the need for reconciliation between the democratic dislike of war and the appropriate use of the military instrument in world politics. He questions whether the results obtained in war are worth the expenditures made and contends that victory gained from total war—war pushed to its outer li

The story of the battle that saved New Orleans, made Andrew Jackson a hero for the ages, and shaped the American public memory of the war. Whether or not the United States “won” the war of 1812, two engagements that occurred toward the end of the conflict had an enormous influence on the development of American identity: the successful defenses of the cities of Baltimore and New Orleans. Both engagements bolstered national confidence and spoke to the élan of citizen soldiers and their militia officers. The Battle of New Orleans—perhaps because it punctuated the war, lent itself to frontier mythology, and involved the larger-than-life figure of Andrew Jackson—became especially important in popular memory. In Glorious Victory, leading War of 1812 scholar Donald R. Hickey recounts the New Orleans campaign and Jackson’s key role in the battle. Drawing on a lifetime of research, Hickey tells the story of America’s “forgotten conflict.” He explains why the fragile young republic chose to challenge Great Britain, then a global power with a formidable navy. He also recounts the early campaigns of the war—William Hull’s ignominious surrender at Detroit in 1812; Oliver H. Perry’s remarkable victory on Lake Erie; and the demoralizing British raids in the Chesapeake that culminated in the burning of Washington. Tracing Jackson’s emergence as a leader in Tennessee and his extraordinary success as a military commander in the field, Hickey finds in Jackson a bundle of contradictions: an enemy of privilege who belonged to Tennessee’s ruling elite, a slaveholder who welcomed free blacks into his army, an Indian-hater who adopted a native orphan, and a general who lectured his superiors and sometimes ignored their orders while simultaneously demanding unquestioning obedience from his men. Aimed at students and the general public, Glorious Victory will reward readers with a clear understanding of Andrew Jackson’s role in the War of 1812 and his iconic place in the postwar era.