Niche Wars

Australia invoked the ANZUS Alliance following the Al Qaeda attacks in the United States on 11 September 2001. But unlike the calls to arms at the onset of the world wars, Australia decided to make only carefully calibrated force contributions in support of the US-led coalition campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why is this so? Niche Wars examines Australia’s experience on military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq from 2001 to 2014. These operations saw over 40 Australian soldiers killed and hundreds wounded. But the toll since has been greater. For Afghanistan and Iraq the costs are hard to measure. Why were these forces deployed? What role did Australia play in shaping the strategy and determining the outcome? How effective were they? Why is so little known about Australia’s involvement in these campaigns? What lessons can be learned from this experience? Niche Wars commences with a scene-setting overview of Australia’s military involvement in the Middle East over more than a century. It then draws on unique insights from many angles, across a spectrum of men and women, ranging from key Australian decision makers, practitioners and observers. The book includes a wide range of perspectives in chapters written by federal government ministers, departmental secretaries, service commanders, task force commanders, sailors, soldiers, airmen and women, international aid workers, diplomats, police, journalists, coalition observers and academics. Niche Wars makes for compelling reading but also stands as a reference work on how and why Australia became entangled in these conflicts that had devastating consequences. If lessons can be learned from history about how Australia uses its military forces, this book is where to find them.

Digital War offers a comprehensive overview of the impact of digital technologies upon the military, the media, the global public and the concept of ‘warfare’ itself. This introductory textbook explores the range of uses of digital technology in contemporary warfare and conflict. The book begins with the 1991 Gulf War, which showcased post-Vietnam technological developments and established a new model of close military and media management. It explores how this model was reapplied in Kosovo (1999), Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), and how, with the Web 2.0 revolution, this informational control broke down. New digital technologies allowed anyone to be an informational producer leading to the emergence of a new mode of ‘participative war’, as seen in Gaza, Iraq and Syria. The book examines major political events of recent times, such as 9/11 and the War on Terror and its aftermath. It also considers how technological developments such as unmanned drones and cyberwar have impacted upon global conflict and explores emerging technologies such as soldier-systems, exo-skeletons, robotics and artificial intelligence and their possible future impact. This book will be of much interest to students of war and media, security studies, political communication, new media, diplomacy and IR in general.

Forty-one Australian soldiers died in action over 20 years of fighting in Afghanistan; in that time more than 1400 veterans have taken their own lives. Veterans today are chronically over-represented when it comes to PTSD, depression, homelessness and suicide. Australians rightfully pause on Anzac Day each year to solemnly remember fallen soldiers, but are we forgetting our returned veterans whose personal battles continue every single day, and how did we get to this point? In this authoritative, compelling and urgent book, bestselling author Patrick Lindsay (The Spirit of the Digger and Fromelles among many) looks at the wide-ranging damage caused by training Australians to be fighting machines and then inadequately supporting them as they re-enter their communities. Featuring moving interviews with veterans and their families as well as a broader analysis of Australian military culture and government responses, Lindsay illustrates both the personal and societal costs of this dereliction of duty. The Home Front is a fascinating and rousing indictment of the culture of war, the thinking of those who wage it, and the cost to those who experience it.

Compiled in anticipation of the U.S. attack on Iraq in 2003, this work brings together European and American policy makers, policy analysts, and academics to explore the global political-military ramifications of the "War on Terror," particularly concentrating on US and NATO policy and the responses of the European Union and Russia. Gardner (international affairs, American U. of Paris, France) has organized the 16 chapters into sections exploring the broad strategic impact of September 11th, the future of NATO, NATO and transatlantic relationships, and "War on Terror" ramifications in Central Asian and Middle Eastern regional settings

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-proceedings of the 5th International Workshop on Agent-Mediated Electronic Commerce, AMEC 2003, held in Melbourne, Australia in July 2003 as part of AAMAS 2003. The 9 revised full papers presented were carefully selected from 22 submissions during two rounds of reviewing and revision. The papers are organized in topical sections on automated negotiation, systems and mechanism design, and multi-agent markets.