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No Miracles: The Failure of Soviet Decision-Making in the Afghan War
written by Michael R. Fenzel, 1967- (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2017), 193 page(s)
The Soviet experience in Afghanistan provides a compelling perspective on the far-reaching hazards of military intervention. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev decided that a withdrawal from Afghanistan should occur as soon as possible. The Soviet Union's senior leadership had become aware that their strategy was unraveli...
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written by Michael R. Fenzel, 1967- (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2017), 193 page(s)
Description
The Soviet experience in Afghanistan provides a compelling perspective on the far-reaching hazards of military intervention. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev decided that a withdrawal from Afghanistan should occur as soon as possible. The Soviet Union's senior leadership had become aware that their strategy was unraveling, their operational and tactical methods were not working, and the sacrifices they were demanding from the Soviet people and military...
The Soviet experience in Afghanistan provides a compelling perspective on the far-reaching hazards of military intervention. In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev decided that a withdrawal from Afghanistan should occur as soon as possible. The Soviet Union's senior leadership had become aware that their strategy was unraveling, their operational and tactical methods were not working, and the sacrifices they were demanding from the Soviet people and military were unlikely to produce the forecasted results. Despite this state of affairs, operations in Afghanistan persisted and four more years passed before the Soviets finally withdrew their military forces.In No Miracles, Michael Fenzel explains why and how that happened, as viewed from the center of the Soviet state. From that perspective, three sources of failure stand out: poor civil-military relations, repeated and rapid turnover of Soviet leadership, and the perception that Soviet global prestige and influence were inexorably tied to the success of the Afghan mission. Fenzel enumerates the series of misperceptions and misjudgments that led to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, tracing the hazards of their military intervention and occupation. Ultimately, he offers a cautionary tale to nation states and policymakers considering military intervention and the use of force.
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Field of Study
Politics & Current Affairs
Content Type
Book
Author / Creator
Michael R. Fenzel, 1967-
Date Published / Released
2017
Publisher
Stanford University Press
Topic / Theme
Afghanistan and its Borders, Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and Civil War, Afghanistan Conflict (1980 -- ), Military aid, Military occupation, Decision making, Wars in Afghanistan, April 27, 1978–, Soviet Intervention in Afghanistan, 1978-1992, 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
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Copyright © 2017 Stanford University Press
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Studies in International Governance, Syria, Press Framing, and the Responsibility to Protect
written by Tom Pierre Najem, Walter E. Soderlund and E. Donald Briggs, in Studies in International Governance (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2017), 241 page(s)
The Syrian Civil War has created the worst humanitarian disaster since the end of World War II, sending shock waves through Syria, its neighbours, and the European Union. Calls for the international community to intervene in the conflict, in compliance with the UN-sanctioned Responsibility to Protect (R2P), occurr...
Sample
written by Tom Pierre Najem, Walter E. Soderlund and E. Donald Briggs, in Studies in International Governance (Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2017), 241 page(s)
Description
The Syrian Civil War has created the worst humanitarian disaster since the end of World War II, sending shock waves through Syria, its neighbours, and the European Union. Calls for the international community to intervene in the conflict, in compliance with the UN-sanctioned Responsibility to Protect (R2P), occurred from the outset and became even more pronounced following President Assad's use of chemical weapons against civilians in August 2013...
The Syrian Civil War has created the worst humanitarian disaster since the end of World War II, sending shock waves through Syria, its neighbours, and the European Union. Calls for the international community to intervene in the conflict, in compliance with the UN-sanctioned Responsibility to Protect (R2P), occurred from the outset and became even more pronounced following President Assad's use of chemical weapons against civilians in August 2013. Despite that egregious breach of international convention, no humanitarian intervention was forthcoming, leaving critics to argue that UN inertia early in the conflict contributed to the current crisisSyria, Press Framing, and The Responsibility to Protect examines the role of the media in framing the Syrian conflict, their role in promoting or, on the contrary, discouraging a robust international intervention. The media sources examined are all considered influential with respect to the shaping of elite views, either directly on political leaders or indirectly through their influence on public opinion. The volume provides a review of the arguments concerning appropriate international responses to events in Syria and how they were framed in leading newspapers in the United States, Great Britain, and Canada during the crucial early years of the conflict; considers how such media counsel affected the domestic contexts in which American and British decisions were made not to launch forceful interventions following Assad's use of sarin gas in 2013; and offers reasoned speculation on the relevance of R2P in future humanitarian crises in light of the failure to protect Syrian civilians.
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Field of Study
World History
Content Type
Book
Author / Creator
Tom Pierre Najem, Walter E. Soderlund, E. Donald Briggs
Date Published / Released
2017
Publisher
Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Series
Studies in International Governance
Topic / Theme
General Context: Security Issues, Syria (2011 - Present), Military occupation, Military aid, Journalism, Civil war, Public opinion, Syrian Civil War, 2011-, 21st Century in World History (2001– )
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Copyright © 2017 Wilfrid Laurier University Press
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Under Contract: The Invisible Workers of America's Global War
written by Noah Coburn (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018), 409 page(s)
War is one of the most lucrative job markets for an increasingly global workforce. Most of the work on American bases, everything from manning guard towers to cleaning the latrines to more technical engineering and accounting jobs, has been outsourced to private firms that then contract out individual jobs, often...
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written by Noah Coburn (Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018), 409 page(s)
Description
War is one of the most lucrative job markets for an increasingly global workforce. Most of the work on American bases, everything from manning guard towers to cleaning the latrines to more technical engineering and accounting jobs, has been outsourced to private firms that then contract out individual jobs, often to the lowest bidder. An "American" base in Afghanistan or Iraq will be staffed with workers from places like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, th...
War is one of the most lucrative job markets for an increasingly global workforce. Most of the work on American bases, everything from manning guard towers to cleaning the latrines to more technical engineering and accounting jobs, has been outsourced to private firms that then contract out individual jobs, often to the lowest bidder. An "American" base in Afghanistan or Iraq will be staffed with workers from places like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Turkey, Bosnia, and Nepal: so-called "third-country nationals." Tens of thousands of these workers are now fixtures on American bases. Yet, in the plethora of records kept by the U.S. government, they are unseen and uncounted—their stories untold.Noah Coburn traces this unseen workforce across seven countries, following the workers' often zigzagging journey to war. He confronts the varied conditions third-country nationals encounter, ranging from near slavery to more mundane forms of exploitation. Visiting a British Imperial training camp in Nepal, U.S. bases in Afghanistan, a café in Tbilisi, offices in Ankara, and human traffickers in Delhi, Coburn seeks out a better understanding of the people who make up this unseen workforce, sharing powerful stories of hope and struggle.Part memoir, part travelogue, and part retelling of the war in Afghanistan through the eyes of workers, Under Contract unspools a complex global web of how modern wars are fought and supported, narrating war stories unlike any other. Coburn's experience forces readers to reckon with the moral questions of a hidden global war-force and the costs being shouldered by foreign nationals in our name.
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Field of Study
Politics & Current Affairs
Content Type
Book
Author / Creator
Noah Coburn
Date Published / Released
2018
Publisher
Stanford University Press
Topic / Theme
Afghanistan and its Borders, Military aid, War, Globalization, Liberalism, Labor contracts, United Nations Intervention in Afghanistan, October 7, 2001-, September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001, United States Intervention in Afghanistan, December 22, 2001-, Afghans, 21st Century in World History (2001– ), 20th Century in World History (1914--2000)
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Copyright © 2018 Stanford University Press
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