Great Powers and Little Wars - by A Hamish Ion & E J Errington (Hardcover)

About the Book

This volume addresses a timely subject--the question of small wars and the limits of power from a historical perspective. The theme is developed through case studies of small wars that the Great Powers conducted in Africa and Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This historical overview clearly shows the dangers inherent for a metropolitan government and its armed forces once such military operations are undertaken. Importantly, these examples from the past stand as a warning against current and future misapplication of military strength and the misuse of military forces.

While continuing diplomatic efforts at limiting nuclear weapons, at reducing stockpiles of conventional arms, and the ongoing political change in Eastern Europe have lessened the dangers of a major war between the superpowers, small wars like the Persian Gulf War still occur. The end of the Cold War has brought more armed conflict in Europe, albeit in the form of sporadic civil war or ethnic violence, than during the height of NATO and Warsaw Pact confrontation. Indeed, it seems that as the risks of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union have diminished, political leaders have become more willing to resort to military force to solve complex international problems before exhausting diplomatic channels. This study will be of interest to policymakers and scholars interested in the judicial exercise of power.

Book Synopsis

This volume addresses a timely subject--the question of small wars and the limits of power from a historical perspective. The theme is developed through case studies of small wars that the Great Powers conducted in Africa and Asia during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This historical overview clearly shows the dangers inherent for a metropolitan government and its armed forces once such military operations are undertaken. Importantly, these examples from the past stand as a warning against current and future misapplication of military strength and the misuse of military forces.

While continuing diplomatic efforts at limiting nuclear weapons, at reducing stockpiles of conventional arms, and the ongoing political change in Eastern Europe have lessened the dangers of a major war between the superpowers, small wars like the Persian Gulf War still occur. The end of the Cold War has brought more armed conflict in Europe, albeit in the form of sporadic civil war or ethnic violence, than during the height of NATO and Warsaw Pact confrontation. Indeed, it seems that as the risks of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union have diminished, political leaders have become more willing to resort to military force to solve complex international problems before exhausting diplomatic channels. This study will be of interest to policymakers and scholars interested in the judicial exercise of power.

Review Quotes

?. . . a splendid study of the influence of imperialism upon Great Power military involvement in regional conflicts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.?-The Friday Review of Defense Literature

?The editors point out direct and indirect comparisons between late nineteenth century little wars and the present era of persistent regional wars that have interrupted peace in the postnuclear world. The book is a valuable addition that will be of interest to a broad readership.?-Canadian Journal of History

." . . a splendid study of the influence of imperialism upon Great Power military involvement in regional conflicts of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries."-The Friday Review of Defense Literature

"The editors point out direct and indirect comparisons between late nineteenth century little wars and the present era of persistent regional wars that have interrupted peace in the postnuclear world. The book is a valuable addition that will be of interest to a broad readership."-Canadian Journal of History

About the Author

A. HAMISH ION is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Royal Military College of Canada. Ion is the author of The Cross and The Rising Sun: The Canadian Protestant Missionary Movement in the Japanese Empire, 1872-1931 (1990).

E. J. ERRINGTON is an Associate Professor in the Department of History, Royal Military College of Canada. Errington's publications include The Lion, The Eagle and Upper Canada: A Developing Colonial Ideology (1987).