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The American Way of War: Time for Change
American aversion to counterinsurgency is deeply ingrained in the American way of warfare. Since the 1940s the US Army has trained, equipped, and organised for large-scale conventional operations against like adversaries. They have traditionally employed conventional military operations even against irregular enemies. I hope to show that America’s conventional supremacy and in particular their approach to war may prove to be counterproductive in this new century of small wars.
“In less developed countries politics and not mineral endowments is at the root of violent conflict”. Discuss.
In looking at the cases of Angola, Indonesia and Zaire it can be clearly demonstrated that though minerals are of significance they are only so because of political decisions. The discussion begins with an evaluation of the ‘resource curse’ argument looking closely at its empirical grounding and two main explanatory models: rent seeking and the rentier state. The robustness of this analysis is then questioned and the relationship of mineral resources and politics to the root of violent conflict is assessed through the use of detailed case studies.
The British Invasion of Egypt, 1882
Liberal fire-brand William Gladstone launched his election campaign to become British Prime Minister in 1880 during what was being described by contemporaries as the ‘Great Depression’. The ‘People’s William’ was elected primarily on the back of his promise to reverse the Conservative Party’s jingoistic, imperialist foreign policy under Benjamin Disraeli’s tenure.
‘The October Russian Revolution and the 1944-8 takeovers in Central and Eastern Europe demonstrate that war is the decisive factor in the success of communist takeovers’ Discuss.
In October 1917, the Bolshevik Party staged the first communist revolution in history. With this, the new Russian leadership removed Russia from the Great War and began to put into action its ideological ideas for world revolution. In 1919 the Third Communist International (Comintern) was established with the role of exporting the revolution and creating, a ‘World Federative Republic of Soviets’ which was seen as crucial for the survival of the Russian soviet state. Despite this, and the economic problems of the interwar years, the only other country to witness a communist revolution before the Second World War was Outer Mongolia (and briefly, Hungary).
Did JFK have an Exit Strategy for Vietnam?
In recent years declassified documents relating to attempts by the Kennedy administration at withdrawing US forces from the conflict in Vietnam have been released, causing much debate among scholars and historians. Previously not much was written about Kennedy’s decision to withdraw US personnel from Vietnam in over 40 years of historical writing.
Lessons in Nation-Building: The American Reconstruction of Germany and Japan
In this paper I will assess an important element of American foreign policy, that of nation building. I will focus on the American reconstruction of Germany and Japan in the aftermath of the Second World War and to evaluate their impact and successes and to ascertain whether those lessons on nation-building can be implemented today in Afghanistan.
After the Surge: Political Mobilisation and Statebuilding in Iraq since 2007
Analysing the record of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq since 2003 has often been an exercise in reconciling seemingly contradictory interpretations and dynamics. The key point on which such interpretations implicitly or explicitly diverge is on the role of the state in Iraqi history, particularly its strength and weakness in the exercise of political authority.
Is there ‘a responsibility to protect?’ Discuss with reference to Darfur.
In December 2001 the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty released a report titled “The Responsibility to Protect”. This essay examines whether, in light of this document, states and organisations now have a responsibility to protect the people of Darfur.
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