Choosing Your Battles: American Civil-Military Relations and the Use of Force [Hardcover]

Peter D. Feaver (Author), Christopher Gelpi (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0691115842 | ISBN-13: 978-0691115849 | Publication Date: December 8, 2003

America's debate over whether and how to invade Iraq clustered into civilian versus military camps. Top military officials appeared reluctant to use force, the most hawkish voices in government were civilians who had not served in uniform, and everyone was worried that the American public would not tolerate casualties in war. This book shows that this civilian-military argument--which has characterized earlier debates over Bosnia, Somalia, and Kosovo--is typical, not exceptional. Indeed, the underlying pattern has shaped U.S. foreign policy at least since 1816. The new afterword by Peter Feaver and Christopher Gelpi traces these themes through the first two years of the current Iraq war, showing how civil-military debates and concerns about sensitivity to casualties continue to shape American foreign policy in profound ways.

Editorial Reviews

Review

[A] highly statistical but thankfully lucid study... [The authors] find that non-veteran civilian elites are more likely to advocate the use of force than either military elites or civilian leaders with military experience... The pattern holds historically. The authors consider a total of 111 instances from 1816 to 1992. Chronicle of Higher Education Feaver and Gelpi offer important insights into the character of civil-military relations in the U.S. and into its effects on the nature of U.S. foreign policy... [A]n important work whose findings have wide-ranging policy implications. -- Spencer D. Bakich Virginia Quarterly Review

Review

One of those rare works of political science that speaks directly and aptly to an issue of policy. Feaver and Gelpi show that the conventional wisdom about attitudes to military engagement and casualties is, and has been, wrong. More importantly, they explain why. One of the most important contributions to the literature on civil-military relations in years. (Eliot Cohen, author of "Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime" )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 268 pages
• Publisher: Princeton University Press (December 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0691115842
• ISBN-13: 978-0691115849
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,336,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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