In richly detailed case studies, Kier examines doctrinal developments in France and Great Britain during the interwar period. She tests her cultural argument against the two most powerful alternative explanations and illustrates that neither the functional needs of military organizations nor the structural demands of the international system can explain doctrinal choice. She also reveals as a myth the argument that the lessons of World War I explain the defensive doctrines in World War II. Imagining War addresses two important debates. It tackles a central debate in security studies: the origins of military doctrine. And by showing the power of a cultural approach, it offers an alternative to the prevailing rationalist explanations of international politics.
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Book Description
In this innovative theoretical book, Elizabeth Kier uses a cultural approach to take issue with the conventional wisdom that military organizations inherently prefer offensive doctrines. Kier argues instead that a military's culture affects its choices between offensive and defensive military doctrines. Drawing on organizational theory, she demonstrates that military organizations differ in their worldview and the proper conduct of their mission. It is this organizational culture that shapes how the military responds to constraints, such as terms of conscription set by civilian policymakers.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Kier's book is a welcome and important addition to the growing body of literature concerned with doctrine. The high quality of her work reflects not only a keen understanding of the of the doctrinal process but also a willingness to investigate the archival materials essential for such an understanding. (Robert A. Doughty American Political Science Review )
Review
[Elizabeth Kier's] sharpening of the concept of culture and her analysis of the relationship between culture and interests are a major contribution. (Jack L. Snyder, Institute for War and Peace Studies, Columbia University )
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
MANY SCHOLARS have sought to understand the origins of, and more frequently, the barriers to doctrinal change in the military. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
succinct des séances, civilian choices, doctrinal dogmatism, pensée militaire française, defensive doctrine, civilian intervention, des blindés, defensive military doctrines, traditional regiments, offensive doctrine, réarmement français, massed armor, offensive orientation, civilian decisions, causal autonomy, methodical battle, continental commitment, civilian policymakers, haut commandement, consensual culture, historique des armées, institutions militaires, massed tanks, terre française, systemic imperatives Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, Superior Council of War, Low Countries, Maginot Line, United States, Popular Front, Liddell Hart, British Cabinet, General Weygand, Foreign Office, House of Commons, Royal Air Force, Chamber of Deputies, French Right, Staff College, Fighter Command, Franco-Prussian War, Jack Snyder, Mobile Division, Royal Navy, Socialist Party, Barry Posen, Defence Requirements Committee, French Parliament, General Gamelin New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
MANY SCHOLARS have sought to understand the origins of, and more frequently, the barriers to doctrinal change in the military. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
succinct des séances, civilian choices, doctrinal dogmatism, pensée militaire française, defensive doctrine, civilian intervention, des blindés, defensive military doctrines, traditional regiments, offensive doctrine, réarmement français, massed armor, offensive orientation, civilian decisions, causal autonomy, methodical battle, continental commitment, civilian policymakers, haut commandement, consensual culture, historique des armées, institutions militaires, massed tanks, terre française, systemic imperatives Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
World War, Superior Council of War, Low Countries, Maginot Line, United States, Popular Front, Liddell Hart, British Cabinet, General Weygand, Foreign Office, House of Commons, Royal Air Force, Chamber of Deputies, French Right, Staff College, Fighter Command, Franco-Prussian War, Jack Snyder, Mobile Division, Royal Navy, Socialist Party, Barry Posen, Defence Requirements Committee, French Parliament, General Gamelin New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
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72
books
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- Grand Strategy: Rearmament Policy v. 1 (History of 2nd World War, U.K.Military History) by N.H. Gibbs on 9 pages
- Britain and Her Army by Correlli Barnett on 6 pages
- The Realities Behind Diplomacy: Background Influences on British External Policy 1865-1980 by Paul M. Kennedy on 6 pages
- The Professional Soldier: A Social and Political Portrait by Morris Janowitz on 4 pages
- Desert Generals by Correlli Barnett on 4 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
- Politics and the Russian Army: Civil-Military Relations, 1689-2000 by Brian D. Taylor on 4 pages
- US Intervention Policy and Army Innovation: From Vietnam to Iraq (Strategy and History) by Richard Lock-Pullan on 4 pages
- Cooperation Under Fire: Anglo-German Restraint During World War II (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs) by Jeffrey Legro on page 22, page 26, and page 27
- Absolute Destruction: Military Culture and the Practices of War in Imperial Germany by Isabel V. Hull on page 97, page 160, and Back Matter
- China's Use of Military Force: Beyond the Great Wall and the Long March (Cambridge Modern China Series) by Andrew Scobell in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
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