The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War [Paperback]

Charles C. Moskos (Editor), John Allen Williams (Editor), David R. Segal (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 30, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0195133293 | ISBN-13: 978-0195133295

The end of the Cold War has brought about momentous changes within the armed forces in Western societies. The Postmodern Military examines these changes by presenting a general theoretical model of national military transformation--what the editors define as the "postmodern" military. The modern military that emerged in the nineteenth century was associated with the rise of the nation-state. It was a conscripted mass army, war-oriented in mission, masculine in makeup and ethos, and sharply differentiated in structure and culture from civilian society. The postmodern military, by contrast, loosens the ties with the nation-state, becomes multipurpose in mission, and moves toward a smaller volunteer force. It is increasingly androgynous in makeup and ethos and has greater permeability with civilian society. This book examines contemporary civil-military trends by looking at the militaries of the United States and twelve other Western democracies. An international team of leading military sociologists assesses the postmodern thesis in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The Postmodern Military provides students and defense professionals with a foundation on which to base organizational and personnel policies. It also gives the general reader an opportunity to learn what life is really like in today's military and how it is both the same and different around the world.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A timely concept splendidly executed...brings to bear an arsenal of the highest-caliber insights. This is one of the few genuinely-worthwhile books on contemporary military affairs...highly recommended!"-Ralph Peters, author of Fighting for the Future

"It has been said that no great power has reformed its military absent a major military defeat. This book offers a blueprint, a compass, and hope for 21st Century America to avoid this fate. It should become central in a post-Cold War debate over the future of the American military."-Gary Hart, Co-chair, U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century and former member, Senate Armed Services committee

About the Author

Charles C. Moskos is Professor in the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University.
John Allen Williams is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Loyola University Chicago.
David R. Segal is Director of the Center for Research on Military Organization and Professor in the Department of Sociology and the Department of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (December 30, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195133293
• ISBN-13: 978-0195133295
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,179,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Postmodern Military, May 10, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War (Hardcover)

Definitely interesting book. In this book Moskos outlines his paradigm for the postmodern military along the lines of 5 organizational changes and a number of emerging trends for the military. The book is written from a sociological perspective and examines the emergence of these postmodern trends in different militaries around the world. This is definitely an insightful and fascinating book and so is its examination of other nations. Definitely a read for military sociologists and officers alike.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A useful starting point., December 31, 2000

By 

Peter Jennings (Canberra, A.C.T. Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Postmodern Military: Armed Forces after the Cold War (Paperback)

This is a useful study of an important subject -- how military forces in developed countries are changing as a result of broader social and political change. The book draws on research by academics, professional military and others working as the 'Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society'. US academic Charles Moskos sets out the overall thesis which is that social and political changes since the end of the cold war are fundamentally recasting how military forces recruit and train their people, operate in military contingencies and relate to their national governments. Moskos sets out eleven major areas which the other contributers use as a framework for reviewing specific military forces. Areas include such issues as preceived threats, public attitudes to the military, the dominant type of military profession in a force, the role of women and civilian employees and so on.

This 'eleven-point framework is both a strength and a weakness. While it enables some useful points of comparision between different national forces, it forces the individual country studies into a rigid structure where areas of difference are underplayed and too much attention is afforded to issues that may not be important to individual countries.

Overall, the book succeeds in showing that armed forces are indeed changing into organisations quite different from their cold war predecessors. But many broader (and more important) issues are not addressed: is this trend a good or bad thing? Are forces changing too slowly or too quickly? How should military forces train their leaders to handle these changes? And most important, what impact does this have on the capacities of countries to defend their national interests? While 'The Postmodern Military' usefully sets out the foundations for this important debate, it does not attempt to provide any of the answers to these critical broader questions.