Threats in the Age of Obama [Paperback]

Michael Tanji (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 20, 2009

If you are on a mission to change the way government works, particularly in the national security arena, this is one a place where some independent and intellectually diverse thinking is to be found. In these essays, we offer our view of some of the more pressing threats the Obama administration will have to deal with in these early days of the 21st century.

The essays in this volume are contributed by Daniel H. Abbott, Christopher Albon, Matt Armstrong, Matthew Burton, Molly Cernicek, Christopher Corpora, Shane Deichman, Adam Elkus, Matt Devost, Bob Gourley, Art Hutchinson, Tom Karako, Carolyn Leddy, Samuel Liles, Adrian Martin, Gunnar Peterson, Cheryl Rofer, Mark Safranski, Steve Schippert, Tim Stevens, and Shlok Vaidya.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Nimble Books (January 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934840807
• ISBN-13: 978-1934840801
• Product Dimensions: 0.5 x 6.9 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,751,357 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Is Hezbollah using health services to attract recruits? Does public health have a place in counterinsurgency? How do tactics or strategies address civilian hospitals in war zones? When do civil wars trigger epidemics? Is global health a national security issue? I think about these questions all day, everyday.

I am passionate about the relationship between armed conflict and health. What does this mean? Simply put, I am obsessed with figuring out how armies, militias, insurgents, transnational criminals, pirates, and terrorists use, exploit, build, and destroy health systems and the health of populations. I indulge this passion daily as a political science Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Davis. My research has taken me from the streets of Geneva to the flight decks of US Navy warships. At UC Davis, I specialize in international relations, research methodology, and public health.

On January 1st 2008, I launched War & Health, an online publication with daily opinion and analysis on armed conflict and public health. War & Health is read by experts, policymakers, journalists, and academics in the international relations, defense, and global health communities. In addition, I regularly contribute to the United States Naval Institute blog and other publications.

Before coming to UC Davis, I attended the University of Miami where I triple majored in Religious Studies, International Studies, and Political Science.

I live in San Francisco with my beautiful wife Jen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended Assessments of the Threats Facing the US and the World March 16, 2009

By Benerson Little

Format:Paperback

An excellent review of the threats facing both the US and the world, from a broad range of perspectives, with emphasis on their evolving nature. Chapters range from Matt Armstrong's insightful evaluation of public diplomacy--in particular, of "global engagement"--as a vital part of national security, in "Arming for the Second War of Ideas," to Daniel H. Abbott's surely controversial thesis of true democracy as a threat to the US military-industrial complex, and thus to itself, in "An Outbreak of Democracy." Whether or not one agrees with all of the many assessments and arguments presented in it, the book is a must-read for anyone with an active hand in world affairs at any level, and for that matter, for anyone with an interest in the both the near-term and long-term future of our world in general.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Impressive Array Of Talent Yields A Strong Work Of Ideas March 19, 2009

By E. Beaver

Format:Paperback

This is an outstanding collection of cutting-edge, conventional-wisdom challenging works by a talented roster of contributors. Unlike much of the chatter out there in the USG/Ivory Tower bubble where partisan, think-tank, academic and NGO ideological advocacy takes precedence over inconvenient truths and expansive vision, many of these contributors (with significant experience in the policy arenas from a variety of perspectives) are renowned independent bloggers and writers who engage in regular give and take with their readers and colleagues, which helps to inform and strengthen the analysis they offer in 22 pieces.
Wondering what the economic crisis could mean to America's democracy and military? Considering what a Grand Strategy for America with a long view would encompass? Perplexed as to what forms terrorism and insurgency could take in the near future after Mumbai and Lebanon? Do you find the prospect of "global engagement" promising but have yet to read an impressive proposal for it? Having difficulty navigating already antiquated ideas about security in the Conficker era?
The contributors take on these subjects and many more with an impressive eye for originality and detail that should leave you more knowledgeable about what's been happening out in the world and what our leaders and innovators should do about it while most of us have been so focused on the economy, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read for those wishing to understand the international security environment in the Age of Obama January 25, 2009

By M. Devost

Format:Paperback

This excellent compilation brings together some of the top international security experts to address the range of threats and security issues that the Obama administration will confront over the next four years.

Any concerned citizen that seeks to better understand these issues would do well to read this book which places even the most complex issues in an easily digestible form.

Here is a list of topics and contributors from the Table of Contents:

The Threat Landscape, Michael Tanji

The Tangled Relationship Between Organized Crime,
Terrorism and Proliferation, Christopher A. Corpora, Ph.D

The Terrorism Meme--Looking Beyond the Current Threat,
Matthew G. Devost

Crazy as a Fox, Adrian Martin

Infectious Diseases, Foreign Militaries, and US National
Security, Christopher Albon

Pakistan as a Nuclear Risk, Steve Schippert

Nuclear Nonproliferation in the 21st Century, Cheryl Rofer
and Molly Cernicek

Into the Complex Terrain, Tim Stevens

Simulated "Black Swans": National Security, Perception
Operations, and the Expansion of the Infosphere,
Adam Elkus

An Outbreak of Peace and Democracy, Daniel H. Abbott

Ideas and Strategies for a More Secure Future, Michael Tanji

Preparing One's Mind to See, Art Hutchinson

The Issues of Non-State Actors and the Nation State,
Samuel P. Liles

The Future of Missile Defense Policy, Tom Karako

Toward a Contemporary Deterrence Strategy, Carolyn Leddy

An Information Age Strategy for Government Information
Technology, Mathew Burton

The Future of Cyberspace Security: The Law of the Rodeo,
Bob Gourley

Security Evolution, Gunnar Peterson

Arming for the Second War of Ideas, Matt Armstrong

Blurring the Lines Between War and Peace, Shane Deichman

Reconfiguring the National Security Architecture, Shlok Vaidya

A Grand Strategy for a Networked Civilization, Mark Safranski