How Democracies Lose Small Wars: State, Society, and the Failures of France in Algeria, Israel in Lebanon, and the United States in Vietnam - Hardcover

Gil Merom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521804035 ISBN 13: 9780521804035

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003

Synopsis

This 2003 book examines how modern democracies fail in insurgency wars because they are unable to find a winning balance.

About this title

Review

'Anyone who thinks the recent victories in Afghanistan and Iraq show that America's military machine is invincible should read Gil Merom's terrific new book. It not only reminds us that powerful democracies sometimes lose wars against weaker foes, as happened with the United States in Vietnam and Israel in Lebanon, but it also provides a compelling explanation for these surprising outcomes.' John J. Mearsheimer, University of Chicago

'This brilliant and unconventional book about the domestic sources of war combines broad historical sweep with sharp analytical insights. As American military power reigns supreme, this book argues that many Western governments are so deeply constrained that even wars that can be militarily won have become politically infeasible. The strength of the weak in international relations derives from a shift in the relations between state and society in the First World rather than the unifying force of nationalism in the Third World. The implications of this far-reaching claim for our understanding of world politics are worth pondering for all students of war and contemporary world politics.' Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University

'Merom's argument is highly timely and his theoretical framework is more developed (both formally and with historical evidence) than that of others who have made a similar argument.' Journal of Peace Research

Book Description

In this 2003 book, Merom argues that modern democracies fail in insurgency wars because they are unable to find a winning balance. Small wars are lost at home when a critical minority mass shifts the center of gravity from the battlefield to the market place of ideas.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521804035
• ISBN 13: 9780521804035
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 310