History Commons^™

Offensive Realism And Central & Eastern Europe After The Cold War, Dylan Kissane

Dylan Kissane

At the end of the Cold War, John Mearsheimer published the article, “Back to the Future: Instability in Europe after the Cold War”. The widely-cited piece included four predictions for the post-Cold War European geopolitical landscape founded on the theory of offensive realism, the realpolitik approach that Mearsheimer had established and developed over more than a decade of scholarship. However, the emergence of a post-Cold War and pan-continental peace suggests that something was wrong with Mearsheimer’s predictions and, by implication, the theory that informed them. This article argues that Mearsheimer’s mistake was to rely on a theory that assumed the …

Through The Lens Of Cultural Awareness: A Primer For Us Armed Forces Deploying To Arab And Middle Eastern Countries, William Wunderle

William Wunderle

This Combat Studies Institute (CSI) Special Study is unique in that it focuses more on culture than on history. The CSI objective, however, remains unchanged—to provide manuscript length historical studies rel¬evant to the leaders of an Army at War. We are, therefore, pleased to offer Through the Lens of Cultural Awareness: A Primer for US Armed Forces Deploying to Arab and Middle Eastern Countries by Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) William D. Wunderle.

One of the distinguishing characteristics of the Long War, as the Global War on Terrorism is now known, is the cultural environment in which it is being fought. In …