Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Book Review: Old & New Battlespaces: Society, Military Power, And War, Robert J. Bunker

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Authors: Jahara Matisek and Buddhika Jayamaha

Reviewed by Dr. Robert J. Bunker, director of research and analysis and managing partner, C/O Futures, LLC

Published on April 7, 2023. In Old & New Battlespaces: Society, Military Power, and War, Drs. Jahara Matisek and Buddhika Jayamaha, examine the nature of battlespace and how one can make sense of it across space, through well-known and emergent domains, and along the various levels of war, asking where one should look, how one should look, and for what one should look. Reviewer Dr. Robert J. Bunker shows how the book executes well in its modernist …

Coercing Fluently: The Grammar Of Coercion In The Twenty-First Century, C. Anthony Pfaff

Monographs & Collaborative Studies

To illustrate the logic and grammar of coercion, this analysis relies on decision-theory methods, such as game theory, that examine the strategic decision-making process in interactions with adversaries and partners. The intent here is not to offer predictive models of rational-actor behavior. Rather, the intent is to use game-theory and similar approaches to understand how coercion works better. This analysis considers competitive interactions between actors that have discrete and qualifiable, if not quantifiable, preferences and who behave rationally, though this analysis acknowledges the behavior that is considered rational is frequently informed by nonrational social, cultural, and psychological factors. Considering these …

Enabling A More Externally Focused And Operational Pla – 2020 Pla Conference Papers, Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, David Brewster, Christopher Cairns, Roger Cliff, R. Evan Ellis, April Herlevi, Roy Kamphausen Mr., Roderick Lee, Paul Nantulya, Meia Nouwens, Rebecca Pincus, Joel Wuthnow

Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Although the People’s Liberation Army is not yet a global expeditionary force on par with the US military, the former has nevertheless significantly expanded its ability to operate abroad. Through enhanced technological capabilities, robust relationships with foreign militaries, increased access to overseas military bases and dual-use facilities, and the implementation of major structural reforms, the People’s Liberation Army has built a more integrated joint force capable of conducting a wider and more complex array of missions. This volume advances the understanding of the People’s Liberation Army’s capability to conduct overseas missions by examining China’s military relations with Europe, Africa, and …

China, Europe, And The Pandemic Recession: Beijing’S Investments And Transatlantic Security, John R. Deni, Chris Alden, Erik Brattberg, Roger Cliff, Mark Duckenfield, R. Evan Ellis, Nicholas Nelson, Lauren Speranza

Monographs & Collaborative Studies

Given the depth and breadth of the pandemic-induced recession in Europe, private companies in need of capital and governments looking to shed state-owned enterprises may be tempted to sell shares, assets, or outright ownership to investors with liquidity to spare. Of greatest concern is the role that China might play in Europe, building Beijing’s soft power, weakening allied geopolitical solidarity, and potentially reprising the role it played in the 2010s, when its investments in Europe expanded dramatically. More specifically, there is concern over China’s investments in infrastructure and sensitive technologies relevant to American and allied military operations and capabilities.

Whether …