Why We Fight: New Approaches to the Human Dimension of Warfare (Human Dimensions in Foreign Policy, Military Studies, and Security Studies, 12) (Volume 12) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0228003873 ISBN 13: 9780228003878

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020

Synopsis

For decades, the Canadian Armed Forces has used the work of foreign scholars and writers in its professional military education to try to understand the human dimension of warfare: why and how people are motivated to fight, and how they behave once they do fight. Yet the specific Canadian context, experience, and perspective are often lost in favour of appeals to universal truths.

The first major Canadian study of combat motivation in almost forty years, Why We Fight redresses this imbalance by presenting some of the best new work on the subject. Bringing together top military practitioners and scholars to discuss some of the most controversial issues of modern warfare, Why We Fight examines the face of battle as experienced by Canadians. It explores sexual violence in war, professionalism, organizations, leadership, shared intent, motivation in extremis, and the toxicity of the "warrior" culture. Its chapters offer key insights on combat motivation theories, the modern operating environment, and the collective and individual identities of the men and women who fight for Canada.

Many worry that technology is leading us towards a post-human age, particularly in war. Why We Fight affirms the centrality of the human being in warfare in Canada's past, present, and future.

Contributors include Claire Cookson-Hills (Queen's), Karen Davis (DRDC), Sonia Dussault (Queen's), Ian Hope (CAF, NATO Defence College), Robert Martyn (CAF, ret.), the late Roger Spiller (US Army Command and General Staff College), Victoria Tait (Carleton), and Robert Williams (CAF, ret.).

About this title

About the Authors

Robert C. Engen is senior lecturer in war studies and director of wargaming at the Centre for Future Defence and National Security, Deakin University.

H. Christian Breede is associate professor of political science at the Royal Military College of Canada, a serving infantry officer, co-editor of Going to War? Trends in Military Interventions, author of The Idea of Failed States, and editor of Culture and the Solder.

Allan English is adjunct professor, history, Queen's University, has taught warfare theory and history at the Canadian Forces College, Toronto, and is the author of Understanding Military Culture: A Canadian Perspective.

From the Back Cover

Series editors: Stéphanie A.H. Bélanger and Pierre Jolicoeur

Books in this series illuminate thorny issues in national and international security, analyzing both military and foreign policy. They highlight the human dimensions of war, such as the health and well-being of military members, the factors that influence military cooperation and operational effectiveness, civil-military relations and decisions regarding the use of force, and the challenges of violence and terrorism, as well as human security and conflict resolution. Some authors focus on the ethical, moral, and legal ramifications of ongoing conflicts and wars, while others, through the lens of policy analysis, explore the impact of military and political strife on human rights and the role the public plays in shaping international policy.

Published in collaboration with Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada, with the Centre for International and Defence Policy, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, and the Centre for Security, Armed Forces, and Society, the series plays a pivotal role in reconceptualizing contemporary security challenges - both in the academic realm and for broader publics.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0228003873
• ISBN 13: 9780228003878
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 240
• Editor: Engen Robert, Breede H. Christian, English Allan