How Democracies Lose Small Wars

Gil Merom

ISBN 10: 0521008778 / ISBN 13: 9780521008778

Published by Cambridge University Press, GB, 2003

About this Item

In this 2003 book, Gil Merom argues that modern democracies fail in insurgency wars because they are unable to find a winning balance between expedient and moral tolerance to the costs of war. Small wars, he argues, are lost at home when a critical minority mass shifts the center of gravity from the battlefield to the market place of ideas. Merom analyzes the role of brutality in counterinsurgency, the historical foundations of moral and expedient opposition to war, and the actions states traditionally took in order to preserve foreign policy autonomy. He then discusses the elements of the process that led to the failure of France in Algeria and Israel in Lebanon. In the conclusion, Merom considers the Vietnam War and the influence failed small wars had on Western war-making and military intervention.

Seller Inventory # LU-9780521008778

Bibliographic Details

• Title: How Democracies Lose Small Wars
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, GB
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521008778
• ISBN 13: 9780521008778
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Weight: 414 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Gil Merom argues that modern democracies fail in insurgency wars because they are unable to find a winning balance between expedient and moral tolerance for the costs of war. Small wars are lost at home when a critical minority shifts the balancing element from the battlefield to the marketplace of ideas. This minority, representing the educated middle class, abhors the brutality involved in effective counterinsurgency, but also refuses to sustain the level of casualties resulting from fighting in other ways.

About the Author

Merom is a Research Fellow at the University of Sydney and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tel-Aviv University.