Well, that’s one less book on the pile. I finished John Robb’s Brave New War today. I really liked this book, it was fast-paced, concise, full of examples and most importantly rooted in realism.
The book touches on all the stars: old theorists (Sun Tzu, Liddell-Hart); new theorists (Lind, Barnett, Hammes); journos (Friedman, Rashid, Hersh); even Our Bob makes an appearance (pp. 59). Regardless of all the theoretical strands that appear in the book doesn’t really present a Universal Theory of EverythingTM, binding them in the darkness. Rather, I think Robb makes a very important contribution to the literature in describing underlying trends that will prove to be problematic for all the new high-level theories of globalization and warfare evolution. He emphasizes the real-world background noise, providing an extra dimension of practical context for the Core-Gap/4-5GW/Flat world/knifey-spooney crowd. Brave New War is like the theory of dark matter: it doesn’t explain how stuff works, but why theories don’t work as expected in the real world. Global guerillas and systempunkts are features of the futurescape, variables that new theories of war will have to account for. Brave New War gives a jolly good heads-up for the next iteration of conflict theory and is highly recommended for those brave souls intent on dreaming it up.
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Comments to this entry
Bill Petti
May 29, 2007
12:12 am
Not sure you remember me--been MIA from the blogging world quite some time....
I just finished Robb's new book as I sat and waited for my daughter to be born. I agree with most of your evaluation--it is a wonderful discussion of why conventional strategies will inevitably fail against many of the new forces states must contend with due to structural shifts which empower small groups vis-a-vis states. What I didn't enjoy was a) his use of the words 'defeat' and 'win' when talking about states and groups--I would have liked these terms to more clear analytically; and b) the last third of the book--when he starts to get prescriptive I was less impressed. I do think the overwhelming value in the book is its counterintuitive discussions that turn conventional wisdom on its head, which may be why I didn't like the third section all that much--I don't think anyone has truly figured out how to deal with these new actors in an efficient manner. But overall I think it is a must read.
Right now I am reading Singer's "Corporate Warriors" and Niam's "Illicit" and am enjoying both as well...
Younghusband
May 29, 2007
4:03 am
bq. What I didn't enjoy was a) his use of the words ”˜defeat' and ”˜win' when talking about states and groups
Spoken like a true academic. ;)
I am going to avoid agreeing/disagreeing with you by saying that Robb's short book was jam packed with ideas that are worth being picked and pulled apart in detail.
The last third of the book where he presents his solution to defending against dispersed global guerillas, unpredictable natural disasters and "residual nationalism" by enacting a market-driven change of personal philosophy, turning each individual into his own security consultant, or global antiguerilla was pretty radical. This Unabomber-esque vision sees "people taking responsibility for their own security":http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/103/essay-security.html, living decentralized lives in solar-powered homes and relying little on the state." Whether self-isolation from one network can help naturally develop another network to defeat an already networked enemy is debatable I think. There is a lot to chew on in this book.
I took a break to read _BNW_ which really made me want to pick up the Naim book, but I just have too much thesis work to do now to get sidetracked again. I'll put it on the TOREAD list.
Bill Petti
May 29, 2007
2:54 pm
In any event I am recommending the book to my friends and colleagues at work. Given our industry, I think it is a must read.