Use of Force

The Use of Force, long considered a classic in its own right, brings together enduring, influential works on the role of military power in foreign policy and international politics. Now in its eighth edition, the reader has been significantly revised; with twenty innovative and up-to-date selections, this edition is 60 percent new. Meticulously chosen and edited by leading scholars Robert J. Art and Kelly M. Greenhill, the selections are grouped under three headings: theories, case studies, and contemporary issues. The first section includes essays that cover the security dilemma, terrorism, the sources of military doctrine, the nuclear revolution, and the fungibility of force. A new subsection of Part I also deals with ethical issues in the use of force. The second section includes case studies in the use of force that span the period from World War I through the war in Afghanistan. The final section considers issues concerning the projection of US military power; the rising power of China; the spread of biological and nuclear weapons and cyberwarfare; intervention in internal conflicts and insurgencies; and possible future developments in terrorism, nuclear abolition, and robotic warfare. Continuing the tradition of previous editions, this fully updated reader collects the best analysis by influential thinkers on the use of force in international affairs.


Contributions by: Bruce J. Allyn, Kenneth Anderson, Robert J. Art, Mark S. Bell, Richard K. Betts, Laurie R. Blank, James G. Blight, Stephen G. Brooks, Seyom Brown, Daniel Byman, Audrey Kurth Cronin, Patrick M. Cronin, Alexander B. Downes, Karl W. Eikenberry, John Lewis Gaddis, Erik Gartke, Alexander L. George, Avery Goldstein, Kelly M. Greenhill, G. John Ikenberry, Robert Jervis, Gregory Koblentz, Peter R. Mansoor, John J. Mearsheimer, Nicholas L. Miller, Louis C. Morton, Barry R. Posen, Louise Richardson, George B. Samson, Thomas C. Schelling, Jack L. Snyder, Paul Staniland, Barbara F. Walter, Kenneth N. Waltz, Matthew Waxman, David A. Welch, Jon Western, and William C. Wohlforth.

Robert J. Art is professor of international relations at Brandeis University.

Kelly M. Greenhill is associate professor of political science at Tufts University and research fellow at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.